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John Peter Mastrangelo (May 7, 1939 – March 24, 2010), known as Johnny Maestro, was an American pop singer. He was the lead vocalist for the doo-wop group The Crests, whose song "16 Candles" went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100.Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 99. . He later led The Brooklyn Bridge, who are best known for their cover of the Jimmy Webb song "Worst That Could Happen".
Maestro continued singing as frontman for The Brooklyn Bridge. With this group, they were inducted into three major music halls of fame. After his death from cancer in 2010, a section of Mason and Midland Avenue in Staten Island was renamed to "Johnny Maestro Way" in his honor in 2011.
One of his main influences was singer Johnnie Ray: "When I was a youngster, I would listen to him, he was one of the first white soul singers. He put a lot of feeling into his songs and let it all hang out. I would also listen to Alan Freed, and the groups that really impressed me were Willie Winfield and the Harptones, the Flamingos and the Moonglows. It was such a great sound. I really got into harmonies."
Mastrangelo graduated from Charles Evans Hughes High School (later renamed to Bayard Rustin Educational Complex) in 1956. He then attended Borough of Manhattan Community College.
In 1958, they recorded the song "16 Candles", that went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 that same year. They were one of the first multi-racial groups. In just more than four years, the group placed 13 records on Billboard's pop chart, six inside the Top 20 including "Step By Step" and "The Angels Listened In", defining examples of the rock ’n’ roll vocal group genre. At one point, it was said that Tony Orlando was a member of the Crests. After leaving the Crests in the early 1960s, Maestro performed briefly as a solo singer.
The Brooklyn Bridge (also credited as "Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge", "Johnny and the Bridge" and "The Bridge") rehearsed their unusual combination of smooth vocal harmonies and full horns, and signed a recording contract with Buddah Records. (1992). 9780851129396, Guinness Publishing. ISBN 9780851129396 Their first release, a version of the Jimmy Webb song "Worst That Could Happen" (previously recorded by The 5th Dimension), reached No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart. It sold over one and a quarter million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. The follow-up, "Welcome Me Love", and its flip side, "Blessed is the Rain" — both by Tony Romeo —"Romeo racks up 'de Bois'," Billboard magazine, May 17, 1969, page 26: ... Romeo is scoring at present in both records and commercials. The Brooklyn Bridge's latest single, "Welcome Me Love" b/w "Blessed Is The Rain" — features both sides by Romeo. each reached the Top 50. A dramatic version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the controversial "Your Husband, My Wife" also reached the middle ranges of the chart. The group sold over 10 million records by 1972, including LP sales, mostly produced by Wes Farrell. Appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, Della Reese, and other programs helped to bring the group to the national stage.
The Brooklyn Bridge performed "Worst That Could Happen" on the Ed Sullivan Show in December 1968. Host Ed Sullivan mispronounced Maestro's surname as MAY-stroh instead of MY-stroh. At first, the Bridge had eleven members, but after the fame of "Worst That Could Happen" started to die down, the guitarists, bassist, organist, and brass members were kicked out, and Maestro, the three backing vocalists, and the drummers remained, and all but the latter began playing additional instruments on stage. Maestro played rhythm guitar on stage. He carried on with The Brooklyn Bridge, despite the band claiming a one-hit wonder status.
In the following decades, The Brooklyn Bridge performed at many fundraising events on Staten Island such as the Borough President's "Back to the Beach'' concert. He also performed for the New York City Fire Department and Police Department, the United States Military, Italian American Association, as well as church and school fundraisers. He performed on the Jerry Lewis Telethon.
When Maestro died in 2010, the band carried on without him in his honor, and his spot as lead vocalist was taken by Joe Esposito, best known for his song "You're the Best", featured in the 1984 film The Karate Kid.
Maestro was a Humanitarian. He lived in Islip, New York until 2003, when he moved to Cape Coral, Florida, where he died of kidney cancer on March 24, 2010, at the age of 70. He was survived by his wife Grace and three children, Lisa, Brad, and Tracy. Maestro had been diagnosed with the cancer in 2009. His last performance was at Connecticut Mohegan Sun Arena in January 2010, nine weeks before his death, as part of Bowzer's Rock ’N’ Roll Party.
Maestro had kept his illness hidden from the public. Brooklyn Bridge bassist Jim Rosica said: "He was frail and a little , and he had torn the ligaments in his shoulder, so he had his arm in a sling underneath his jacket, we hadn’t disclosed to anyone that he had cancer, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out something was seriously wrong. But when Johnny went onstage, he just nailed it."
"The Great Physician", a song Maestro recorded in 1960, was believed to be Lost media for more than fifty years, before a record of it was recovered. It was showcased in the "From the Vault" series that focuses on Coed Records lost master tapes.
On March 26, 2011, the City of New York honored him by renaming the intersection of Mason Avenue and Midland Avenue on Staten Island as "Johnny Maestro Way".
On May 9, 2012, Johnny Maestro was honored by the United States House of Representatives. Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York, whose district includes the neighborhood where Maestro was born and where he began his music career, introduced an Extension of Remarks in the House. This posthumous honor is now a permanent part of the Congressional Record. The Extension of Remarks includes the original members of The Crests.
Selected singles
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