Song:Denise
Album:Laurie Vocal Groups: The Sixties Sound
Denise was a top ten hit in 1963. It was the only big hit for the doo wop group Randy & The Rainbows. I bet you thought it was by The Four Seasons. This group was formed in Queens, NY in 1962. There were two sets of brothers; Frank Safuto and brother Dominick "Randy" Safuto, Mike Zero and brother Sal Zero and Kan Acripowski. The Safutos had recorded with The Dialtones in 1959. When that didn't work out, Randy & The Rainbows was formed. Neil Levenson wrote Denise about his girlfriend. It would turn out to be the only hit of his songwriting career. The record was produced by Hank Medress of The Tokens as Bright Tunes Productions. Laurie Records released Denise on their Rust label. It reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. And that was it. None of the other Randy & The Rainbows singles went anywhere. You can get Denise on this Ace Records various artists comp. A cover of Denise titled Denis charted for Blondie in 1977. There have been two versions of Randy & The Rainbows touring the oldies circuit for years. One is led by Randy Saputo. The other is led by Mike Zero. Here's Randy & The Rainbows performing Denise on the 2001 PBS special Doo Wop 51. This was a one time only reunion of the two groups.
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