Bobalou Romano’ s life journey took him from the mean streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn to the landscaped roundabouts in The Villages.
Along the way, Romano survived some serious scrapes with authority; hard times in Queens and a tough relationship with his step-dad.
One thing always kept him going: the doo-wop and R&B music he grew up with back in the ‘50s.
“That music will always be with me,” said Romano, leader of the popular local group, Bobalou’s Oldies But Goodies. “That music has beautiful harmony and is all about love. It will be around forever.”
Watch video of the group here:
The group will perform at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, at Evans Prairie Country Club. Romano — along with Stephanie Reilly and Doug Skinner — usually appear four times a month at Evans Prairie and Bonifay Country Club. The trio also performs at numerous private parties and other local
functions.
“People in The Villages really love oldies and doo-wop music,” Romano said. “These songs remind them of a time of life when they were growing up. It brings back memories and takes them back to another time.”
Famed doo-wop singer Kenny Vance once made a song about the meaning of doo-wop called “Looking for an Echo.” It’s about the lifelong search for the meaning and sound of doo-wop.
Romano’s rediscovered his echo about five years ago after he retired from a public sector job and moved to The Villages.
“I didn’t know if I would be singing this music anymore,” Romano said. “But when I came to The Villages, it was like starting all over again.”
More than that, he met Stephanie Reilly. Like Romano, she came from New York, and although the two didn’t know each other, they had one special thing in common.
“We both went to the Beatles’ Shea Stadium concert in 1965,” Romano said. Reilly came from Queens, and sang in choirs and also local theater. She has performed in various musical productions in The Villages.
The same could be said for Doug Skinner, who played in bands as a kid and also while serving in the United States Marine Corps. Like Reilly, Skinner is involved with many Villages’ theater groups.
“We just clicked together,” Romano said. He added that Skinner records the musical instruments for most of the tracks used in the group’s performances. They also only use their own vocals on tracks.
Romano started singing as a kid in Bed-Stuy, a famed African-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, known for glorious music and tough streets.
“It wasn’t easy growing up there and I made some mistakes,” Romano said, adding he ran with street gangs.
“But the music was awesome,” he said. “We sang on street-corners, high school dances or anywhere else we could. I was usually the only white guy in the group. I learned so much about singing.”
Later on, Romano and his family moved to Queens. His stepfather was a country music fan. “We didn’t get along and I hated country music,” Romano said.
But the family lived next to an ice cream parlor, and Romano said the wall with jukebox, was near his bedroom wall. He would sit, listen and sing-along to his personal favorite groups, like the Heartbeats (“A Thousand Miles Away”), the Flamingos (“Lovers Never Say Goodbye”) and Little Anthony and the Imperials (“Tears On My Pillow”).
“I’d sit in my bedroom and I knew all the songs,” Romano said. “God, that was great music to grow up to.”
Romano found a way to sing with such New York doo-wop groups as Vito & Salutations, and, Nino & the Ebb Tides. He met and knew such legendary singers as Dion and also the late Johnny Maestro.
“Johnny was an amazing singer,” Romano said. “He was a small man with a big voice. I’ll never forget him.”
Now Romano – along with Reilly and Skinner – sings the old songs in The Villages. On a recent hot and humid evening at Bonifay Country Club, the patio dance floor was filled with Villagers digging the oldies but goodies.
One lady requested a song, “Oh Donna,” that wasn’t on the set list. “Let me see if we can do something,” Romano said. Reilly was able to find a track on her computer, and before you knew it, there was Romano making like Ritchie Valens, singing the classic “Oh Donna.” There seemed to be tears in the woman’s eyes who requested the song.
“That’s the power of this music,” Romano said. “It’s like this everytime we play. People just love this music.”
