By Tony Sokol

 

Don’t ever say the Bronx isn’t romantic. Doo Wop legend  Larry Chance and The Earls and Steve Michaels, the accomplished lead singer best known for his work with the Velvatones, released the album Songs for Lovers, to pledge their love to Romance Awareness Month.

“It’s nice, soft music for lovers,” Chance said.

“The album is extremely powerful because it reaches such a wide and global audience— from 20 to 80 and beyond,” Michaels said.

“It’s a love letter to the fans and it’s done with a lot of heart and a lot of love,” Longtime manager Paul Kasofsky said.

The two Bronx-based singers cover the “power and nuances of romance with their timeless style and nods to the decades of love-driven music that audiences have cherished, performing classic love songs that resonate with their cross-generational fan base,” according to the press statement.

Larry Chance personifies the street corner music phenomenon of the rock and roll era. The Philadelphia-born singer put together The Earls when he moved to the Bronx as a teenager. They had their first hit in 1962 with the single “Remember Then.” They followed that up with the hits “Life Is But a Dream,” “Never” and “I Believe.”

By the early 1970s and 1980s, the Earls were one of the most requested groups in the doo-wop oldies circuit. Chance predicted the staying power of Doo Wop music decades ago and continued to stay loyal to and build on an astounding fan base. “A lot of the guys left the business…I never stopped I just continued on all these years.”

The Velvatones formed in 1975. Chance and Michaels have collaborated in the past, but this project brings even more positive messages to the mix. The music of Larry Chance and the Earlswas an influential force in Michaels’ life and would help inspire his successful 1986 release of his version of the Del-Vikings’ classic ‘Come Go With Me’.

“It’s not every day that you get to do a CD with your idol,” Michaels said in a statement. “I was that kid that used to turn on the radio and listen to all those hit records that Larry and the Earls had. It’s almost like a dream come true to get to work with one of your idols years later.”

SONGS FOR LOVERS

Track Listing

  1. Born To Be In Love
  2. I Cross My Heart
  3. For Your Precious Love
  4. Daddy’s Home
  5. If
  6. One In A Million
  7. Love Won’t Let Me Wait
  8. Suddenly
  9. Since I Fell
  10. Lady
  11. Three Times A Lady
  12. Love You Just The Way You Are
  13. My Everlasting Love
  14. I Just Want To Stop
  15. Let It Be Me

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SONGS FOR LOVERS is now available on iTunes, Amazon, and at   LarryChanceAndTheEarls.com/Store