Four Aces
Biography
The story of The Four Aces started when Philadelphia born Al Alberts was serving in the U.S. Navy and teamed up with tenor saxist Dave Mahoney. After discharge in 1946 they performed back in Pennsylvania as a duo, and then with local boys Rosario (Sod) Voccaro on trumpet and drummer Lou Silvestri, formed an instrumental combo. Pretty soon they discovered they were even better vocalists than musicians. Al was the lead and Dave, Sod and Lou added the tenor, baritone and bass voices. After a while of singing local dates they were approached by songwriters George Hoven and Chester Shull with a number they had written called (Its No) Sin. When the song received it privately on a label they christened Victoria. Local radio station plays soon spread across the State and eventually the country. In the end the record sold over a million copies. Eventually, the group was signed by Decca who released their second million copy seller, Tell Me Why. A change of backing orchestra from Owen Bradley to Jack Pleis then brought further successes with Heart of My Heart, their first American No.1, the million selling Three Coins in the Fountain, and their top 10 version of Mister Sandman. Al Alberts left the group in 1958 to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Freddie Diodatti, who fronted the foursome on their 1959 chart success The World Outside. Dave and Sod left the group in the Sixties. The final member, Lou, left in 1976 to join the other members in a group, which was named The Original Four Aces, who continued to perform until 1987.
Discography
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Heart And Soul
(Its No) Sin
Tell Me Why
Heart and Soull
A Garden In The Rain
Strange In Paradise
The Gang That Sang "Heart Of My Heart"
Mr. Sandman
Perfidia
Melody Of Love
Three Coins In The Fountian
Im Yours
Should I
There Is A Tavern In The Town
You Brought Me Love
In Apple Blossom Time
Dream
So Long
Laughing On The Outside
Organ Gringers Swing
La Rosita
Just Squeeze Me
I Understand
Its A Womans World (From Womans World)
Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine)
A pair of Philadelphia boys, Al Alberts and Dave Mahoney, finding themselves in the North Atlantic in the Navy in WWII, killed time by singing together. Joining two more local boys, Rosario and Louis, they formed the Four Aces, following in the footsteps of the Ames Brothers. Their first hit was "(Its No) Sin," which was shopped to no avail to New York record companies, and finally released by Al, who started his own record company, Victoria Records, to do it. The song peaked on Billboards charts at #4 in 1951, and the Aces were quickly signed by Decca. The group-written "Tell Me Why," "A Garden in the Rain," "Perfidia," "Im Yours" and "Heart and Soul" were next to climb high on the charts. Appearing frequently on TV, Aces singles "La Rosita," "Just Squeeze Me," "Laughing on the Outside" and "The Gang that Sang (Heart of My Heart)" were among 8 of the groups hits in 1952. "Stranger in Paradise" went to #2 on the charts, which the Aces finally topped with the theme from the movie "Three Coins in a Fountain." Popular hits "Dream" and "So Long," followed, and "Mr. Sandman" and "Melody of Love" scored in Billboards top five before the floodgates of Rock n Roll opened in 1955, and even that year the Aces had another chart-topper with "Love is a Many Splendored Thing." "Heart" features 24 of the groups (all accompanied) upbeat, romantic tunes in a nicely done package with group history and photos. For smooth quintessential 50s pop harmonies, Four Aces win every time! Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.