Randy & the Rainbows


Randy & the Rainbows are an American doo-wop group from Maspeth, New York.

History

The group was formed in 1962 in a neighborhood of Queens, and featured two pairs of siblings, along with a fifth member. The Safuto brothers, Dominick and Frank, had previously sung in the group The Dialtones. They recorded with the producers of The Tokens, releasing the single "Denise" in 1963. The name "Randy and the Rainbows" was chosen by the owners of Laurie Records after the group recorded "Denise". The group had previously been called "Junior & the Counts" and "The Encores".
"Denise" spent 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 10, while reaching No. 18 on Billboards "Hot R&B Singles", and No. 5 on Canada's CHUM Hit Parade. The song was written by Neil Levenson, and was inspired by his childhood friend, Denise Lefrak. In the late 1970s, the song became a European hit for Blondie, with the title changed to "Denis". Randy & The Rainbows' follow-up single, "Why Do Kids Grow Up", barely scraped into the pop charts at No. 97, and the group never charted again.

Members

The original 1962 line-up was made up of:
They continued to perform under several other names, and toured in subsequent years with The Spinners, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Tony Orlando, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Freddie Roman, Jay Black, Pat Cooper, The Beach Boys, Dionne Warwick, and The Four Seasons. They released a new album, entitled Play Ball, in 2001 on producer Jimmy Wisner's label WizWorks.

Two similarly named groups

Two groups now exist carrying the same name, one led by the Safuto brothers, the other led by Mike Zero.
;Randy Safuto's Randy & The Rainbows
This is made up of the Safuto brothers, members are as follows:
The group appeared on the 2001 PBS special Doo Wop 51; it featured Randy's group plus Mike Zero.
;Mike Zero's Randy & The Rainbows
This is made up of

Albums