Lenny Welch

Leon "Lenny" Welch (May 31, 1938 – April 8, 2025) was an American MOR and pop singer.

Welch was born on May 31, 1938 in New York City, and raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey, by his godparents, Eva and Robert Richardson. He attended Asbury Park High School. When he was 16 years old, Welch joined a local Asbury Park vocal group called The Mar-Keys (not to be confused with the Stax records studio band The Mar-Keys).

In 1960, Welch signed with Cadence Records. His biggest hit, a cover version of the big band standard "Since I Fell for You," reached number 4 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, selling a million copies. Other hits included covers of “You Don’t Know Me” (1960) and "Ebb Tide" (1964). He released the first single with the vocal version of “A Taste of Honey" in 1962 and performed the theme to the 1967 CBS TV series Coronet Blue. Welch reimagined Neil Sedaka's "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" as a torch song, which became a Top 40 hit in 1970; Sedaka re-recorded the song in Welch's style for a Top 10 hit in 1975.

After Welch's recording career ended, he resumed his education, attending night school after driving a taxicab during the day. He first achieved a high school equivalency degree, then graduated from the College of New Rochelle with a bachelor's degree. He also began singing for commercials, first for Subaru and later for products that included Coca-Cola, M&M's, and Mini-Oreos.

From 1990 to 1991, Welch joined The Royal All Stars (The Doo Wop All Stars), first of the "supergroups" to be formed bringing together singers from different groups to perform. This group consisted of Welch, Vito Balsamo from Vito & the Salutations, Artie Loria from The Earls, Randy Silverman from The Impalas and Eugene Pitt from The Jive Five. They became a mainstay in the "doo wop" circuit and toured relentlessly in the following years. Welch ended his touring career in 2020 because of COVID-19 shutdowns.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.