The Gaylords (American vocal group)
The Gaylords were an American singing trio, consisting of Ronald L. Fredianelli (who changed his name for performances to Ronnie Gaylord, taken from the group name), Bonaldo Bonaldi (who also, in 1976, changed his name to Burt Holiday, at which time the group became Gaylord and Holiday), and Don Rea (who had left the group by the time it became Gaylord & Holiday).
- For the street gang, see Gaylords.
Fredianelli was born on June 12, 1930, in Detroit, Michigan. They formed the Gaylords (originally The Gay Lords) in Detroit in 1949.
The group's name was decided upon after a chance encounter with Marcus Wren.
In the 1950s the group had a number of Italian-flavored hits on the charts, often consisting of a song partly sung in Italian and partly in English. Their most successful release was "Tell Me You're Mine", which had sold over one million copies by 1958.[1] "Tell Me You're Mine" reached #3 on the US chart.[1]
As Gaylord and Holiday, the two remaining members of the group continued to perform until 2003.
Fredianelli died on January 25, 2004 in Reno, Nevada. Bonaldi still performed with Ron Gaylord, Jr., Ronnie Gaylord's oldest son (the other son being rock guitarist Tony Fredianelli) until his death on May 10, 2017 in Carson City, NV.
Donald "Don" Rea, keyboardist for The Gaylords, born in Detroit, Michigan, on 9 December 1928, died in Reno, Nevada, on 30 June 2017 after a short battle with cancer.[2]
Hit records
Year | Title | Chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US[3] | CB | ||
1952 | "Tell Me You're Mine" | 2 | 3 |
1953 | "Spinning a Web" | 16 | - |
"Ramona" | 12 | 13 | |
"The Strings of My Heart" | 21 | 12 | |
"Mama-Papa Polka" | - | 28 | |
1954 | "From the Vine Came the Grape" | 7 | 3 |
"Cuddle Me"(Ronnie Gaylord, solo) | 13 | 15 | |
"Isle of Capri" | 14 | 9 | |
"Love I You (You I Love)" | 23 | 41 | |
"Wow!"(Ronnie Gaylord, solo) | - | 28 | |
"The Little Shoemaker" | 2 | 2 | |
"Mecque, Mecque" | 28 | - | |
"I'm No Gonna Say"(Ronnie Gaylord, solo) | - | 39 | |
"Veni-Vidi-Vici" | 30 | 25 | |
"Pupalina" | - | 22 | |
1955 | "Chow Mein" | - | 28 |
"No Arms Can Ever Hold You" | 67 | 21 | |
1958 | "Ma Ma Ma Marie" | 97 | 43 |
"Flamingo L'Amore" | 98 | 59 | |
1976 | "Eh! Cumpari"(Gaylord & Holiday) | 72 | 79 |
References
- Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 65. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- "Donald Rea obituary". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
- Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890 - 1954 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 213. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.