The
Excellents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

They had one of the greatest doo-wop records about Brooklyn of all time - the only problem is - they were from the Bronx!  Often kidded about that, the Excellents nevertheless recorded one of the all time favorite classics of the world of group harmony - Coney Island Baby - a song that has endured in the hearts and memories of many a fan - not just those from Brooklyn!

The original members of the Excellents were classmates at Christopher Columbus High School in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx.  John Kuse, along with his younger brother George, Phil Sanchez, Joel Feldman, Denis Kestenbaum and Chuck Epstein (who actually went to DeWitt Clinton High School) met up in 1960 and started singing together - all six of them.   Chuck Epstein believes the group got its name from a time when they were all eating a White Castle enjoying a few "murder burgers."  Epstein commented that the burgers were "really excellent."  John Kuse apparently replied:  "you know, we're excellent!"  And the name stuck.

The group's members had some prior experience singing as John was in the glee club in school and Phil was in the army chorus and was always writing songs.  With six members in the group (as opposed to the normal four or five), "we were pretty full," recalls John Kuse.  "We had just about every base covered."  The group started performing locally and began working on getting a number songs down to put onto a demo recording.  "You took your demo downtown to all the labels and if it hooked they'd try to make something for you," says John.

The group started shopping its demo around to the labels in 1961.  In June 1961, Sinclair Records recorded them doing Red Red Robin b/w Love No One But You (a nice arrangement of the Jesters' song) for a subsidiary label by the name of Mermaid Records.  Don Ames headed up the production and teamed with the famous pair of Vinny Catalano and Peter Alonzo to produce this record.  "It never really went that far, it was local," recalls John.  But the green Mermaid label recording made for a nice collectors item later on!
 

Later in January 1962 the group returned to the studio planning on recording a version of the Cleftones' You Baby You.  The group had a nice arrangement of the song with standard bass part by Chuck Epstein along with an usual baritone/bass that floated around on the number.  However, Catalano and Alonzo also gave the group a song they had written entitled Coney Island Baby.  Coney was to actually be the B side to You Baby You.  "We took the song out to the hallway, where we had the echo, heard the way they wanted it done and in ten minutes came back and sang it for them.  They loved that idea," recalls John Kuse.  Sinclair released the two-sider in April 1962 on a subsidiary entitled Blast and gave it major promotion including contests at Coney Island itself to see who could "win the Coney Island Baby."  Of course, Coney Island Baby became a big hit with the flip side getting some play also.  Even Murray the K picked it up as a boss record of the week.  John recalls performing for about 3-4 months off of the success of the record but "not has heavy as we would have liked to" including a peformance at the Steel Pier of Atlantic City.

Later in June 1962, with the group scheduled to appear on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, they ran into a contractual dispute with Sinclair.  "We were young kids, we were affraid....we had no idea..." remarks John.  "They were are managers and everything....they didn't give us anything, tell us how we were doing, where we were going, what outfits we were wearing....it was very very scary.  And we just said 'so long.' "  As a result, Sinclair brought in replacement members for the group and the new Excellents recorded the follow-up record on Blast - I Hear a Rhapsody b/w Why Did You Laugh.  John Kuse doesn't harbor any hard feelings about that turn of events.  At the time, they were really not even aware that a replacement group had been formed and had recorded under the Excellents' name.   Meanwhile, the original members of the group went off the circuit.

In 1963, Lou Cicchetti of Cousins Records got the original Excellents back into the studio to record She’s Not Coming Home (a fast version of the Videls' song which was the B side of Now That Summer's Here), Lorraine (the Bonnevilles' classic) and Biggest Mistake of My Life.  Finally, in 1964 Bobby Miller of Old Timer Records released two tracks Sunday Kind of Love and Helene that the group had recorded as demos in 1960.  These recordings would remain unreleased and unheard until Eddie Engel of Crystal Ball Records would bring them back on a 2000 release - You'll Always Be My Coney Island Baby (see below).  Packed with all of the group's recordings from over the years, its a great CD.

Almost 25 years passed before the group would re-form under the direction of John Kuse in 1988.  John joined with Denis and Phil and added Jerry Pilgrim and Les Levine and the group started performing again.  That lasted until 1996 when Kuse left to work with Kathy Jean and the Roomates.  John comments "I had a lot of fun - we sang Coney Island and You Baby You  and I was able to sing Glory of Love/Band of Gold with her.  And I just loved the lady and loved singing with her."   Singing in various shows, people started asking John if he was going to get the Excellents back going.  After being encouraged by so many people to "do it again," the group reformed again in time for an appearance on PBS' Doo-Wop 51.  What a thrill that was for John and Phil - the two original members of the group that were there for the performance.

In 2001, the current members of the group are:  the one original John Kuse, along with Mal Bronson , Joe Noto, and John Accardo (all veterans of the New York area acappella scene).  "The guys I've got now, I'm happy as hell," comments John.  "Its a marriage, each one compliments the others."  The group doesn't have a heavy performance schedule because they are all working regular jobs.  But they continue to do shows in the tri-state area.  We caught up with John and the guys at Westbury Music Fair on June 23, 2001, and they were fabulous.  The crowd, which consisted of many locals, were electrified by John's performance of Coney Island Baby and his pre-song dialogue about life growing up in both the Bronx and Brooklyn.  You could just tell that the group had struck a chord with the audience and had jogged many a memory for them!  The guys plan on releasing a new CD soon with original material including an exciting new song based on the Coney Island Baby theme.

Click here to purchase the Excellents' terrific 2000 Crystal Ball CD.

Click here for the Excellents' Web Page