Johnny Maestro

John Peter Mastrangelo (May 7, 1939 – March 24, 2010), known as Johnny Maestro, was an American pop singer. He was the lead vocalist for the doo-wop group The Crests, whose 1958 song "16 Candles" achieved number two on the Billboard Hot 100. He later led The Brooklyn Bridge, who are best known for their cover of the 1968 Jimmy Webb song "Worst That Could Happen".

Maestro continued singing as frontman for The Brooklyn Bridge. With this group, they were inducted into three major music halls of fame. After his death from cancer in 2010, a section of Mason and Midland Avenue in Staten Island was renamed to "Johnny Maestro Way" in his honor in 2011.

John Peter Mastrangelo was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City on May 7, 1939, one of three children of Salvatore and Grace Mastrangelo. Salvatore was born on December 17, 1913, and died on December 26, 1994, also in New York. Grace was born on April 27, 1913, in America and died on April 15, 1993, in New York. His paternal grandparents were Giovanni "John" Mastrangelo (born November 17, 1887, in Italy – died June 1964 in Staten Island) and Porcia Maria "Mary" Mastrangelo (née Morano) (born January 8, 1888, in Italy – died August 1978 in Staten Island).

One of his main influences was singer Johnnie Ray: "When I was a youngster, I would listen to him, he was one of the first white soul singers. He put a lot of feeling into his songs and let it all hang out. I would also listen to Alan Freed, and the groups that really impressed me were Willie Winfield and the Harptones, the Flamingos and the Moonglows. It was such a great sound. I really got into harmonies."

Mastrangelo graduated from Charles Evans Hughes High School (later renamed to Bayard Rustin Educational Complex) in 1956. He then attended Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.