THE LETTERMEN
O grupo foi formado no final dos anos 50 por Tony Butala, Mike Barnett e Dick Stewart e é um dos poucos trios vocais brancos, num nicho de mercado essencialmente dominado por conjuntos negros. Por isso a sonoridade dos Lettermen é bastante distinta; seus arranjos - tais como os dos trios femininos da "vintage era" são estruturados em blocos de acordes, com harmonia clara, simples e direta, sem grandes ornamentos. A história do Lettermen se resume a uma sucessão de constante troca de componentes em torno de TONY BUTALA, o "pai da criança", único membro fixo do grupo ao longo dos anos. Por ser o arranjador do grupo, Butala conseguiu manter a sonoridade própria do grupo, independentemente de quem fossem os demais componentes. A formação atual do Lettermen é Tony Butala, Donovan Tea e Mark Preston. "To whom it may concern": a longa seqüência de idas e vindas se encontra detalhada no texto adiante transcrito.
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THE LETTERMEN
The Lettermen are an American pop music vocal group. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. They were popular mainly with adult audiences during the 1960s. The group was formed in late 1950s by Mike Barnett, Dick Stewart and Tony Butala. Barnett and Russell were replaced by Gary Clarke and Jerry Paul. Butala landed a job as singer/bass player in a lounge group, "Bill Norvas and the Upstarts", with Gary Clarke. After a few months, Clarke left the group and was replaced by Jim Pike. Pike and Butala decided to leave the Upstarts and resume the Lettermen although they had not yet decided to use the Lettermen name. Pike envisioned a group where each member was an excellent soloist as well as a competent group singer. Pike recommended the third Letterman should be Bob Engemann, a singer that Pike had met when he attended Brigham Young University a few years earlier. Both had come to Los Angeles, California, and sang together in different combinations until Engemann had go into the National Guard for 6 months. At that point, Pike joined Bill Norvis and met Butala. This combination first recorded in late 1959 but they were not successful. There was another "Lettermen" group in the late 1950s and early 1960s that recorded for Liberty Records, (which was a major label at the time). They were an R&B group with five members, and their single was called "Hey Big Brain". But the "Lettermen" of Pike, Engemann and Butala had the first hit record, so they were entitled to exclusively use the "Lettermen" name. There was also a group in the mid 1950s called The Lettermen Trio, but had no record success. The Lettermen were unknown until they signed with Capitol Records in 1961. Their first single for Capitol, "The Way You Look Tonight," succeeded on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, and their next, "When I Fall in Love," reached the Top 10 in late 1962. They had several other Top 10 hits, such as the 1965's, " Theme From A Summer Place". In late 1967 Bob Engemann resigned, and was replaced by Jim Pike's younger brother, Gary Pike. The hits continued with the 1968 medley "Goin' Out of My Head" /"Can't Take My Eyes Off You", and in 1968 with "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", plus 1969's "Hurt So Bad". The last successful single was in 1972, "Love" a solo by Pike. The Lettermen have had 32 consecutive Billboard Magazine chart albums, 11 gold records, five Grammy nominations, an Andy Award, and a Cleo Award. In 1976, Jim Pike left the group and sold the Lettermen name to Butala. In 1981 Gary Pike left the Lettermen, and today Jim and Gary Pike, along with Ric de Azevedo, sing The Lettermen hits, billed as Reunion. In 1961, The Lettermen started performing live concerts doing over 100 shows a year, an unbroken string that continues to the present now amounting to 46 years. Over the decades, the group has had various line-ups, replacing members who left for various reasons with new people to maintain a trio. Tony Butala, who (as of 2007) is still a member, has stated that the group ethos is that of three strong soloists that harmonize, and that the group encourages individual singing and songwriting. They pride themselves in welcoming audience member photographs during the show, unlike many recording acts. Mark Preston was asked to join the group in 1984 and along with Donovan Tea (who started the same day) the trio released several singles, and two albums. Preston left the group in 1988, and returned to a solo career that encompassed showrooms around the country, and many different cruise lines. In January 2006, Preston rejoined the Lettermen, and the combination of Butala, Tea and Preston is the current line-up. Personnel over the years : Tony Butala - Bob Engermann - Gary Pike - Donny Pike - Jim Pike - Ralph "Chad" Nichols - Don Campeau - Ernie Pontiere - Bobby Poynton - Darren Dowler - Donovan Tea - Mark Preston.
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ALBUM COMMENTS
This is a compilation that gathers all together some of the best and most representative tunes ever recorded by this fabulous vocal trio.
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MINHA OPINIÃO - The Letterman é o único trio vocal branco que se mantém em atividade após mais de 50 anos, igualando em longevidade aos "Four Freshmen", quarteto que - certamente - influenciou na moldagem da sonoridade dos Lettermen: bastante volume, blocos de vozes muito bem distribuídas, harmonias simples, sem conotação jazzística, porém de extremo bom gosto.
(*) Como o álbum postado é uma compilação de músicas gravadas entre
1961 e 1975,não me foi possivel identificar quais os os vocalistas que cantam ao lado de Tony Butalla em cada faixa.
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THE LETTERMEN - ALL THE HITS AND MORE
TRACKS/FAIXAS:
1. THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT (1961)
2. WHEN I FALL IN LOVE (1962)
3. HOW IS JULIE? (1962)
4. TURN AROUND, LOOK AT ME (1962)
5. LOVE ME TENDER (1962)
6. COME BACK SILLY GIRL (1962)
7. UNCHAINED MELODY(1962)
8. LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING (1963)
9. MOMENTS TO REMEMBER (1963)
10. SECRET LOVE (1963)
11. GRADUATION DAY (1963)
12. ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM (1963)
13. BE MY GIRL (1963)
14. IT’S ALL IN THE GAME (1964)
15. TOO YOUNG (1964)
16. DON’T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING (1964)
17. ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT (1964)
18. SECRETLY (1964)
19. PORTRAIT OF MY LOVE (1965)
20. THEME FROM “A SUMMER PLACE” (1965)
21. SEALED WITH A KISS (1965)
22. I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU (1966)
23. Medley: GOIN’ OUT OF MY HEAD / CAN’T TAKE ME EYES OFF OF YOU (1967)
24. PUT YOUR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER (1968)
25. SUNNY (1969)
26. Medley: TRACES / MEMORIES (1969)
27. HURT SO BAD (1969)
28. FEELINGS (1971)
29. WHERE DO I BEGIN (Theme From “Love Story”) (1972)
30. LOVE ME LIKE A STRANGER (Los Hombres No Deben Llorar) (1975)
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