The Alessi Brothers, also known as Alessi, are an American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

singer-songwriter

duo Duo may refer to: Places *Duo, West Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia *Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland * DUO, a twin-tower development in Singapore Arts, enterta ...

who first came to international prominence with their 1977

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

"Oh Lori". The duo are identical twin

brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

, Billy and Bobby Alessi (born July 12, 1953,

West Hempstead West Hempstead is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,835 at the 2020 census. It is an unincorporated area in the Town of Hempst ...

, New York).

Career

In their early teens, the brothers attended

West Hempstead High School West Hempstead High School is a public high school located in West Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, U.S.A., and is the only high school operated by the West Hempstead Union Free School District. As of the 2014–15 school year, the school had ...

and formed the band The Country Gentlemen with schoolmate Don Droege and drummer Bob Pelicane. The band often played at a teen club called The Mod Scene and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

summer beach club gigs, as well as playing at other venues which included Murray the K's World in

Roosevelt Field Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located east-southeast of Mineola, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazel ...

, the Raleigh Hotel in the

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

, and The Café Wha? in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. The band released one 45 single entitled "Saturday Night" which was credited to William Alessi. The Country Gentlemen in 1967 evolved into The Look and recorded the single "If I were A Carpenter" b/w "Can You Do" on Verve Records. In 1970, the Alessis were working in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

cast of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'', when former

Blues Magoos The Blues Magoos are an American rock group from The Bronx, a borough of New York City, United States. They were at the forefront of the psychedelic music trend, beginning in 1966. They are best known for the hit song " (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Ye ...

guitarist Peppy Castro joined the show. The three formed the band

Barnaby Bye Barnaby Bye was an American band formed in 1973. Peppy Castro, ex-Blues Magoos, formed Barnaby Bye with Long Island musicians the Alessi Brothers, Billy and Bobby, and Mike Ricciardella of The Illusion. They recorded for Ahmet Ertegun's Atlantic R ...

and, with Mike Ricciardella on drums, the band were signed to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

and released albums in 1972 (''Room to Grow'') and 1973 (''Touch''). The next Barnaby Bye album (''Thrice Upon a Time'') was not released until 2008, after the band reformed. After the early years with Barnaby Bye, the brothers continued writing, recording and performing as the duo, Alessi. In 1977, their song "Oh Lori" (from the 1976 album ''Alessi'') reached no. 8 and spent 11 weeks in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and became a Top Ten hit in seventeen more countries. In May 1982, "Put Away Your Love" (from the 1982 album ''Long Time Friends'') reached No. 71 and spent four weeks in the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. They also charted in Brazil with "Sad Songs" (from the album ''Alessi'', 1976), "All for a Reason" (from the album ''All for a Reason'', 1977) and "Forever" (recorded with

Christopher Cross Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's T ...

, from the album ''Long Time Friends'', 1982). The first four Alessi albums (1976–1979) were released on the A&M record label, with the fifth, ''Long Time Friends'' (1982) being on Quincy Jones's Qwest label. In 1984, Alessi released the track "Savin' the Day" for the soundtrack to the film ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...

''; this soundtrack album was released on the Arista label and was nominated for a Grammy Award for the Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special. Over the years Alessi have arranged, produced and/or written releases for many artists including

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Deborah Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

and

. The brothers toured with

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the younger brother of Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees. Gibb came to pr ...

in his 1978/79 Shadow Dancing tour and contributed background vocals to albums such as

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 ...

's 1979 album ''

Fate for Breakfast ''Fate for Breakfast'' is the fourth solo studio album by Art Garfunkel, released in March 1979 on Columbia Records. It was his first album to miss the U.S. Billboard Top 40 (charting at a dismal 67) and his first album containing no U.S. Top 40 ...

'' and the

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and Yoko Ono album ''Milk and Honey''. Their songs have been covered by artists including

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

and

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

and their songwriting and/or vocals have been featured in such films as '' The Main Event'' and ''

''. The brothers have had success working on

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s and advertisements for David Lucas and many mainstream consumer products in the United States. In the 2000s, they resumed their touring and album-recording career as a duo, with the new albums being released on the Eden Roc/Pink Records label. They resumed touring and recording as part of the group Barnaby Bye and, in 2012, were inducted into the

Long Island Music Hall of Fame The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame was incorporated in July 2005 under the New York State Board of Regents, as a nonprofit organization and holds a provisional charter to operate as a museum in the state of New York. It recognizes ...

. The 2012 compilation album from the

Late Night Tales ''Late Night Tales'' and its predecessor ''Another Late Night'' are the names of two related series of artist-curated compilation albums released by Azuli Records in the UK until 2009 when the independent record label Night Time Stories took o ...

series, Late Night Tales: Metronomy by UK band

Metronomy Metronomy are an English electronic music group formed in 1999. As of 2021, the band consists of Joseph Mount (vocals, keyboards and guitar), Oscar Cash (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar and saxophone), Anna Prior (drums and vocals), Olugbenga ...

included "Seabird". The song was later included in the music over the closing credits of

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at t ...

's 2016 adventure-comedy ''

Hunt for the Wilderpeople ''Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' is a 2016 New Zealand adventure comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, whose screenplay was based on the book ''Wild Pork and Watercress'' by Barry Crump. Sam Neill and Julian Dennison play "Uncle" ...

'', and 2021 comedy-drama series ''

Resident Alien In law, an alien is any person (including an organization) who is not a citizenship, citizen or a nationality, national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ to some degree depending upon the continent or region. ...

''.

Discography

Albums

*''Alessi'' – (1976) – A&M *''All for a Reason'' – (1977) – A&M *''Driftin – (1978) – A&M *''Words & Music'' – (1979) – A&M *''Long Time Friends'' – (1982) – Qwest *''Hello Everyone'' – (2003) – Eden Roc Records *''Just Like That'' – (2006) – Eden Roc Records *''Live! All Our Life'' – (2009) – Home of Jazz *''Two of Us'' – (2012) – Eden Roc Records *''Marathon Day'' – (2013) – Eden Roc Records *''Water'' – (2018) – Eden Roc Records

Singles

Notes

Contributions to film soundtrack

*1979: '' The Main Event'' – backing vocals on three tracks ( Columbia) *1984: ''

'' – "Savin' the Day" ( Arista) *2016: ''

'' – "Seabird"

In popular culture

Alessi (アレッシー Aresshī), a minor antagonist from the Japanese manga series

Stardust Crusaders is the third story arc of the manga series ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. The arc was serialized for a little over 3 years. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from April 3, 1989, ...

, draws his namesake from the duo.

References

External links

Discogs Artist page

Official Alessi Brothers siteOfficial Barnaby Bye site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alessi Brothers 1953 births Living people American male singers Songwriters from New York (state) Musical groups from Long Island American identical twins Twin musical duos American musical duos American pop rock music groups American soft rock music groups Soft rock duos American twins A&M Records artists Male musical duos American male songwriters