The Shirts

Emerging from the remnants of the Lackeys and Schemers, who had staged occasional understated performances during the early seventies, this American pop rock group assembled its roster. Annie Golden, born Anne Golden on 19 October 1951 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, fronted the band on vocals, joined by Ronnie Ardito, born Ronald Ardito, on guitar and keyboards, Arthur Lamonica on guitar and vocals, Robert Racioppo on bass and vocals, John Piccolo on keyboards, and John ‘Zeeek’ Criscione on drums. Every member contributed original material, whether writing alone or collaborating with fellow contributors. Golden pursued a parallel path in acting and landed a lead role in the 1979 screen version of Hair. The Pants and the Sleeves were among the other titles floated for the project, but Shirts was selected, to be voiced as ‘Shoits’ in a heavy New York accent, a custom that later faded. The group first sustained itself by playing Top 40 covers in bars before moving up to clubs such as CBGB’s in 1975. Its opening single, ‘Tell Me Your Plans’, registered an unexpected success in Europe. A slot supporting Peter Gabriel’s tour supplied the decisive opening, after which further singles and albums appeared, among them the track ‘Laugh And Walk Away’. The Shirts receded from rock documentation by the mid-1980s. Golden issued a solo single in 1984 before shifting focus to an acting career. The band nevertheless reassembled for one night in 1993 to mark the twentieth anniversary of CBGB’s. Subsequent reunions followed in 1999 and 2003, with Caren Messing assuming vocals and Kathy McCloskey taking keyboards and vocals in Golden’s stead. The 2003 gathering led directly to the recording of the ensemble’s fourth studio album, Only The Dead Know Brooklyn.