The Doo Wop Royal All Stars was formed in 1992 as one of the first " supergroups" in to the doo wop music genre, combining members from other groups. "It's a show within a show," remarked longtime

WCBS FM WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) is a radio station offering a classic hits format licensed to New York City and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood in lower Manha ...

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

Bobby Jay. The group remains active today, with various members and led by Daniel Loria, son of founding member Art Loria. It originally performed and recorded as "The Royal All Stars", and has also been known as "Golden Group Memories". The original lineup included: * Art Loria * Vito Balsamo * Randy Silverman * Eugene Pitt *

Lenny Welch Leon "Lenny" Welch (born May 31, 1938) is an American MOR and pop singer. Early years He was born in New York City, United States, and raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey, by his godparents, Eva and Robert Richardson. He attended Asbury Park ...

This original lineup recorded a live album "Live at the Taj – Royally Yours" while performing at a celebration for the chief running officer of the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was to be released from Dazzle Records sometime in late 2012–2013. in 1993,

left the group and headed for the West Coast to pursue his ambitions in the acting field and also reconcentrate on his solo efforts. He was replaced by BJ Jones, who was a member of such groups as

The Dubs The Dubs are an American doo wop vocal group formed in 1956, best known for their songs "Could This Be Magic", "Don't Ask Me to Be Lonely" and "Chapel of Dreams". Original career, 1956-1958 The original members of the Dubs were: :Richard Bl ...

The Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in ...

and

The Five Satins The Five Satins are an American doo-wop group, best known for their 1956 million-selling song, " In the Still of the Night." They were formed in 1954 and continued performing until 1994. When it was formed, the group consisted of six members, w ...

. Taking over for Jones was

Jimmy Merchant Jimmy Merchant (born February 10, 1940) is an American singer and musician. He was a member of the doo-wop group The Teenagers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers. He retired from The Teenage ...

: an original member of

Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers The Teenagers are an American music group, most noted for being one of rock music's earliest successes, presented to international audiences by DJ Alan Freed. The group, which made its most popular recordings with young Frankie Lymon as lead ...

. Merchant, along with Pitt, Loria, Silverman, Balsamo and Daniel Loria spent the years 1992–1998 touring and performing all over the country in major markets, major venues and the cruise line circuits. They have several recordings still not released, but were expected in 2012–1013. As "The Royal All Stars", they were a regular in the then active Pittsburgh doo wop scene (performed at the famous "PORKSTOCK" at

Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Buil ...

in honor of legendary jock Porky Chadwick). They also performed in Las Vegas, California, and Ohio many times. This lineup performed their last show in 1998 at

Windows on the World Windows on the World was a complex of dining, meeting, and entertainment venues on the top floors (106th and 107th) of the North Tower (Building One) of the original World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan. It included a restaurant calle ...

atop the World Trade Towers. 1998 saw the group split into two factions, with Silverman and Balsamo going on as "Golden Group Memories", and Pitt along with the Lorias' continued as "The Doo Wop All Stars". The year 2000 saw a new lineup of "The Doo Wop All Stars" that included Artie Loria, Eugene Pitt, Harold Gill (from the Continentals / The Drifters), Maurice Unthank (from The Teenagers/ Jive Five). This incarnation of the group saw the next 7 years of active performances and recordings. In 2003 they recorded "It's Christmas" on It Doesn't Matter Music label. It was credited to "Pitt-Knick", a name play on Eugene Pitt and the groups long lasting relationship recording many of the famous "NIC NIC NIC " bumper commercials with the TV network

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

in the beginning stages of the new network. In 2001, they recorded "We Will Never Fall" as a tribute to the heroes and victims of 9/11. In 2007, Pitt's health issues caused the group to cut down on their touring, and eventually Pitt was replaced by

Freddie Scott Freddie Scott (April 24, 1933 – June 4, 2007) was an American soul singer and songwriter. His biggest hits were " Hey, Girl", a top ten US pop hit in 1963, and " Are You Lonely for Me", a no. 1 hit on the R&B chart in early 1967. Life and car ...

. After Scott died after a brief illness, The Doo Wop All Stars continued on with Artie Loria, Danny Loria and Harold Gilly. Art Loria was killed in a home accident on October 23, 2010. Gill is currently performing with The Continentals when not with "The Doo Wop All Stars".

still performs as a solo artist and occasionally acts in bit parts. Danny Loria, now manages the name "Doo Wop All Stars" and is currently working on releasing years of shelved recordings. He and Gill also have plans to re-engage steady performing in 2012 with a list of engagements. Balsamo performs with various local cover bands. Sillverman has retired due to illness. The group's remaining original member Eugene Pitt died June 28, 2018, in Newberry, South Carolina.

Sources

* Video quote from Bobby Jay on opening remarks on group's promotional video * Porky Chadwick – station playlist 2002 * Vocal Group Hall of Fame; Sharon, Pa.; membership roster * Doo Wop 50 liner notes * Dave Raymer – doo wop historian – Notes on Doo Wop Groups and Biographies * Billboard Archive – Musical Acts – song placements * The Rolling Stone Book of "History of Rock and Roll" * Interview with group Manager Daniel Loria – Alpine Entertainment 2012 * 9/11 Hero's Tribute Foundation * WCBS FM 101.1 Radio (NY) Group Interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Doo Wop All Stars Doo-wop groups Supergroups (music) Musical groups established in 1992