The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio whose trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contemporary chart (including one No. 1), 32 consecutive Billboard chart albums, 11 gold records, and four Grammy nominations.
History
In 1958, the stage revue Newcomers of 1928 was produced, a nostalgia act which starred 1920s stars Paul Whiteman, Buster Keaton, Rudy Vallée, Harry Richman, and Fifi D'Orsay. The show required three male singers to impersonate The Rhythm Boys, the vocal group that traveled with Whiteman and his orchestra in the late 1920s, and gave Bing Crosby his initial fame. The three singers selected were Mike Barnett, Dick Stewart, and Tony Butala. Jackie Barnett, who was chief comedy writer for the Jimmy Durante TV show, had auditioned the singers, and he decided to name the group "The Lettermen" for the show. Newcomers of 1928 opened on February 28, 1958, at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, Nevada. They played to sell-out audiences and were held over for many weeks. Continuing with a six-week tryout at the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, the idea continued to be a smash. Barnett and Russell were replaced midway through the run by Gary Clarke and Jerry Paul. When the show ended, Butala landed a job as singer/bass player in a lounge group, "Bill Norvis and the Upstarts", along with Clarke. After a few months, Clarke left the group and was replaced by Jim Pike (November 6, 1936 – June 9, 2019).
Pike and Butala decided to leave the Upstarts and form a new group, although they had not yet decided on a name. Pike envisioned a group where each member was an excellent soloist as well as a great group singer. Pike and Butala joined with Bob Engemann (February 19, 1935 – January 20, 2013), a singer whom Pike had met when he attended Brigham Young University a few years earlier. (Pike and Engemann had come to Los Angeles, California and sung together until Engemann had to go into the California National Guard for six months; Pike then joined Bill Norvis and there met Butala.)
The combination of Pike, Engemann, and Butala first recorded in 1960.
As "The Lettermen", Pike, Butala, and Engemann released two singles in 1960 for Warner Bros. The A-sides were "Two Hearts" and "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring". They were not successful. After Warner Bros., Karl Engemann moved on to Capitol Records as President of A&R. He got them out of their contract at Warner Bros. and made an appointment for them to see Nick Venet, a producer at Capitol. The audition was successful in getting them another record contract.
The Lettermen were featured on the TV show Dobie Gillis in the episode "Vocal Boy Makes Good" which originally aired on January 16, 1963.
The Lettermen were featured on The Jack Benny Program in the episode "The Lettermen" which originally aired on March 31, 1964. {S14 Ep25}
In 1976, Jim Pike left the group because of vocal problems and sold the Lettermen name to Butala. After Gary Pike left the Lettermen in 1981, the Pike brothers, along with Ric de Azevedo sang The Lettermen hits, billed as "Reunion".
Over the decades, the group has had various line-ups, replacing members who left for various reasons with new people to maintain a trio. Tony Butala has stated that the group ethos is that of three strong soloists that harmonize, and that the group encourages individual singing and songwriting. Butala has stated that the combination of himself, Donovan Tea (40 years) and Bobby Poynton (18 years) "is the best combination of voices, and best sounding group since the original trio." Butala also said this of the previous line-up of himself, Tea, and Mark Preston (11 years).
Among their many songs include renditions of several traditional Filipino kundimans such as Dahil sa Iyo ("Because of You"), Sapagkat Kami Ay Tao Lamang ("For We Are Only Human"). Their enunciation and pronunciation in the language has developed over the decades that they have interpreted these love songs.
In 1969, in light of The Doors' singer Jim Morrison's arrest in Miami for indecent exposure, the Lettermen performed at a concert against indecency, along with Anita Bryant, Kate Smith, and Jackie Gleason. President Nixon supported the concert. The Lettermen had covered songs by the Doors in 1968.
Bob Engemann died at age 77 in Provo, Utah on January 20, 2013 Tony Butala, as the last surviving member of the group,
- Ernie Pontiere – first tenor
- Paul Walters – baritone
- Darren Dowler – first tenor
Timeline
Awards and recognition
- 2001: Inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
- 2011: Inducted into the "Fans' Entertainment Hall of Fame" - Las Vegas, NV
- 2012: Inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame
- 2020: inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Discography
Albums
Capitol Records, unless otherwise noted.