Larry Chance & The Earls provide crowd-pleasing doo-wop harmony

Bill Herald Oldies Pop Music Examiner REVIEWED: and The Earls DATE: February 16, 2012 VENUE: Broadway Palm Dinner Theater, Fort Myers, Fla.

When Larry Chance & The Earls took the stage, a sellout dinner-theater crowd soon found that "E" represented both the group's name and Entertainment with a capital E. The program featured a steady stream of flawless harmony, stage presence and crowd-pleasing vitality, reflecting Larry's comedic talents and obvious devotion to his fans. The show opened with one of The Earls' first recordings, an excellent doo-wop rendition of "Life Is But A Dream" from 1961. The group demonstrated its versatility on two numbers, the first being "Never", the follow-up to its most-recognized hit "." And after a rendition of "Never" that sounded much like the 1963 recording, The Earls sang the same song in a slow, effective ballad style approximating the tempo of The Classics' 1963 version of "Till Then." The versatility came to the forefront when the group performed the Ritchie Valens classic song "Donna." For that number, Chance became drummer while percussionist Bobby Tribuzio handled keyboards. Meanwhile, keyboardist Vitto Garcia switched to guitar and Chuck Mearizo became lead vocalist. Audience interaction was prominent throughout. Chance chose two crowd members to come onstage to sing backup on "Don't You Just Know It." On subsequent numbers -- "Banana Boat (Day-O)" and the Lloyd Price classic "Personality" -- he had the crowd hand-clapping and repeating some of the lyrics. Four theatergoers were summoned as backup singers on "Charlie Brown" after which Chance strolled among the dinner tables, giving high-5s to fans and selecting random individuals sing the phrase "Why's everybody always picking on me?" When presenting a pair of Tom Jones' hits -- "It's Not Unusual" and "I (Who Have Nothing)" -- Larry delivered powerful vocals and likely sang those songs as well as anyone except, perhaps, Jones himself. Going back to the "street-corner roots" of the original group, there were such offerings as "Back On The Streets Of " and a song made popular by The Fiestas titled "So Fine." The group saved its signature song ("Remember Then") for its next-to-last number, on which the crowd was encouraged to stand and clap their hands as Larry sang lead while coming offstage and interacting with the crowd. In a technical sense, the presentation didn't quite match the sensational overall doo-wop qualities of the 1962 recording, but it was well-received and appreciated by the audience.The final song was a powerfully-delivered rendition of "I Believe", sung as a tribute and dedicated to fallen, along with past and present, U.S. military heroes. With music representing the best of the rock 'n' roll and doo-wop eras, Larry Chance & The Earls provided an evening of five-star quality entertainment. The modern-day lineup of The Earls * LARRY CHANCE (lead singer) ... He grew up in a neighborhood along with such recording notables as , Fabian, , Bobby Rydell and Danny & The Juniors. After moving to The Bronx in 1955, he formed a vocal group called The High-Hatters in 1957, and the group became known as The Earls in 1960. * BOBBY TRIBUZIO (drummer, vocals) ... Born and raised in The Bronx, he took a keen early interest in drums, and his childhood idol was Gene Krupa. At age 16, he joined a rock 'n' roll group (Richie & The Perfections), and while appearing at the Metropole Cafe, he learned that The Earls needed a drummer, got the job and has been with the group since 1963. * BOBBY COLEMAN (bass player, guitar, vocals) ... Early in his career, he worked with The

Belmonts and The Regents. A fine songwriter, he has teamed with Chance to write a number of songs that have appeared on recent Earls . * CHUCK MEARIZO (guitar, vocals) ... An excellent sound engineer, he has his own recording studio in Rutherford, N.J., and two recent Earls albums were recorded there. * VITTO GARCIA (keyboards, vocals) ... The group's most-recent member, he is adept at guitar, drums and trombone, in addition to being a music instructor, arranger and composer. A brief history of Larry Chance & The Earls When a young Larry Chance moved to in 1955, he discovered that there were vocal groups singing on almost every street corner, so he got together five of his friends and formed his own group, The High-Hatters, at a high school in The Bronx, and in 1960, he randomly picked the name Earls out of a dictionary and renamed the group. The Earls' original lineup -- before the group began playing its own instruments -- consisted of lead singer Larry Chance, supported by Bob Del Din, Jack Wray and Eddie Harder. After some success with "Life Is But A Dream" on the Rome label in 1961, The Earls had several uncharted singles before signing with the Old Town label, on which they recorded their biggest hit ("Remember Then") in late 1962. Subsequent releases came on the ABC, Clifton, Columbia, Harvey and Woodbury labels. Larry Chance & the Earls were inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame in 2008, and they were inducted into the Wildwood, N.J., Walk of Fame in 2008. To view The Earls' Web site -- which provides full information about the group, along with upcoming concert dates and contact information -- go to: www.larrychanceandtheearls.com.

The modern-day Earls lineup, left to right, Bobby Coleman, Vitto Garcia, Chuck Mearizo, Bobby Tribuzio and Larry Chance.

Rating for Larry Chance & The Earls: 5 Stars I might add that my wife says that she enjoyed this show better than any musical performance we've attended, and that's saying something because we've seen such greats as The Four Seasons, The Association, Kingston Trio, B.J. Thomas, The Diamonds, Four Lads, Four Freshmen, Lettermen, Gary Lewis & The Playboys and many more.