1957    the PRINCETONES  2003

 

From The Bergen Record:
Shooby doo, it's an overdue doo-wop reunion


When the Princetones got together at Manhattan's Broadway Recording Studio on Oct. 12, 1961, to record two lush specimens of what is now called doo-wop, the songs they chose were "My Life" and "My Madonna."

Possibly, the song they should have chosen is "We'll Meet Again."

The tracks were never released, and today the members say they can't remember why. Producer Trade Martin, group founder Peter Prince, and songwriter Ronnie Quattrocchi then went their separate ways. Until now.

"It was an incredible coincidence, meeting after all these years," says Quattrocchi, 59, a Cliffside Park resident. "Maybe more than a coincidence. I believe in karma."

But even more unlikely than the chance meeting of two of the five members, which eventually led to a reunion with Martin, was the release of the tracks recorded 42 years ago.

It all started in 1960, when the Princetones - one of a number of groups plying their trade in that golden age of group harmony - were playing the 4500 Club in Union City.

"Everybody is in dungarees, and all of a sudden this guy comes in with this beautiful overcoat, silk scarf, dressed to the nines," recalls Prince, 59. "He had a hat and gloves, the whole works. He walks up to the table with his overcoat over his shoulder, continental style, and sat there looking up at us. At one point, he pulls out a 16-ounce can of hair spray and starts spraying his hair. I'm thinking, 'Who is this guy? He's on a whole other planet.'"

"This guy" was Martin, scouting new acts for his label, Rome Records. And the Princetones, begun three years earlier by West New York native Prince (nee Principe), fit the bill. The Princetones had been doing well with a mix of covers and originals. They played Palisades Park and other big venues, and shared bills with groups like the Flamingos, the Five Satins, and the Teenagers.

Eleven months after the Union City gig, Prince got together with Martin and the group's new lead singer, charismatic falsetto Quattrocchi, known to his friends as Ronnie Q. Quattrocchi had written a couple of songs that everyone agreed were perfect for the recording session. "My Life" and "My Madonna" were duly recorded, with a lineup featuring Prince (bass-baritone), Tom Ruggeri (baritone), Quattrocchi (falsetto lead), the late Vinnie Allessi (tenor), and the late Nick Petrone (high tenor and falsetto).

"I'm really at a loss," Quattrocchi says, referring to the non-release of the songs. "We didn't pursue it. At the time, we were very naive. We were only 17, 18 years old."

Shortly after, Quattrocchi left the group. The Princetones - with several changes of personnel - performed through 1967. Martin went on to work with such artists as Joan Baez, The Vanilla Fudge, and B.B. King.

Fast forward to 2002. Prince, now a Medford resident, was at his dentist's office in Fort Lee.

"All of a sudden a patient walks out," Prince recalls. "I catch the side of his face as he walks out the door, and I say, 'Ronnie?' The door closes. I figure I was wrong. Then the door opens and he says, 'Who knows me?'" It was Quattrocchi.

"We just embraced each other, like it was old home week," Quattrocchi says.

And Ronnie Q. had a surprise for Prince: a 78-rpm "transcription disc" of "My Life" and "My Madonna" taken from the tapes of that 1961 recording session. "I called him up, got his answering machine, and played a few seconds," Quattrocchi says. "He called me back and said, 'My God, I can't believe it.'"

The two bemoaned the fact that the songs had never been released, but shortly after, they had another shock.

Prince was at a New Year's party and someone mentioned The Vanilla Fudge. Prince said the Princetones used the group's producer. That night, on a whim, he did a search for "Trade Martin" on the Web. Among the many links he found was one for a Web site touting an album called "Doo-Wop From New York's Rome and Power-Martin records." Curiosity aroused, he scrolled down the list of cuts on the CD: There was "My Life" and "My Madonna," credited to the "Prince-Tones."

Prince was excited but he began to wonder if Martin had rerecorded the songs using another group with a similar-sounding name. So he found Martin's number and - four decades after their last conversation - called him.

"I was really flattered that the guys even remembered me after all those years," says Martin, a Weehawken resident.

The CD, it turned out, did feature the original 1961 recordings, but Martin had nothing to do with its release. It had been pressed overseas; the session keyboardist on the 1961 recordings had apparently held on to the masters and sold the rights to a German label before he died.

Though Prince, Quattrocchi, and Martin were a little annoyed that the songs were reissued without their knowledge or say-so, they were happy that the CD would be the means of their reuniting. Because the copyright lapsed after 28 years, the three are now considering what, if any, legal action they might be able to take.

The three got together in late February at Le Jardin restaurant in Edgewater, where Martin has a nightly piano gig.

"It turned out to be one of the most memorable nights," Prince says. "We had 25 guests there, but 50 more people from the restaurant came in when we started singing. People came out of the kitchen. The busboys were singing."

Now the three are reuniting professionally: Quattrocchi and Prince are working on an album produced by Martin for Generation Hope, a volunteer organization for the disabled (Prince, disabled from Lyme disease, is on the board). They're working on a song by Martin called "American Courage."

added: Mike Paladino an original member (1957), now living in South Texas, will be joining the group this summer.

And this time, all three vow the album will be released. "We're going to make a concerted effort this time," Quattrocchi says.

For more information on the Princetones, visit www.trademartinmusic.com.

Jim Beckerman's (the RECORD) e-mail address is
beckerman@northjersey.com