The soft, romantic, pop harmony of the Duprees was on full display Wednesday at Savannah Center – and one Villager took it to heart.
Jack Puleo was sitting in the front row with his wife, Joan. After hearing such Duprees’ ballads as “Have You Heard,” and “Why Don’t You Believe Me” –Jack had a chance to express his feelings to his wife.
Tony Testa of the Duprees came out into the audience and chatted with the couple. Testa then handed the mike to Jack Puleo, who looked at his wife sitting nearby and spoke these words: “We’ve been together 25 years. We still love each other. We’ve had our ups and downs, and we’re still plugging away.”
Joan seemed moved with emotion and lifted her hand to touch her husband as she smiled.
“That was nice,” Testa said, and he chatted with Joan before going back on stage with the rest of the quartet: Tommy Petillo, Jimmy Spinelli and Phil Granito. They sang such heart-tugging numbers as “Take Me As I Am” and a smooth and silky cover of Ed Townsend’s “For Your Love.”
The Duprees’ soared to fame in the early ’60s with such hits as “My Own True Love,” “The Sand and the Sea,” “You Belong to Me” and “Gone With the Wind.”
Judging by the audience’s response, those songs and those warm, nostalgic feelings still resonate with the group’s fans.
“The Duprees’ music can be described in one word – class,” said Karin Lisowski, who came to the concert with her husband, Ron. The Long Island, N.Y. couple was visiting The Villages and is thinking about moving here.
“This is a special place and this is special music,” said Ron, who played and recorded during the 1960s with a band called Denim. “I really like doo-wop and the Duprees have that harmony and sound.”
“These songs are still so meaningful,” Karin said.
The Duprees opened the show in fast style with “I’m So Excited.” Then came a finger-snapping version of Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife.”
“I bet you didn’t think a bunch of old guys could sing those songs,” Testa cracked. “I’m in my mid-70s right now and things are different. You can’t always do what you used to do.”
But Testa and the group can still harmonize like it was yesterday. They brought a fresh, four-part harmony jazz sound to Frank Sinatra’s “You Make Me Feel So Young.” Then it was time for the Duprees to rock out with a tribute to Jackie Wilson.
Phil Granito showed some funky dance moves while performing a couple of Wilson’s soulful classics: “That’s Why (I Love You So)” and “Lonely Teardrops.” At one point, he took off his tuxedo jacket and tossed it on stage. Then Granito danced back and forth and then dropped to his knees on stage and kept on channeling Jackie Wilson’s spirit. He ended the medley with a little bit of the Isley Brothers’ “Shout.”
But this performance wasn’t about rock and soul; it was about a unique sound created by the original Duprees, which featured: the late Joey Canzano, Tom Bialoglow, the late
Michael Arnone, the late Joe Santollo, the late Michael Kelly and John Salvato. They may not have been on stage, but their music lives on.
Tony Violanti is a veteran journalist and writes for Villages-News.com.