Tom DeCillis

About me:

. 1956 – 1957: After graduating from a broadcasting school in New York City, I took a job as a staff announcer at a small station in Havre de Grace, Md. Soon after that , I returned to New Jersey to start my own radio show on a Newark station playing rock and roll music. I became involved in meeting recording artists and record labels as a result of being prompted to play their records on my shows. During that time a recording engineer from Newark contacted me and showed interest in making records. He introduced me to the Hollywood Playboys appearing at a lounge in Newark, NJ. The group included Nick Massi, soon to be a part of the 4 Seasons. I arranged to record them and we released a record on the Rita label which never went anywhere. But the friendship with Nick Massi did, it lasted till his death in 2000. Hall Brothers & Me 1958 – 1960 : These years I continued playing records and started to manage artists. I discovered a group from Staten Island, NY called the Hall Brothers. They wrote and recorded a song about my 1957 white convertible car. The song “My White Convertible” was a mild success on a small label and the boys appeared on Alan Freed's TV show and others. Also during this time period I produced several rock and roll shows with another DJ from the same station I was broadcasting on in NJ. We had such guests as Tom & Jerry (later to be known as Simon & Garfunkel) with their hit: “Hey School Girl.” Also featured was Jerry Vale and several local groups I showcased in the Elizabeth, NJ Armory.. Me & Tom & Jerry The Starlets I discovered several other artists and got them recordings, including a group of guys from Plainfield, NJ named The Dynamics who I later signed to Decca Records. During this time I met two sisters from Orange, NJ at a recording studio in Linden, NJ. I signed them to management and we added 2 more girls to create: The Starlets. They recorded an old standard: “PS I Love You”. Circa 1961,they went on to a bigger label and changed their name to The Angels and recorded two more big hits: “Till” and “Cry Baby Cry” (which I published thru my company: Jersey Music) minus the two original Starlets. The Angels would record a million seller in 1963 called “My Boyfriend’s Back”. One of the original girls, Bernadette Dalia would later record solo as Bernadette Carroll. During this time period I produced many masters and placed them with labels. I used many musicians from existing local groups who would go on to have hits of their own such as Joey Dee & The Starlighters “Peppermint Twist” The 4 Seasons “Sherry”. Me,The Angels & Dick Clark 1961– 1962: I recorded Bernadette Carroll singing “My Heart Stood Still” on my Julia Records label.I also had an office at 1650 Broadway, New York City which I later closed. During this time the 4 Seasons and Joey Dee had hits and I renewed my friendships with them . I placed masters with more labels and continued to write more songs from my New Jersey office. 1963 – 1964: Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi of the 4 Seasons hired me to manage a recording studio and production company in Bloomfield, N.J. During this period as manager, I engineered and coordinated many record sessions in our studio along with Tommy & Nicky. The 4 Seasons continued to rise in fame and during those years I often traveled with the group on tours within the USA and Canada. The Four Seasons I wrote or co wrote several songs while managing the company and was responsible for showing material to other artists. Also during this time a local club act, friends of Tommy & Nicky, came into our studio and my job was to produce a demo for them. The leader of that group would later go on to win an academy award as an actor. His name is Joe Pesci. To this day he and Tommy remain close friends. As a result of the fame of the 4 Seasons, The Leukemia Society of America ( which had an office in our building in N.J.) approached us to help with supplying talent for fund raising purposes. This lead to an association between VitoMass Productions and the Society to promote a national telethon with a celebrity to head the national campaign. As a result, one of our associates in charge of booking our artists, approached Sammy Davis Jr., to become the national chairman. Upon accepting, a press conference announced the appointment and a fund raising tribute with many friends and celebrities was scheduled and performed at Carnegie Hall in honor of Sammy Davis Jr . I had the pleasure of writing the theme song for the program and had it recorded by Lionel Hampton . Sammy Davis Jr., Me & Tommy DeVito 1965-1967: I continued producing records through my own production company in New York City along with several other partners and my wife Mary. One such artist was Bobby Lee of the Fiestas. His recording of “I Was Born A Loser”,which I wrote, made the charts on Sue Records and several other artists records were released through Joy Records. I also had the opportunity to write and record several new records with Billy & Lilly of “Lucky Lady Bug” fame and placed them with a label in New York. I continued my song writing with other writers, one in particular :Carmine Lombardo an old time friend and performer. We co- wrote a song the Four Seasons planned to record and later rejected. Nick Massi of the Four Seasons took it to the Toys who had just had a million seller and they recorded it. “Baby Toys” made the top 30 charts . Through my attorney, I was asked to record Frankie Lymon who was in the Armed Services at the time. He came to New York on leave from the service and we recorded an old standard over the tracks of an original song I had previously produced. The record was shopped around to many labels who liked the record but turned it down. One company which initially wanted the record was Columbia. The Monkees’ singer Davy Jones had a production company and planned to release the record and have Frankie appear in a comeback episode on their tv show. Unfortunately, it never would happen. A year later Frankie was dead.... long live 'The Senior Class of Rock and Roll!'