Carlo Mastrangelo

Carlo Mastrangelo (October 5, 1937 – April 4, 2016) was an American doo-wop and progressive rock singer, and drummer.

He was an original member of the Belmonts (with and without Dion DiMucci), a popular singing group of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He also played drums before and after the Belmonts with several groups. He led the progressive rock/jazz ensemble, "Pulse", during the 1970s.

Early life Carlo Mastrangelo was born, and raised, in Belmont, Bronx, in 1937. He lived in an apartment on the corner of 179th St. and Mapes Ave.

Career

The Belmonts: 1955–1962 Mastrangelo (left) with Dion and the Belmonts in 1960Mastrangelo formed The Belmonts in 1955 with Angelo D'Aleo and Fred Milano, who were all members of a Bronx gang called the Imperial Hoods. They began recording professionally in 1957, and not long after added Dion DiMucci as lead singer, and the groups name was changed to Dion and the Belmonts. Mastrangelo sang bass. They had hits including "A Teenager in Love" and "Where or When". In 1959, he filled in on drums for Buddy Holly's drummer Carl Bunch when Bunch got frostbite and had to quit the Winter Dance Party tour in 1959, playing with Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper.

After the group's breakup with DiMucci, he sang lead vocals on all Belmonts recordings until leaving for a solo career in 1962. Following the hit "Come On Little Angel", a split developed within the group concerning the finances of their privately owned label, Sabina (a.k.a. Sabrina) Records. Mastrangelo said, "Because we owned the company, we had to pay the bills, studio time, ads, and stuff like that. We needed hits that sold around 500,000 copies to make enough. That was the worst move we ever made. If we hadn't done that, we would have been together all these years. It was very sad, like leaving my two brothers". (Mastrangelo was replaced in the Belmonts by two musicians: Frank Lyndon joined on lead vocals, and shortly afterwards, guitarist Warren Gradus joined, doubling on Mastrangelo's original bass vocal parts.

Solo career as "Carlo": 1962–1964 Mastrangelo left the group in 1962 and attempted a solo career on Laurie Records, releasing four singles under the name Carlo. He was backed vocally by the uncredited Tremonts (aka The Demilles). The singles "Baby Doll" and "Little Orphan Girl", received considerable airplay in Florida and a few other states, but didn't make the national charts. It was followed by an up-tempo rock 'n' roll version of the classic "Mairzy Doats", which was very different from the original. His final Laurie recording, "Stranger in My Arms", was written especially for him by hit maker Ernie Maresca ("The Wanderer", "Runaround Sue"). However, the flip, "Ring-A-Ling", a tune which he overdubbed catchy bass vocals to, was a favorite of New York disc jockey Murray the K. He featured it on his weekly "Record Review Board Contest", February 12, 1964, and it was the clear winner. It received airplay on New York stations WINS and WENE,

In 1989, Dion was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but without the Belmonts. This same problem occurred with other groups such as the Miracles (Smokey Robinson), the Crickets (Buddy Holly), the Midnighters (Hank Ballard), the Famous Flames (James Brown), the Comets (Bill Haley) and the Blue Caps (Gene Vincent), and eventually, in 2012, the Hall of Fame inducted the members of the backing groups, however unusually, The Belmonts, who had been active around the same time as all of the other groups, were not, and still haven't as of 2026. According to Milano's obituary, "There was strife between DiMucci and Belmonts members, who were not pleased when DiMucci was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame without them in 1989." In 2000, Dion and the Belmonts were inducted in the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

Personal life Mastrangelo lived in Boynton Beach, Florida, minutes away from Dion DiMucci. The two former lead singers of The Belmonts continued to collaborate on many of DiMucci's recordings and live performances from the 1980s until Mastrangelo's death in April 2016 at the age of 78.

Discography

The Belmonts

Solo Baby Doll / Write Me A Letter (1962) Little Orphan Girl / Mairzy Doats (1963) Five Minutes More / Story Of Love (1963) Ring-A-Ling / Stranger In My Arms (1964) Fever / Claudine (1970) Let There Be Love / same single as B-side (1970)

Dion and the Wanderers Tomorrow Won't Bring The Rain / You Move Me Babe (1965) - Dion and the Wanderers Time in My Heart For You / Wake Up Baby (1965) - Dion and the Wanderers Two Ton Feather / So Much Younger (1966) - Dion and the Wanderers I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound / Southern Train (1969) - Dion and the Wanderers

The Endless Pulse/Pulse "Time Is Wastin'" / "Ghost Man" (1968) "You Turned Me Over" / "Just You" (1968) "Nowhere Chick" / "Wake Me, Shake Me" (1969) Pulse featuring Carlo Mastrangelo (1972) - Thimble Records (Studio album) "Why Can't She See Me" / same single as B-side (1972)

Other releases "Rockin' Rocket" / "Happy Tune" (instrumentals) (1960) - Carlo and Jimmy "Donna Lee" / "Um Ba Pa" (1964) - The Demilles "Shoo-Fly Pie & Apple Pan Dowdy" / "It's Alright" (1969) - Carlo's Crown Jewel