The Cuff Links
(Read about the Cuff Links after the video)
The Cuff Links were an American rock/pop studio group from Staten Island, New York. The band had a U.S. No. 9 hit in 1969[1] with "Tracy", with rich harmonized vocals provided entirely by Ron Dante. The track was produced as part of a series of recording sessions – sometimes as many as six in a day – by Dante, with the songs released under a variety of band names.[2]
History
"Tracy" hit the charts in October 1969, just as "Sugar, Sugar," a single for The Archies and the product of another anonymous recording session by Dante, was descending from its No.
1 spot. Dante's vocals for "Tracy" were recorded in just hours. He
recalled: "I put on a lead voice, doubled it a few times, and then put
about 16, 18 backgrounds."[2] "Tracy" spent 12 weeks in the U.S. chart, and subsequently sold over one million copies, being awarded a gold record by the R.I.A.A.[3]
Dante had promised "Tracy's" songwriters, Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss,
that if the song was a hit he would record an entire Cuff Links album;
when it charted, Vance and Pockriss quickly delved through their
catalogue to produce more songs. "It was the quickest album I'd ever
done," Dante remarked. "I think I did the entire background vocals and
leads in a day and a half – for the entire album. I remember doing at
least four or five songs in one day."[2] To speed the project, Vance and Pockriss hired novice arranger Rupert Holmes to work on the album, which was also titled Tracy and included the second hit, "When Julie Comes Around," which peaked at No. 41 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart.
The album liner notes wove a tale of how Vance and Pockriss discovered
the "seven-member" group (which according to the same notes later
swelled to a nine-person group), but did not name any group members, or
show any pictures of the supposed band. Instead, the album featured an
unnamed cover model.[4]
As the album was being completed, Vance and Pockriss created a seven-member touring band, comprising Pat Rizzo (saxophone), Rich Dimino (keyboards), Bob Gill (trumpet/flugelhorn/flute), Dave Lavender (guitar), Andrew "Junior" Denno (bass), Joe Cord (vocals) and Danny Valentine (drums).
Dante opted not to tour with the group, having accepted a solo album recording contract by Archies creator Don Kirshner that excluded any more outside work. When he called Vance to obtain his royalties
for the first album, Vance refused to pay up unless Dante recorded a
second album. The dispute was settled only after a personal
confrontation at Vance's office.[2]
For the second Cuff Links album, Vance and Pockriss remained as
producers, and vocals were split between Joey Cord and Rupert Holmes.
"Run Sally Run," the album's first single, was the third and last Cuff
Links single to reach the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 76 in April
1970. Follow-up single "Robin's World" appeared on the Billboard Easy
Listening Top 40 the following June. Cord's vocals appeared on only a
few tracks on the second Cuff Links album, The Cuff Links, with
most songs featuring Holmes. Meanwhile, the album's liner notes once
again talked about the Cuff Links as a nine-member group, though only
seven people were pictured on the album cover, and none of the group
members were identified by name.
The Cuff Links issued a final non-LP (and non-charting) single for Decca in 1971, titled All Because Of You. The Cuff Links name was later revived for unsuccessful singles on the Atco and Roulette labels in 1972 and 1975.[2] Both sides of every Cuff Links single were written and produced by Vance and Pockriss.
In 1999, singer-songwriter
Michael "Valentine" Ubriaco obtained the touring rights to the Cuff
Links name, and revived the group for live performances. That band
included original guitarist Dave Lavender and still went on tours as of
late July of 2016.
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