Peter Lemongello
Biography
Peter Lemongello
actually began his singing career in Hawaii during a week's R&R
from duty with the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1968. While in the
audience at the Don Ho show, Peter responded to a request for
"Anyone Who Wants To Sing This Song Instead Of Me, Come Up and
Take Over", and got a response that prompted Don Ho to ask Peter
to become part of his show.
 After returning home and
beginning to seek work and study voice, Peter landed a week at
the "Living Room" in Manhattan. It was the first time he had
been reviewed by the New York critics in the major newspapers.
 His reviews were so
strong that it prompted the owner of the world famous
"Copacabana" to hire him as the opening act for comedian Don
Rickles for his 2 week engagement.
During that run, Peter
was seen by Fred DeCorova, the producer of NBC's Tonight Show.
After several appearances, other TV shows such as the Merv
Griffin, Mike Douglas, and Dinah Shore shows invited Peter to
make guest appearances on their national shows.
Within his first three
years Peter was signed by "Epic" records, a division of Columbia
or CBS and the William Morris Theatrical agency and was now in
the management camp of "Joe Scandore", who also managed along
with Don Rickles, Vic Damone, Tote Fields and Steve Allen.
It appeared that Peter
was on his way to being a very big singing star and certainly
had all the important people in the industry in agreement with
his dream of being a star.
Whether Epic records
didn't push hard enough, or the William Morris agency and Joe
Scandore were waiting for each other to make the first move is
not certain. Peter found himself back to zero by year 5.
There were live
appearances in Las Vegas, in Reno, in Tahoe at the Westbury
Music Fair and some of the largest venues in the country opening
for Rickles, Newhart, Hackett, Fields etc., and Peter was
gaining valuable experience from that and the many TV shows he
guested on, but there was no record company and no opportunity
to become a star.
Music had changed so
greatly that people like Steve Lawrence, Johnny Mathis, Sammy
Davis, Jr. and Jack Jones (The "Straight" or great stand-up
singers) as they are referred to in the business were not
recording either, so Peter's chances looked pretty bleak.
By 1975 Peter realized
that if he was ever going to get in front of the American
public, he would have to produce and promote himself to let the
public decide if he was going to be accepted or not.
Peter Lemongello (Via
his legendary Love '76 Television Album) became not only the
first singer in American history to sell over one Million albums
on television. He also was the first singer to underwrite the
cost of this unprecedented TV Ad campaign by going public and
selling shares of stock in his career to the public.
In addition to becoming
a household word inside of his first 16 weeks by blanketing New
York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas with over 100 television
commercials per week. His story made the Front Page of the Wall
Street Journal.
Every major TV news
organization from 60 Minutes to A Current Affair did feature
stories on Peter's accomplishment. Every major newspaper and
magazine (People, Time, Newsweek, The London Sun, L.A. and New
York Times, etc.) ran feature stories as well. He was even
Bachelor of the Month in Cosmopolitan Magazine.
Along with famed writer
Teddy Randazzo, who wrote among other hits, "Goin Out Of My
Head", Peter created "Mood-Rock Music" (Tender Love Ballads put
to a new beat moving them into a contemporary feel).
"Do I Love You" by Paul Anka and "The Hungry Years" by Neil
Sadaka jumped out of the album and onto the radio stations to
become the signature songs of the TV album.
Instantly, Peter was
headlining in his own right, at the biggest and most famous
places like "Carnegie Hall", "Lincoln Center for the Performing
Arts", and "Madison Square Garden" with all of them sold
out....and he had proved that the buying public still respected
and admired his kind of music.
Peter has continued to
perform all these years in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Branson
Missouri, Myrtle Beach, SC., and........
Today, married to his
lovely wife Karen and with their son, (Peter
Jr.), Peter Lemongello is living in South Florida and is one of
the major attractions at the countless venues that flourish in
this area.
His
new CD, Peter Lemongello, "NOW", is planned for
release in January of 2008.
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