The Duprees

The classic "doo-wop" group The Duprees formed in the early 1960s in Jersey City, NJ. Its members--Michael Arnone, Joe Santollo, John Salvato and Tom Bialoglow--were students at William L. Dickinson High School. In 1962 George Paxton, the owner of Coed Records, heard the group and liked their sound. He signed them and put together their first record, a remake of a Jo Stafford hit from 1952, "You Belong to Me". The group's complex harmonies and the large big-band musical background Paxton gave them helped the song crack the top 10. Over the next several years the group charted several more hits: "My Own True Love", "Have You Heard" and "Why Don't You Believe Me"--again, all remakes of early 1950s hits--helped cement their reputation as one of the premier doo-wop groups (even though the "doo-wop" sound had pretty much run its course by the time they came around). In 1963 Tom Bialoglow left the group, and the next year Mike Kelly replaced lead singer Joey Vann. Joe Santollo passed away in 1981 and Vann in 1984. Mike Arnone died in 2005. Although The Duprees were still performing as late as 2008, when the group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, none of the surviving original members were among them.