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| Clockwise from the top: Royce, John, Mando, and Phil Gold. |
When I think of A Cappella, I usually imagine myself in the 50’s, listening to a group of teenagers singing at a street corner. I guess a lot of people think the same way, so it’s only natural that most modern day A Cappella groups have, at one time or another, sung at least one 50’s or 60’s song. The Alley Cats are no different. Better yet, they are different. That’s because they are an A Cappella group that sing exclusively 50’s/60’s songs.
Royce Reynolds and Mando Fonseca met each other in choir, while at Fullerton College (1987), during a Doo Wop revival program. They are the two founding members of The Alley Cats, and continue singing to this day. The other two members that joined the group to form a quartet, were Todd Dixon and Andre Peek. Since then, the lineup has changed quite a bit, but one other member that has been with them for quite a while is baritone John O’Campo. Today, according to their site, they have different formations, in order to be at different venues at the same time.
Since their start, they have certainly been the most accomplished Doo Wop A Cappella group that I know of. They have performed at the White House, on Disney’s Hercules, on many TV shows, and have opened for Jay Leno, Chubby Checker, The Tokens, Sha Na Na, and Bill Medley.
You can check out their songs out by finding these CDs online: A Christmas Long Time Ago, The Doo Wop Drive-In Live, Strike 3!, Cruisin’, and The Cat’s Meow.
