The Gaylords

Before the rise of rock music, the white vocal trio the Gaylords scored multiple successes between 1952 and 1954 by blending novelty numbers with romantic material drawn from Italian sources. Listeners today may connect those sides to the sort of background tracks common in neighborhood pizzerias. At the time, however, the recordings stood out as polished commercial releases that delivered unabashed sentiment without restraint.

The Detroit-formed group, consisting of Ronnie Fredianelli, Burt Bonaldi, and Don Rea, reached number two in 1952 with its first single, “Tell Me You’re Mine.” An adaptation of an Italian ballad, the track had first been cut simply for sale at Bonaldi’s father’s shop. The session engineer found the performance strong enough to shop the act to major labels, resulting in a Mercury contract. After additional chart entries, Fredianelli entered the Army, adopted the name Ronnie Gaylord, and began releasing solo sides for the same label. The remaining members kept the Gaylords active by adding Billy Christ.

Over the following two years the trio notched further successes with “From the Wine Came the Grape,” “Isle of Capri,” and “The Little Shoemaker.” Ronnie Gaylord scored his own substantial hit with “Cuddle Me” and joined the rock & roll trend by covering Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame.” Although the rock revolution rendered acts like the Gaylords outdated, the group continued recording for Mercury into the 1960s. Burt Bonaldi later changed his surname to Holiday and teamed with Ronnie Gaylord to form the duo Gaylord & Holiday, which placed a modest 1976 single, “Eh! Compuri,” on a Motown subsidiary label.