On Sunday, May 7, 1939, four months before the beginning of World War II, John Peter Mastrangelo was born on the lower East Side of New York City. He grew up at 9-11 Roosevelt Street. His immediate family consisted of his parents, Salvatore and Grace, his brother, Ronald, and his sister, Carol Anne. Today, John Peter Mastrangelo is better known to his thousands of fans as Johnny Maestro (lead singer of The Crests and lead singer of The Brooklyn Bridge). Roosevelt Street is now known as Park Row, a thriving street featuring Pace College, J&R Music World, Chatham Housing Towers, Police Department Headquarters, Municipal Building and entrances to the landmark Brooklyn Bridge connecting Brooklyn & Manhattan. For those fans who are not familiar with New York City, the Lower East Side was and remains a melting pot for Orientals, Italians and Jewish residents who came to America to make a better life for their families. On the streets of China Town, Little Italy and Delancey Street, you can still find a wide variety of ethnic foods. Just take a stroll on Mott Street, Grand Street, and Lower Broadway, to find mostly family-owned restaurants, bakeries, fruit stands, fish markets, pizza parlors, clam bars, noodle & dumpling shoppes, Kosher deli counters, and tourist gift boutiques. By December 7, 1941, Japanese soldiers bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered into World War II. It was a most difficult time. Young men were drafted daily to fight for their county. Many of them returned home disabled or died in action. For most of the veterans who thought their jobs were waiting for them when they returned home, many of those businesses were gone or their jobs were given to someone else. But sometimes miracles happen! YES, THEY DO! One of those miracles was a young boy named Johnny Mastrangelo. Just barely 5 years old by the end of the war, he was discovering beautiful music on the radio that would inspire him to become a great entertainer from 1956 to 2010. Inspired by the music of Frankie Laine, Johnny Ray, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and The Harptones, Johnny devoted his life to music, beautiful love songs, to remain true to his craft, bring joy to his fans, become a wonderful performer, family man and fine gentleman in every sense of the word. Johnny’s new-found friends (ages 14 and 15) lived nearby at The Alfred Smith Housing Projects which overlooks South Street, Delancey Street and the landmark FDR Drive. Their names were Harold Torres, Talmadge Gough, J.T Carter and Patricia Vandross (sister of the future well-known singer, Luther Vandross). They would rehearse at Patricia’s home or look for an echo from New York City Subway tunnels and trains to get that perfect sound. For those fans who are not familiar with the NYC Subway System, this is not the Subway Restaurant where you can get a delicious foot-long hero. The NYC Subway System consists of thousands of commuter trains and endless tunnels. The IRT (Interborough Rapid System), BMT (Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit) and IND (Independent) trains were and still remain the quickest way to maneuver throughout New York City. The trains were labeled by letters: A, CC, LL, RR, F. They were also labeled by numbers: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. A typical day on the subway could take you from Coney Island all the way to Yankee Stadium in a reasonably short amount of time. The subway tunnels, as many groups discovered, provided fantastic echo background for acapella singing. Similar to stereo speakers. Johnny and his singing group called themselves ‘The Crests.’ They would sing on the trains and subway platforms to make money from happy passengers who enjoyed their songs. But one day, at the IRT Brooklyn Bridge Station, a female passenger (believed to be Mrs. Al Browne) handed the talented group of young singers a business card from Joyce Records. Joyce Records was located in the back of a Brooklyn Record Store which closed after 5 future recording sessions even though they claimed to have successful clients such as Perry Como, Steve Lawrence & Edie Gorme and The Heartbeats. Joyce Records’ pianist and band leader was Al Browne. His most beautiful piano arrangements can be lovingly enjoyed on The Crest’s great recording of “Sweetest One.” It was almost like listening to chapel bells tinkling in the midst. By 1957, The Crests moved on to record for Coed Records, which was located in The Brill Building, 1650 Broadway, NYC . The Brill Building (now a landmark) was “home” to many songwriters.