CD Details
- Number of Discs: 2
- Released: March 14, 2006
- Originally Released: 1993
- Label: Collectables Records
Description by OLDIES.com:
Johnny Maestro (later the leader of The Brooklyn Bridge) first came to fame as the lead singer of the group The Crests. The group's beginnings are music legend - they were discovered singing in a subway car by a mysterious woman who gave them the business card of Al Browne, the orchestra leader who gave them their first big break. This 2-CD set features the best of The Crests' work done originally for Coed records, songs like "16 Candles" sound as strong today as when first recorded.
Tracks on Disc 1:
- 1.16 Candles
- 2.Angels Listened In, The (Previously Unreleased)
- 3.Molly Mae (Previously Unreleased)
- 4.Trouble In Paradise
- 5.Way You Look Tonight
- 6.Flower Of Love (Previously Unreleased)
- 7.Pretty Litlle Angel
- 8.I Do (Previously Unreleased)
- 9.Let Me Be The One (Previously Unreleased)
- 10.My Special Angel
- 11.Step By Step
- 12.Gee But I'd Give The World
- 13.Learning About Love (Previously Unreleased)
- 14.Journey Of Love
- 15.I.O.U.
- 16.Paper Crown
- 17.Young Love (Previously Unreleased)
- 18.I Thank The Moon
- 19.Always You
- 20.Mister Happiness
Tracks on Disc 2:
- 1.The Angels Listened In
- 2.Silhouettes
- 3.Model Girl
- 4.The Test Of Love
- 5.Isn't It Amazing
- 6.Beside You
- 7.Keep Away From Carol (Previously Unreleased)
- 8.You Took The Joy Out Of Spring (Previously Unreleased)
- 9.Six Nights A Week
- 10.Step By Step (Previously Unreleased)
- 11.What A Surprise
- 12.It Must Be Love (Previously Unreleased)
- 13.Out In The Cold Again (Previously Unreleased)
- 14.If My Heart Could Write A Letter
- 15.In The Still Of The Night (Previously Unreleased)
- 16.A Year Ago Tonight
- 17.Earth Angel
- 18.Strange Love (Previously Unreleased)
- 19.A Rose And A Baby Ruth
- 20.Let True Love Begin (Previously Unreleased)
Product Description:
The Crests: Johnny Maestro, Jay "J.T." Carter, Harold Torres, Talmage "Tommy" Gough.
Liner Note Author: Mark Marymont.
A 40-song overview of the Crests, one of R&B's first integrated groups (lead vocalist Johnny Maestro is white). Though racially mixed, listeners were never conscious of that when listening to their music because Maestro's feel for doo wop was genuine. His leads were as extraordinary as any in the business. Not an original member, Maestro joined when they debuted on Joyce Records in 1957 as a quintet with Patricia Vandross (Luther Vandross' older sister); Vandross left before the Coed recordings, reducing the Crests to quartet. Prior to the Crests, Maestro sang with Tony Orlando in another integrated group. The 40 tracks are almost a complete discography of their glory years on Coed Records from 1958 to 1961, and the tunes aren't in chronological order. Their most noted singles -- "16 Candles," "Six Nights a Week," and "The Angels Listened In" -- are here, along with stimulating remakes like "Earth Angel" and "I Remember (In the Still of the Night)." Their final Coed recording is missing, which makes the "for collectors only" tag dubious. (Nothing before the Joyce sides or after Coed made this collection either.) Maestro left after Coed, but some members regrouped and recorded on Selma and Trans Atlantic Records. Maestro failed as a solo artist and as Johnny Maestro & the Crests on Parkway Records with the Tymes backing him, before happier times with Brooklyn Bridge. ~ Andrew Hamilton
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