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| In Linden,
New Jersey in 1959, while attending Seoul Jr. High, Bernadette auditioned
for Tom DeCillis, who was putting together a girl group. Bernadette
joined with sisters Barbara and Jiggs Allbut and Lynda Malzone to form
a group called The Starlets. Their first recording, on the Astro
label, was P.S.-I Love You.
After The Starlets disbanded, Bernadette made her first solo recording for the Julia label, owned by Tom Decillis; that single was My Heart Stood Still. With Tom, she then joined with Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi of The Four Seasons to record at their studio for their company Vitomass Productions. Their master of the song Nicky, written by Massi and Bob Gaudio, was sold to Laurie Records and became Bernadette's first single for that label. Bernadette's second Laurie single was Party Girl, which was produced and co-written by Ernie Maresca. That recording became a national hit. Through this transition from group to single artist, the Allbut sisters and Bernadette continued doing work together for other artists as union background singers. In 1968, Bernadette became the lead singer of The AngelsTM and recorded four sides for RCA Records: The Boy with the Green Eyes (written by Neil Diamond), But For Love, Merry Go Round and So Nice (Samba De Verao). In the 60's, Bernadette teamed up with Denise Ferri and Peggy Santiglia to do lucrative back-up work for many major recording stars. These included Kitty Kallen, Connie Francis, Patty Duke, Bobby Hebb and Frankie Valli on his hits The Proud One, You're Ready Now and Cry For Me (which is featured in the hit musical Jersey Boys). Most notably the trio provided backing for Lou Christie's MGM recordings, including his #1 smash hit Lightning Strikes and the follow-up, Rhapsody In The Rain. |
