Unchained Melody - Vito And The Salutations

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In 1963 they became recording artists for Al Silver's, Herald Records, a label that was strong among independent labels. That line-up included, Vito Balsamo, Randy Silverman, Shelly Buchansky, Lenny Citrin and Frankie Fox. They decided to rearrange the standard UNCHAINED MELODY with HEY HEY BABY as the "B" side. The single made its Billboard Hot 100 debut on October 26, 1963. Their uptempo version of UNCHAINED MELODY became a #66 hit on the Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 6 weeks. What really happened was that the group became part of doo-wop folk-lore with a song that is a staple in the doo-wop genre. Vito & The Salutations charted a little higher on the Cash Box music chart at #60 and became a Top 10 hit in many cities across the country.
Vito & The Salutations remained a group from 1961-1965 and had a reunion in 1971. Following the success of UNCHAINED MELODY they released a number of single records on various record labels, but none of them charted. Vito Balsamo also performed with other groups including, the DelVons and The Kelloggs. The groups doo-wop version of UNCHAINED MELODY has been included in several movies...including the 1990 film "Goodfellas".

For more information please see:
http://joetroiano.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/vito-and-the-salutations-unchained-melody/