Biography
The Criterions today are chiefly recalled as the springboard that launched Manhattan Transfer’s 1970s triumphs, yet the quintet had already forged a singular trajectory of their own. A doo-wop ensemble from Belmar, New Jersey, USA, the group’s beginnings date to 1956, when lead singer Tim Hauser attended a Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers performance in Asbury Park that erupted into a riot. Hauser slipped backstage to safety, where Lymon personally ushered him into the dressing rooms; the encounter proved decisive, prompting Hauser to assemble a neighborhood vocal group. By 1958 he had enlisted St. Rose High School classmates Tommy Picardo on top tenor, Jimmy Ruff on second tenor, Steve Casagrande on baritone, and Phil Miller on bass. After adopting the name of a local restaurant, the singers began rehearsals, soon replacing Miller with Joe Ernst. Their growing polish led them to several New York labels; following an unsuccessful End Records audition they met producer Al Browne. In September 1958 they cut the live favorite “Nita Juanita,” a cover of the Crests’ “My Juanita,” alongside the original “Don’t Say Goodbye,” yet every label passed. John Mangi, formerly of Point Pleasant, then replaced Hauser as lead, shifting Hauser to first tenor. Although Arc Records offered a hometown deal, the group declined and instead signed with Cecilia Records in April 1959. Their first release, “I Remain Truly Yours,” gained immediate airplay from disc jockey Alan Freed—unsurprising given that Cecilia owner Marty Foglia served as Freed’s sound engineer—becoming a regional hit, albeit insufficient to deter the members from pursuing college. A reworked “Don’t Say Goodbye” followed. Sessions alongside the Fabulous Dominoes, which yielded the Viscounts’ hit “Harlem Nocturne,” produced nothing for the Criterions themselves. Their intended single, a fiery treatment of the gospel standard “Over The Rainbow,” instead propelled the Dimensions to a U.S. Top 20 placing in 1960. The Criterions performed a handful of additional engagements and backed Jerry Perci’s Cecilia single, then ceased recording. Picardo later distinguished himself as a producer and songwriter, notably through his collaborations with Jim Croce, while the remaining members, except Hauser, departed the music industry. In 1969 Hauser founded Manhattan Transfer and attained worldwide acclaim, albeit in a style distant from his gritty R&B origins.