The Casinos

The Casinos was a nine-member doo-wop group from Cincinnati, Ohio, led by Gene Hughes and which included Bob Armstrong, Ray White and Pete Bolton. Ken Brady performed with the group, taking over for Hughes from 1962-65 as lead singer. Pete Bolton was replaced at the time by Jerry Baker. Brady left the group to perform as a solo artist and Hughes returned, at which time The Casinos became a nine-piece group. They are best known for their John D. Loudermilk-penned song "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye," which hit #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1967, well after the end of the doo-wop era.^[1]

The Casinos were playing in a Cincinnati club where WSAI disc jockey Tom Dooley liked to visit. Dooley had a song he wanted to record but needed a band to provide the music. The Casinos had been getting great reaction to "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" at the club and wanted to record it. Dooley offered to pay for studio time at Cincinnati's King Records Studio for the group to record their song if they would back up Dooley on his song. While Dooley's song didn't see success beyond WSAI, The Casinos' tune quickly became a national hit.

The group was based around Hughes and his brothers Glenn and Norman, and they signed a deal with Fraternity Records. "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" was their first single. The track reached #28 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1967.^[2] They tried to follow it up with a Don Everly-penned song, "It's All Over Now," but that only hit U.S. #65.

After his time with The Casinos was over, Hughes became a country music promoter, but he died on 3 February 2004, at the age of 67, from complications following a car accident. There are other groups that call themselves "The Casinos". However, they are not and have not ever been affiliated with the original The Casinos,

The original voices of "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye"--Ray White, Bobby Armstrong and Mickey Denton--want their fans to know that The Casinos are still performing. Ken Brady and Bobby Armstrong Jr. are not the original voices you hear on the Fraternity Records recordings. Ken sang with The Casinos from 1962-65 and has since re-joined with original group members White, Armstrong Sr. and Denton. Bobby Armstrong Jr. has also joined his father in sharing the wonderful music of The Casinos.

Thomas Robert "Bob" Armstrong Jr. led the installation of the lights on multiple suspension bridges including the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge in Memphis, Tennessee. He also worked as the business manager of the St. Bernadette Church^[3] in Amelia, Ohio, and continued playing with The Casinos until his death on 27 December 2011 of cancer, at the age of 67. Ken Brady then returned to The Casinos as their lead singer and performs along with current members Charlie Cintron, Billy Rodriguez, Claire Bruscino and Jim Helwig. They are based in central Florida. You can join The Casinos on their website.^[4]

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