The Elegants

The Elegants is a doo-wop band that was started in 1958 by Vito Picone, Arthur Venosa, Frank Tardogano, Carmen Romano and James Mochella in South Beach, Staten Island. Before their nursery-rhyme-inspired song, "Little Star", became a number one hit, the band usually performed informally under the boardwalk by their homes. After Little Star dominated the radio, the band, still in their teens, toured with artists such as Buddy Holly, Dion and the Belmonts, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis. However, none of their subsequent singles reached the success of Little Star and eventually the band fizzled out. In the late 1960s, lead singer Vito Picone restarted the group, this time with three new vocalists Fred Redmond, Nino Amato and Bruce Copp. The core of this group is still together and to this date have not stopped touring around country. They can be seen annually performing at the San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy, Manhattan.