Hi, Linda,
I thought the Critters were a great group. Thanks so much for sharing this
article with us.
Rosie
-----Original Message-----
From: linda gehres
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2015 3:05 PM
To: ourplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ourplace] The Critters
The Critters
Background Information
Origin: New Jersey, United States
Genres: Pop
The Critters were a successful American Pop group with several hits in the
1960’s. The group formed in 1964 when singer/guitarist Don Ciccone and
saxophonist Bob Podstawski joined a local group The Vibratones comprised of
Jim
Ryan (lead guitar), Ken Gorka (bass), Jack Decker (drums) and Chris Darway
(keyboards). They named themselves The Critters in emulation of such bands
with
group names like The Animals.
Originally signed to Musicor Records by Jimmy Radcliffe who also produced
their
first release “Georgianna” backed with “I’m Gonna Give” in 1964, they
eventually
signed with KappRecords, and in 1965 recorded John Sebastian’s song “Younger
Girl” The song was selected for the group by Kapp producer Artie Ripp.
However,
because Ciccone, Ryan and Podstawski were then all accepted at Villanova
University, the record was not completed until late 1965. It became a minor
hit
in early 1966and reached 38 in the British charts in July that year. It was
followed by Ciccone’s song “Mr. Dieingly Sad” which reached 17 later in
1966,
“Bad Misunderstanding” which reached 55 still later in that year, and their
final hit, “Don’t Let The Rain Fall Down On Me,”hitting 39 in 1967. After
recording several singles and one album, “Younger Girl,” the original band
split
up when Ciccone, Podstawski and Decker left to join the armed forcesand
Darway
went to art college. Ryan and Gorka tried to maintain the band with other
members for some time, releasing two more albums, “Touch And Go With The
Critters,” and “The Critters.” Later, Ryan recorded and toured with Carly
Simon
before working as a studio guitarist. Siccone joined Frankie Valli and the
Four
Seasons and later toured with Tommy James and the Shondells. Gorka now owns
The
Bitter End in Greenwich Village. Chris Darway went on to form Johnny’s
Dance
Band which was a popular band in the Philadelphia area in the late
1970’s,followed by the Chet Bolins Band. Kurt Shanaman of Mountainside, New
Jersey filled in on drums and in the studio in 1967. In 2007, The Critters
re-formed when Don Ciccone was asked to join the band Skeezix, which
included
Albert Miller, Lenny Rocco and Milt Koster. Their repertoire included tunes
from
all the bands which Ciccone had been involved with(including a slightly
retitled
“Mr. Dyingly Sad”) as well as original and cover material. The band
performed
mostly on the Treasure Coast of Florida. The Critters recorded a new album
“Time Pieces”which includes the updated version of “Mr. Dyingly Sad” and the
new
version of “Younger Girl.” The band announced their breakup in the summer
of
2013.
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