Carlo Mastrangelo

Carlo Mastrangelo (October 5, 1937 – April 4, 2016) was an Italian-American doo-wop and progressive rock singer. Born and raised in The Bronx, he lived in an apartment on the corner of 179th St. and Mapes Ave.

He was an original member of The Belmonts (with or without Dion DiMucci), a popular singing group of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He led the progressive rock/jazz ensemble, "Pulse", during the 1970s.

Mastrangelo sang bass during the period the group was known as Dion and the Belmonts. After the group's breakup with DiMucci, he did lead vocals on all Belmonts recordings until leaving for a solo career in 1962. Following the hit, "Come On Little Angel", a split developed within the group concerning the finances of their privately owned label, Sabina Records. Mastrangelo said, "Because we owned the company, we had to pay the bills, studio time, ads, and stuff like that. We needed hits that sold around 500,000 copies to make enough. That was the worst move we ever made. If we hadn't done that, we would have been together all these years. It was very sad, like leaving my two brothers".

Mastrangelo left the group and attempted a solo career on Laurie Records, releasing four singles under the name Carlo. He was backed vocally by the uncredited Tremonts (aka The Demilles). The singles, "Baby Doll", and "Little Orphan Girl", received considerable airplay in Florida and a few other states, but didn't make the national charts. "Ring-A-Ling", a tune which he overdubbed catchy bass vocals to, was a favorite of New York disc jockey Murray the K. He featured it on his weekly, "Record Review Board Contest", February 12, 1964, and it was the clear winner. It received airplay on New York stations WINS and WENE, but also failed to chart nationally. Around the same time, he contributed backing bass vocals to the Laurie single, "Donna Lee", by the Demilles, before joining DiMucci again.

Between 1964 and 1966 Mastrangelo was Dion DiMucci's occasional songwriting partner, backup vocalist, and drummer in the group, "Dion and the Wanderers". Recording for Columbia Records, they released three uncharted singles and made national appearances on Dick Clark's, "Where The Action Is", and "The Lloyd Thaxton Show".

In late 1966, the three original Belmonts; Mastrangelo, Milano, and D'Aleo, reunited with DiMucci and released the album, "Dion & The Belmonts Together Again", for ABC Records. Produced by "DiMont Music", Mastrangelo played drums and DiMucci contributed guitar to reduce the need for additional session musicians. Two singles were released from the LP; "My Girl The Month of May"/"Berimbau", and "Movin' Man"/"For Bobbie".

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