Fred Milano, one of the founding members and tenor voice of doo-wop group The Belmonts, also known as Dion and the Belmonts, has died at age 72. Consisting of Milano, Angelo D’Aleo, Carlo Mastrangelo, and Nick Caruso, the Belmonts took their name from Belmont Avenue in the Bronx. The addition of legendary singer Dion DiMucci in 1958 brought the group to great levels of success, with such major hits as “I Wonder Why” and “Teenager In Love.”
DiMucci left in the early 60s but the group soldiered on, scoring a few lesser hits before a 1972 reunion, the first of several reunions — and group compositions — over the next 35 years. Their time in the sun may have been relatively brief, but the Milano and the rest of the Belmonts created a lot of memorable music in the early years of rock & roll.
Thanks to SoulTracker Sgt. Gary for this news tip.
