The Longo Brothers | |
---|---|
Origin | Canada |
Genres | Pop music, rock music, r&b, disco |
Years active | 1970s - ? |
Labels | Blue Chip People City Music Active Force Records |
Past members | Frank Longo Larry Longo Dino Longo |
The Longo Brothers were a Canadian act who had some national hits during the 1970s. Other artists have also recorded their compositions. They have collaborated with Moe Koffman, Paul Zaza and Yvonne Murray.
The group was made up of Canadian brothers, Frank, Larry and Dino Longo. [1]
They have had hits on the Canadian charts, [2] which include an RPM Contemporary Adult chart hit in '83 with "Manhattan", [3] [4] and the following year, a CanCon hit with "City Motions". [5] [6] Their songs have been used in films and television shows including, Breaking Bad , All Hail King Julien , Freaks of Nature , The Wedding Ringer , "Cyrus" and Crazy Stupid Love . [7]
Artists who have recorded their material include Yvonne Murray, Jim Mancel, and Patti Janetta. [8]
Frank Longo who was born on November 22, 1953, in Toronto, Ontario is also an actor. [9]
They released the single "Free Feeling" in 1977 on Blue Chip 11. It was a pick for the Adult Oriented chart on July 16. [10] In October 1978, the Longo Brothers released their single "Sun Side Up" bw "Looking For Love" on People City Music PCM-123. [11] The single was produced by Paul Zaza and recorded at Zaza Sound Studio in Toronto. [12] In 1979, their album Imitation Life was released on People City Music PCM 323LB. A disco / pop album, it contained the disco track, "Movin' On". [13] [14] [15]
Also in 1979, a collaboration with Yvonne Murray, "Easy Life" was released. [16]
Frank, Larry and Dino worked on Patti Jannetta's self-titled album which was released in 1981. [17] Also in 1981, the song they composed, and recorded by Jim Mancel, "Easy Life" was released. It was released on People City Music C-336. [18] [19] It was a hit on the CKLW chart that year. [20]
By May, 1982 their single "Coast to Coast" bw "Takin' Off" was out. Composed by Frank and Larry, the single was to appear on a proposed album. [21]
In 1983, the single, "Manhattan" / "Nightwalk" was released on People City Music PCM-523. [22] The single debuted at #30 on the RPM Contemporary Adult chart for the week ending July 23, 1983. [23] At its fifth week on August 20 it peaked at #27. [24] [25] [26] Also in 1983, a single they recorded with Jill Vogel, "In the Middle of the Night" bw "In the Middle of the Night" (instrumental) was released on People City Music PCM 623. Written by Frank, Larry and Dino Longo, it was in the Recommended section of the Billboard Top Single Picks for August 13, 1983. [27]
In March, 1984, the single "The Nightlife" bw "Coast to Coast" was released on People City Music PCM-723. It was credited to The Longo Brothers featuring Wayne St. John. [28] [29]
"City Motions" (Featuring Moe Koffman) bw "If The Feeling’s Not Right" was released on People City Music PCM-823 in 1984. The A side was jointly written by Frank and Larry. The production was a joint effort between the Longo Brothers, Jim Mancel and John Marmora. [30] [31] It got into the CanCon Top 10 Adult Contemporary chart that year. It charted from October 6 to the 27th. [32] [33]
Act | Title | Cat | Year | Notes # |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Longo Brothers | "Sun Side Up" / "Looking for Love" | People City Music PCM 123 | 1978 | [34] |
The Longo Brothers | "Coast to Coast" / "Takin Off" | People City Music C-382 | 1982 | [35] |
The Longo Brothers | "Manhattan" / "Nightwalk" | People City Music PCM 523 | 1983 | [36] |
The Longo Brothers Featuring Jill Vogel | "In the Middle of the Night" / "In the Middle of the Night" (Instrumental) | People City Music PCM 623 | 1983 | [37] |
"I'll Be There" is the first single released from Third Album by The Jackson 5. It was written by Berry Gordy, Hal Davis, Bob West, and Willie Hutch.
Morris "Moe" Koffman, OC was a Canadian jazz saxophonist and flautist, as well as composer and arranger. During a career spanning from the 1950s to the 2000s, Koffman was one of Canada's most prolific musicians, working variously in clubs and sessions and releasing 30 albums. With his 1957 record Cool and Hot Sax on the New York–based Jubilee label, Koffman became one of the first Canadian jazz musicians to record a full-length album. Koffman was also a long-time member of Rob McConnell's Boss Brass.
Heartbreaker is the twentieth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on July 17, 1978, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Gary Klein and Parton with Charles Koppelman serving as executive producer, and was an even more direct aim at the pop charts, with several of its songs verging on disco. The album topped the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for nine consecutive weeks and peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, "Heartbreaker" and "I Really Got the Feeling", while "Baby I'm Burnin'" peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album has been certified Gold in the United States and Canada.
"Anything Is Possible" is the first single from American singer-songwriter-actress Debbie Gibson's third album of the same title (1990). Written, arranged, and produced by Gibson and Lamont Dozier, LP version was used for the single release worldwide except the United Kingdom and Europe, where an edited version of a remix by Harding and Curnow of PWL Records was used. The single fared relatively well on the US charts, reaching No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1991.
Douglas Brian Riley, CM was a Canadian musician, also known as Dr. Music. He spent two decades with the Famous People Players as its musical director, besides his participation on over 300 album projects in various genres, which included the gold and multi-platinum records Night Moves, Against the Wind, and Endless Wire. Riley died of a heart attack on August 27, 2007.
Paul Zaza is a Canadian Genie Award-winning film score and songwriter who worked frequently with director Bob Clark and with fellow composer Carl Zittrer. He has composed scores for more than 100 films.
"Love Is in the Air" is a 1977 disco song by Australian singer John Paul Young. It was written by George Young and Harry Vanda, and released as the lead single from Young's fourth studio album, Love Is in the Air (1978). The song became a worldwide hit in 1978, peaking at No. 3 on the Australian charts and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, it peaked at No. 7 on the pop chart and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, his only U.S. top 40 hit. The song plays at 122 beats per minute, a typical 1970s disco rhythm. At the Australian 1978 King of Pop Awards, the song won Most Popular Australian Single. In 1992, a remix of the song was released and featured on the soundtrack to the Golden Globe-nominated film Strictly Ballroom. A new music video was also produced.
Footloose was a Canadian band that had a hit in 1979 with "Leaving For Maui". The membership included Tim Feehan and later, Doug Riley.
"Always and Forever" is an R&B song written by Rod Temperton and produced by Barry Blue. It was first recorded by the British-based multinational funk-disco band Heatwave in 1976. Released as a single on 3 December 1977, the song is included on Heatwave's debut album Too Hot to Handle (1976) and has been covered by numerous artists, becoming something of a standard.
Patti Jannetta is a Canadian pop and rock singer, who was most prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Chester was a Canadian bubblegum pop band, active primarily from 1972 to 1975. Although they released only two singles in their original form before breaking up, the single "Make My Life a Little Bit Brighter" was a Top 10 hit on the Canadian pop charts in 1973 and the band garnered a Juno Award nomination for Most Promising Group at the Juno Awards of 1974.
Truck was a 1970s Canadian rock group with a musical style similar to Natural Gas and Lighthouse. Signed to the Capitol label, they released two singles and an album. The outfit started out as Sound Spectrum in 1966 and by the early 1970s they had absorbed experienced musicians from groups Natural Gas and Motherlode. Their name had also been changed to Truck! The 1970s lineup was completely different to what it was when the group began. A busy live attraction, they did reasonably well with their album Truck which had an unbroken run for about a month-and-a-half in the charts.
Tapestry was an early 1970s Canadian musical group fronted by singers Jack Winters, Heather Woodburn and Judy Harmon aka Judi Jensen. They released several singles and had a hit with "The Music Doesn't Seem to Be Going Anywhere". Some of their other singles also charted.
Yvonne Murray is a Canadian singer who has had a hit in 1983 with "Don't Send Me Roses " which did well on two Canadian charts. She had another hit the following year with "Let's Not Waste Another Heartbeat". She has sung on multiple film soundtracks. She sang the title song "Never Far Apart" for the film, Melanie and has worked as an actress. She has worked with Paul Zaza on multiple projects. With Zaza she sang the theme to Kimba the White Lion . She also did the voice for Kimba.
Poor Souls was a Scottish band who had a hit in the UK, broke up and then re-emerged as a Canadian band who recorded for the Quality Records label, and two hits in 1970 with "Lookin’ Round", and "Comin' Round". They also had another with "Land of the Few".
Jim Mancel was a Canadian singer, producer, composer and arranger who had several hits from the early 1970s and another in the early 1980s. He has recorded for the Polydor, Apex, and Quality labels, and Quality's subsidiary, Celebration. His hits include, "I Could Give You the World" which was a hit on the MAPL chart in 1970, and his 1975 single "Let the Phone Ring" which was also commercially successful in Canada. He hit the adult contemporary chart in 1977 with "Just Be Yourself". He was also a member of the Canadian band, Chester who had a hit in 1973 with "Make My Life a Little Bit Brighter".
Madrigal was a Canadian band who had a 1970 hit in two different charts with "I Believe in Sunshine". Their album also made the charts the following year.
"Make My Life a Little Bit Brighter" was a hit single for Canadian pop/rock group Chester in 1973.
"Let the Phone Ring" was the second hit single for singer-songwriter Jim Mancel. It charted in 1975 on the RPM 100 chart in Canada.
"Just Be Yourself" was the third hit single for Jim Mancel. It made the RPM Weekly Adult Oriented Play list chart. It also received regular airplay at some major record stations.