#12: Happy Anniversary by the Four Lads

City: Hull, PQ
Radio Station: CKCH
Peak Month: January 1960
Peak Position in Hull ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #36
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #77
YouTube: “Happy Anniversary”
Lyrics: “Happy Anniversary”

The Four Lads are a Canadian male quartet from Toronto, Ontario. They were originally made up of Corrado “Connie” Codarini, James F. “Jimmy” Arnold, John Bernard “Bernie” Toorish and Frank Busseri. They met as members of St. Michael’s Choir School. Originally, they named themselves the Otnorots (made up mostly of spelling the place name Toronto backwards. They changed their name to the Four Dukes. But after they found out a group in Detroit had the same name, then they settled on the Four Lads. They got a break when Mitch Miller noticed them when they were recruited by talent scouts to go to New York. Mitchell had them sing back-up on Johnny Ray’s 1951 smash hit, “Cry”, and his big follow up, “The Little White Cloud that Cried”.
Continue reading →

#29: Mocking Bird by the Four Lads

City: Hull, QC
Radio Station: CKCH
Peak Month: December 1958
Peak Position in Hull ~ #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #40
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~#32
YouTube: “Mocking Bird”
Lyrics: “Mocking Bird”

The Four Lads are a Canadian male quartet from Toronto, Ontario. They were originally made up of Corrado “Connie” Codarini, James F. “Jimmy” Arnold, John Bernard “Bernie” Toorish and Frank Busseri. They met as members of St. Michael’s Choir School. Originally, they named themselves the Otnorots (made up mostly of spelling the place name Toronto backwards. They changed their name to the Four Dukes. But after they found out a group in Detroit had the same name, then they settled on the Four Lads. They got a break when Mitch Miller noticed them when they were recruited by talent scouts to go to New York. Mitchell had them sing back-up on Johnny Ray’s 1951 smash hit, “Cry”, and his big follow up, “The Little White Cloud that Cried”.
Continue reading →

#33: The Girl On Page 44 by the Four Lads

City: Hull, QC
Radio Station: CKCH
Peak Month: March 1959
Peak Position in Hull ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #30
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #52
YouTube: “The Girl On Page 44”
Lyrics: “The Girl On Page 44”

The Four Lads are a Canadian male quartet from Toronto, Ontario. They were originally made up of Corrado “Connie” Codarini, James F. “Jimmy” Arnold, John Bernard “Bernie” Toorish and Frank Busseri. They met as members of St. Michael’s Choir School. Originally, they named themselves the Otnorots (made up mostly of spelling the place name Toronto backwards. They changed their name to the Four Dukes. But after they found out a group in Detroit had the same name, then they settled on the Four Lads. They got a break when Mitch Miller noticed them when they were recruited by talent scouts to go to New York. Mitchell had them sing back-up on Johnny Ray’s 1951 smash hit, “Cry”, and his big follow up, “The Little White Cloud that Cried”.
Continue reading →

#768: Golly by The Four Lads

Peak Month: June 1957
16 weeks on CKWX’s Vancouver Chart
Peak Position: #14
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Golly”

The Four Lads are a Canadian male quartet from Toronto, Ontario. They were originally made up of Corrado “Connie” Codarini, James F. “Jimmy” Arnold, John Bernard “Bernie” Toorish and Frank Busseri. They met as members of St. Michael’s Choir School. Originally, they named themselves the Otnorots (made up mostly of spelling the place name Toronto backwards. They changed their name to the Four Dukes. But after they found out a group in Detroit had the same name, then they settled on the Four Lads. They got a break when Mitch Miller noticed them when they were recruited by talent scouts to go to New York. Mitchell had them sing back-up on Johnny Ray’s 1951 smash hit, “Cry”, and his big follow up, “The Little White Cloud that Cried”.
Continue reading →