45 RPM would like to sincerely thank, with all our hearts, all of the wonderful folks who came to our final two Valentine’s Day Dinner/Dance shows on February 17 and 18. We understand some came from as far away as Virginia and Florida just to be with us for Valentine’s. We have surely been blessed to have made so many marvelous friends over these past 22 years, and believe it when we say that we will surely miss you all. Thank you so much for your support. It filled our hearts with joy and pride at the amazing reception we received and the heartfelt warmth we felt from so many. The outpouring of well-wishing and sadness was almost overwhelming at times and beyond what we could ever have imagined. And when we voiced our thanks, we were surprised to hear back, “No, thank YOU for all the years of great music.” More than a few tears were shed as the final notes faded away and the lights came up. Heartwarming indeed.
Music is a joyous thing and truly brings people together, doesn’t it? It was great seeing Sonny in attendance, too, who was such an ardent proponent of the band in our earlier years at September’s in Rockaway. And we can’t close without thanking Danny for his continued support these past 14 years, and for having us at the beautiful Arlington for our final refrain.
“Goodnight Sweetheart, well, it’s time to go.....”
45 RPM
“Only the echoes remain...”
It is with deep regret, and yet also with great satisfaction, that 45 RPM announces the retirement of our band.
We have been very fortunate indeed to have had an awesome run of over 21 years and we enjoyed (almost) every minute of it. We sincerely thank each and every one of you who came to hear us perform, enjoyed our music, and celebrated with us over the years. Without your support and encouragement, we would never have been so successful. The joy of making music to a live audience of appreciative folks is what it has all been about, and that is what we will all surely miss the most.
We loved singing doo-wop harmonies just for the sheer joy of it. In fact, that is what brought the original four of us together in the first place, just to harmonize. But soon we realized that maybe we had something special to offer. So we decided to start performing out, and do primarily oldies, and some rather obscure ones at that, and to do them just as they were originally done, as best we could, and have great fun while doing it. That’s what we would want to hear, and we thought, that’s what those who truly appreciate the oldies will come to hear us do. You, showing up, dancing and befriending us makes us believe we succeeded.
We wish to acknowledge and remember all those who were members of 45 RPM over the years, each of whom brought their particular talents to the group and helped make us what we were (in order); Eddie Colaci, Bob Freedman, Lou Gatto, Bobby LaMorte, Paul Ottalagano, Richie Schwartz, Tom (Gonzo) Seeselberg, Bobby Freeman, Russ Moran (RIP), Marc Lees and Tom Posio.
A surprisingly short list, all things considered, for a six piece band over 21 years. It is no small achievement to have a band of basically the same guys playing together for all those years. We have seen many clubs, restaurants and venues (at least 29 by our count) and bands come and go, and yet we continued on, with no advertising, no management and basically only by word of mouth, your word. Truly, that humbles us.
In addition we have had the privilege to share the concert stage with some of the great acts of Rock ‘n’ Roll history; The Duprees, The Tokens (with Jay Siegel and Jay Traynor), Shirley Alston Reeves of The Shirelles, The Brooklyn Bridge, The Crests, Emile Stucchio & The Classics, Speedo and the Cadillacs, Randy & The Rainbows, WIlly Winfield & The Harptones and many others. These too, will always be treasured memories of ours, as were our two live appearances on the Don K. Reed Doo-wop Shop on WCBS-FM in Manhattan.
Again, we can’t thank all of you enough for your support over the years. We hope that whenever you may remember us, you’ll say, “Did you ever hear 45 RPM? Now THAT was a great Oldies Doo-wop Rock ‘n’ Roll band.”
45 RPM is no more....accept no substitutes. If anyone contacts you in the weeks or months ahead claiming to be 45 RPM, if it isn’t Lou on the phone, it ain’t us.
