The Classics

The Classics emerged as a white harmony vocal ensemble from Brooklyn, NY, working in a vein comparable to the Mystics or the Earls. First assembled under the name the Perennials, the quartet included lead vocalist Emil Stucchio, first tenor Tony Victor, second tenor Johnny Gambale, and Jamie Troy on bass and baritone. The members had already performed together while attending high school, two of them having previously belonged to another neighborhood outfit, the Del-Rays, and they built a local following through appearances at dances and clubs. After manager Jim Gribble took notice, they turned professional and cut their debut single in summer 1959, the original “Cinderella,” whose arrangement displayed their full range from falsetto to bass over a rocking beat; the track nearly reached the charts early in 1960. Their second release, “Angel Angela,” produced no chart action, and although “Life Is But a Dream” likewise missed the pop listings in early 1961, Mercury’s subsequent acquisition of the master placed it on the R&B charts. A later recording of “Blue Moon” that featured Herb Lance on lead, with the Classics supplying support vocals, climbed to number 50 on Billboard’s Hot 100. In 1963 the group moved to the Musicnote label and, on their first outing for the fledgling company, reached the Top 20 with “Till Then,” the record that remains their best-known performance. Their principal strength resided in ballad interpretations; they took particular pleasure in reviving 1920s and 1930s standards such as “P.S. I Love You” and “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams,” even while contributing a substantial share of original material, yet they never attained comparable success or individuality on more rhythm-oriented selections. Their comparative obscurity beyond harmony-vocal circles can be traced in part to constant label shifts among Dart, Musicnote, Stork, and other small concerns, interrupted by only one major-label episode when Mercury acquired “Life Is But a Dream.” For every track that satisfied R&B programmers and listeners, the group issued three straight-pop numbers such as “Again.” After “Till Then” they never reentered the pop charts, an outcome tied to changing musical tastes: the harmony style then gaining favor, shaped by the Beach Boys’ West Coast surf sound and the more propulsive approach of the Four Seasons, differed markedly from the Classics’ more polished vocal blend. On occasion, as with the original “Portrait of a Fool,” they managed to craft a pop ballad that crossed successfully into rock & roll territory, but much of their remaining output could not compete with mid-1960s productions and consequently sounded increasingly dated. The group continued moving among labels throughout the 1960s without establishing a permanent home and disbanded around 1966, by which point their style had become a clear anachronism offering little incentive to continue. During the early-1970s oldies resurgence, Stucchio and Troy joined Lou Rotundo, formerly of the rival Brooklyn group the Passions, to form the Profits, who recorded briefly for Sire Records before reverting to the Classics name and completing their career under it. Stucchio remains active with a version of the Classics as of 2003, his lead voice counted among Brooklyn’s most admired, and the ensemble continues to perform regularly up and down the East Coast. In 2001 Collectables Records issued the 20-song anthology Till Then: The Very Best of the Classics, documenting the group’s output from 1959 through the late 1960s.