Candi & The Backbeat (initially named Candi) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

pop band fronted by lead vocalist Candita "Candy" Pennella. Band members included Nino (Big Papa) Milazzo (bass and background vocals), Paul (Baldy) Russo (drums and percussion), and Rich Imbrogno (keyboards). The band is best known among U.S. audiences for the freestyle classic "Dancing Under a Latin Moon", a major dance hit which also made number 68 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1988.

History

Originally an Italian wedding band, Candi released their debut self-titled album ''Candi'' in 1988 on the I.R.S. Records label. Their self-titled debut included "Dancing Under a Latin Moon" and "Under Your Spell", the latter was nominated for Single of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 1990 The Juno Awards of 1990, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 18 March 1990 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. Rick Moranis was the host for the ceremonies, which were broadcast on ...

. ''Candis "Under Your Spell" and "Missing You" were both nominated for Best Dance Recording at the same award show. Pennella was also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, losing to Rita MacNeil."Past Winners Database: 1990 20th Juno Awards"
''The Envelope'' of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''; URL accessed May 24, 2006. Pennella was nominated for the same award the next year, losing to

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

."Past Winners Database: 1991 21st Juno Awards"
''The Envelope'' of the ''

''; URL accessed May 24, 2006. The band, renamed Candi & The Backbeat, released the album ''World Keeps on Turning'' in 1990. The title track from the album was nominated for the Best Dance Recording at the

Juno Awards of 1991 The Juno Awards of 1991, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 3 March 1991 in Vancouver, British Columbia at a ceremony in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Paul Shaffer was the host for the ceremoni ...

. After the promotion of the album, they decided not to continue with the project. Candy ended up marrying her drummer and currently teaches high school in the Toronto area.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Candi'' (1988) * ''World Keeps on Turning'' (1990)

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Candi and The Backbeat Canadian dance music groups Canadian pop music groups Musical groups established in 1988 Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups from Toronto North York 1988 establishments in Ontario 1991 disestablishments in Ontario