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| Hi, my name is Iggy Cossentino* and this is the story about how our group "THE TIP TOPS" began. Our roots began in Canarsie Brooklyn during the 60's. I first starting hanging out with my friend Milty Fields. Milty already had a group known as the "Matadoors". It was through Milty that I met Phil Rosen. Phil had a brother named Lenny, and after awhile I learned that Lenny could sing. Lenny and I would hang around and practice singing, like most singers in our neighborhood, and we learned how to hit some good harmonies together. When Lenny left our group we were very happy that Milty choose to join us. His vocals and his love of music and his experiences added to our groups sound. Again thru Milty I met another singer, and he was Frankie Graziano. Frankie would come to visit me at my home in Canarsie and he showed us some songs he thought we would be interested in. We'd like to thank Frankie for his help with our groups endeavors. We often used my backyard to practice these songs. It wasn't too long after that another singer came to visit me and his name was Vinny. With Vinny we were beginning to develop a halfway decent group with good harmony. Now we needed a lead singer. Through some friends I was introduced to James Arnea. He agreed to join our group. So now our sound was really beginning to evolve into something very exciting. As time went by Vinny left the group and we needed a replacement, and that's when Paul DeRogatis joined our group. Now we were cooking, cause Paul with his high tenor vocals helped to pull our sound together and I knew we had finally struck on that something "special" going on, because he really helped to make a difference. The next thing we needed was a bass singer and as luck would have it I was approached by Joey Nicosia, who just happened to be walking past my house one day. We started talking and he said he was looking for a group to sing with and I said we were looking for a bass singer. Well, that was that. We now we had a "full sound" with exceptional harmony. We did some gigs at the 5000 Club and met a group there called, "The Tip Toppers", who today are known as "The Invitations". Gary Gant, the lead singer of this group became a very close personal friend of ours and he would often come to our rehearsals and give us advice. He would even take the time to teach us our routine steps for our songs. Through various groups along the way we met someone who was signed with Bill Ramal and Marty Wilson. I am not sure of the spelling of his name but I think it was Ragen. He set up an audition with Bill Ramal for us. We were given a song called, "Super Soul" to learn. We rehearsed it for weeks in James' basement. When we were ready we went back to NYC to Bill Ramal to record it. After we finished the song , Bill said we needed to do another song for the flip side of the record. We didn't have one. John McNamara pulled out a song and said, "Go and rehearse this song and do it fast"! So we did. We rehearsed it for about 1 hour and then we went in to record it. When it was finished we went back home to Brooklyn. The next day I received a phone call and was told that they were going to use "RAMA LAMA" as the "A" side. Imagine that! The song we only rehearsed for 1 hour. Well that had to be our lucky day because as it turned out that was the song that was a Hit for us and put us on the charts. To this day they love this song and we love the memories of rehearsing it , recording it and performing it ,and all of those days not too long ago. We would like to THANK all those who have expressed their interest in" RAMA LAMA" , and in our group! Along the way some of us have performed with other groups, known and unknown and some of us had to serve our country, during that crucial time. We Sang Under Various "Group" Names , Such As "The Destinations", "The Hamilton's", "The Tip Tops" and "The Groove" Each having a "story" behind them I "TIP" my hat to all the members & friends who helped us during this exciting time in our lives "TIP TOPS FOREVER" **** Added By Paul**** As "THE GROOVE" , We Recorded "THE LIGHT OF LOVE" AND "LOVE IS GETTING BETTER", on 20th Century Fox Records and Then On Wand Records Here I was given the opportunity of singing the lead on both songs Special "Thank You" To ELLIOT CHIPRUT, J. KATZ & JEFFERY KASENETZ R. Cordell and S. Trimachi More Info To be posted soon. We are in the process of obtaining some of our old records, and also more info, and info on the other groups we have performed with, as background singers. Over 40 years have passed and we are trying our best to get all our infomation together. I also sang briefly, after returning home from Vietnam, with my friend Vito, from Canarsie, Vito and The Salutations. I did not make any recordings with them. Coming back home was a difficult transition, but those were difficult times, and I will never regret serving my country and am sincerely humbled by the whole experience. Thank You, Louis Testa For Saving My Life In Chu Lai During, The Tet Counteroffensive! Milton and Iggy Also Sang With Vito and The Salutations There were many "Salutations" along the way! Iggy has been singing with various groups thru the years and is "still" singing and performing in S.C. with his current group today! We'll post new pictures soon! Just before going to Vietnam, I sang with a group called "THE HENCHMEN" We opened up and performed on stage with many well know artists. Among them were The Young Rascals, The Fifth Dimension, Wilson Picket and Chuck Berry Just To Name A Few (An Additional Page Link For This Group Will Be Added) Info and Pics Coming Soon Special Thank You To "Dave Rick" For That Opportunity Please keep in mind that we will be updating this page as we stroll down over 40 years of Memory Lane! |
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| THE TIP TOPS AKA THE GROOVE Part of Our Story & Including THE HENCHMEN (Updates As They Come In) Thanks For Visiting With Us And Come Back Soon For Updates! |
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| Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved |
| Milty |
| Paul |
| Iggy |
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| Elliot |
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| No Infringement of copyright is intended and Info on these pages is strictly for educational purposes under the Fair Use U.S. Code, Comparison and Criticizm Only. Should anyone have addtional information for addition or correction please contact us at paulderojr@yahoo.com or iggycossentino@sc.rr.com |
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