Sal Valentino

Sal Valentino
Sal Valentino in 1974.
Background information
Birth name	Salvatore Spampinato
Born	(1942-09-08) 8 September 1942 (age 74)
Origin	San Francisco, California
Genres	Folk rock, pop rock, garage rock, blues-rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, producer
Instruments	Lead vocals, guitar, percussion
Years active	1961–present
Associated acts	The Beau Brummels, Stoneground

Sal Valentino (born Salvatore Willard Spampinato, September 8, 1942) is an American rock musician, singer and songwriter, best known as lead singer of The Beau Brummels, subsequently becoming a songwriter as well. The band released a pair of top 20 U.S. hit singles in 1965, "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little." He later fronted another band, Stoneground, which produced three albums in the early 1970s. After reuniting on numerous occasions with the Beau Brummels, Valentino began a solo career, releasing his latest album, Every Now and Then, in 2008.

Valentino grew up in the North Beach section of San Francisco. In 1964, he received an offer to play a regular gig at a local club. Needing a band, he called childhood friend and songwriter/guitarist Ron Elliott, who recruited drummer John Petersen, rhythm guitarist/singer Declan Mulligan, and bassist Ron Meagher. They called themselves "The Stepping Stones",and played the Longshoreman's Hall in S.F. The gig led to a more lucrative deal at the Morocco Room, a club in nearby San Mateo, California. There, the Beau Brummels were discovered by prominent San Francisco deejay Tom Donahue, who quickly signed the band to his label, Autumn Records. The band released "Laugh, Laugh" in December as their debut single. The song peaked at number fifteen in February 1965. "Just a Little", the follow-up single, fared even better on the charts, peaking at number eight. Valentino appeared with the band in the 1965 science-fiction/comedy movie Village of the Giants, which was featured in a 1994 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Valentino also appeared with the band as The Beau Brummelstones on The Flintstones television animated sitcom in the season six episode "Shinrock A Go-Go," which originally aired on December 3, 1965.