The Fireflies

For other uses, see Firefly (disambiguation).

The Fireflies were an American doo-wop group from Long Island, New York, from the late 1950s to early 1960s. They were one of the first groups in which all band members both sang and played instruments. In addition, The Fireflies were the first all white vocal harmonizing group to appear at The Apollo Theater.[1]

The group was formed in Long Island in 1957, and underwent several line-up changes over the course of their existence; its most prominent member was Ritchie Adams. The group was produced by Gerry Granahan. Their debut for Roulette Records was the single "The Crawl", but the group's second single, the Ribbon Records release "You Were Mine", was their biggest hit. The song was written in 1959 by 19-year-old Paul Giacalone about a girl he met while he was touring.[1] It spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at #21 on October 26, 1959,[2][3] while reaching #15 on Canada's CHUM Hit Parade.[4] Following the single's success, The Paulette Sisters released an answer record called "I Was Yours", and Wayne Thomas covered "You Were Mine".[5]

Later singles included "I Can't Say Goodbye", "Marianne", and "My Girl" (all 1960); "I Can't Say Goodbye" was the only charter, spending 2 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #90.[6][7] In 1962 the group reappeared on Taurus Records with "You Were Mine for Awhile" and "Blacksmith Blues" on Hamilton Records; three other singles followed on Taurus, but the group never returned to the charts. The group lasted until 1967 before disbanding for good.

The original members involved in the song "You Were Mine" in 1959 were Paul Giacalone (bass singer and drummer; born Paul N. Giacalone, September 28, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York),[1] Ritchie Adams (tenor), Lee Reynolds, John Viscelli (sax and vocals), Carl Girsoli (guitar and vocals). The songs "You Were Mine" and "I Can't Say Goodbye" were both written by Giacalone.

Adams went on to release some solo singles, and had a successful songwriting career.[8]

Original member and saxophonist/singer, John Viscelli, still resides in South Florida.

Giacalone was diagnosed with cancer in late 2012. He died from the disease in Long Island, New York on June 27, 2013, aged 73.[1][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Paul N. Giacalone". paulngiacalone.com. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  2. ↑ The Fireflies - Chart History - The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed September 26, 2015
  3. ↑ "The Billboard HOT 100", Billboard, October 26, 1959. p. 40. Accessed September 26, 2015
  4. ↑ "CHUM Hit Parade", CHUM, Week of November 09, 1959
  5. ↑ Hamilton, Andrew. "Fireflies - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  6. ↑ "Fireflies - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  7. ↑ "The Billboard HOT 100", Billboard, February 1, 1960. p. 60. Accessed September 26, 2015
  8. ↑ "Songs written by Ritchie Adams", MusicVF.com. Accessed September 27, 2015
  9. ↑ Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 2013 January to June". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
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