1962 Joey Dee and the Starliters – What Kind Of Love Is This
Joey Dee recorded a single with singer Rogers Freeman in 1958 that did not chart before the pair split. Also in 1958, Eddie Brigati sang lead on several recordings for the group The Hi-Fives.
Joey and Eddie took over lead singing and recruited a few more members to form Joey Dee and the Starliters. The group recorded a pair of non-charting singles for Scepter Records beginning in 1960 and then moved to Roulette Records in 1961.
The band was hired for a single performance at a club in New York City called the Peppermint Lounge. A newspaper article about the celebrities at the performance turned the club into the hottest spot in the city, and the band ended up playing there for over a year.
Joey wrote Peppermint Twist and the band’s recording topped the Hot 100 in 1961 during the resurgence of the Twist. The band starred in the film Hey, Let’s Twist that was released December 31, 1961. The film was a fictionalized story of the band’s success. A few more hits followed in 1962.
The band appeared in a second film the next year. The film included a performance of a song written by Johnny Nash (who had a #5 hit of his own with Hold Me Tight in 1968).
They released What Kind Of Love Is This as a single that peaked at #18 in 1962.
Joey sang the song to co-star Jeri Lynn Frazer in the film.
The film did not do well, and it ended Joey’s film career. The group’s recording career eventually ground to a halt as well; other than one single that peaked at #38 in 1963, they never reached the top forty again.
Late in 1963, Joey Dee and the Starliters toured Europe for two months with a new band as their opening act: The Beatles.
New Starliters came and went while Joey led changing lineups on tours, including three future members of the Young Rascals and actor Joe Pesci.
Joey recorded records with and without Starliters into the mid-seventies, but none of them attracted much attention. He continued touring on the oldies circuit into the 2000s with a rotating group of Starliters backing him up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Dee_and_the_Starliters
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