THE HYPE SENIOR VARSITY.The Lettermen celebrate 40-plus years of song The Lettermen are the granddaddy of boy bands. ``I put my group together like they put 'N Sync together,'' says Tony Butala, who founded the all-male vocal group in his parents' North Hollywood garage in 1958. ``I looked for the best soloists I could find that also had the discipline to sing harmony.'' That three-part harmony was put to use singing about idyllic love and romance, including the group's 1961 breakthrough hit ``The Way You Look Tonight.'' While the Lettermen trio has since gone through seven personnel changes, the group's latest incarnation - Donovan Scott Tea, Darren Dowler and Butala - is still ticking away. Recently they released ``The Lettermen Solos.'' This is the group's 71st album, and it features previously recorded material now out of print. In addition, this year marks the Lettermen's induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame The Vocal Group Hall of Fame was organized to honor what they term "the Greatest Vocal Groups in the World". The Hall of Fame is headquartered in Sharon, Pennsylvania, United States. It includes a theater and a museum. It was originally organized in 1998. and Museum, founded by Butala in his hometown of Sharon, Pa. The group joins a host of other celebrated acts such as Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American R&B/soul singer, actress and author. She is best known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s and 1970s, for both the Motown and Buddah Records labels, with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips, the most and the Pips, the Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a singing trio of brothers — Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb — that became one of the most successful musical acts of all time. They were born on the Isle of Man to English parents, lived in Manchester, England and moved to Brisbane, Australia during and the Eagles. The Lettermen still perform with the group's trademark comic wit and include in their act impersonations, audience participation and greatest hits compressed into a 12-minute medley for all those nostalgia seekers. ``If they fell in love to 'When I Fall in Love' or had their first kiss to 'The Way You Look Tonight' or had their first roll in the back seat of the car to 'Put Your Head on My Shoulder,' then we owe it to them to give them those memories,'' says Butala. Come Sunday, the Lettermen perform two shows - 3 and 7 p.m. - at California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an . These shows are special for Butala. For one thing, they're at his old stomping grounds. But it's also special because the audience will contain family and friends, including his famous niece Jenna Elfman (formerly Butala) of ABC's ``Dharma dharma (där`mə). In Hinduism, dharma is the doctrine of the religious and moral rights and duties of each individual; it generally refers to religious duty, but may also mean social order, right conduct, or simply virtue. & Greg,'' high-school friend Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Biography She was born Concetta Rosalie Anna Ingoglia in Brooklyn, New York, a daughter of Peter Ingoglia (known as musician Teddy Stevens) and singer Eleanor McGinley. and former neighbor Chad Everett. ``I'm really excited to be back,'' says Butala. For information on the shows, call (818) 785-8885. - Sandra Barrera You gotta have 'Friends' ... oh, wait, that's Bette It's hard to see why everyone's getting so excited about tonight's special episode of ``Friends,'' seeing that the show was an obscure tale of 11-year-old buddies that only ran for a month back in 1979 ... Oh, wait. The ``Friends'' we're talking about is NBC's leviathan leviathan (lēvī`əthən), in the Bible, aquatic monster, presumably the crocodile, the whale, or a dragon. It was a symbol of evil to be ultimately defeated by the power of good. . Tonight, after seven years of being pals, quaffing coffee and arranging for the discreet disappearance of an annoying monkey, two of the friends - Monica Geller (Courteney Cox-Arquette) and Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) - get married. Dim-witted adj. 1. mentally retarded; relatively slow in mental function. Adj. 1. dim-witted - lacking mental capacity and subtlety simple-minded, simple Joey (Matt LeBlanc) conducts the ceremony. Kathleen Turner plays Chandler's dad; Morgan Fairchild plays his mom (we don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. which is more farfetched). Elliott Gould plays Monica's dad. Ross (David Schwimmer) makes a fool of himself, but you probably knew that already. And NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. is promising a shocking revelation/cliffhanger that will inform the story lines of all of next season: Terrorists gun everyone down. Oh, wait, that was ``Dynasty.'' Bobby emerges from the shower and the past seven seasons were all a dream. Oh, wait, that was ``Dallas.'' Maybe there's a messy divorce right at the altar and the show will be renamed ``Enemies.'' - David Kronke CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Tony Butala, right, with Darren Dowler, left, and Donovan Scott Tea. (2) no caption (television show ``Friends'') |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion