The Lettermen
21+ show
The Lettermen are: Tony Butala, Donovan Tea and Bobby Poynton
The one change Tony Butala, original and founding member of The Lettermen, would have made in the 50 plus year career of one of the most popular vocal groups in history is a surprising one. "We chose the wrong name!" he exclaims. "In the late 50's, when you started a vocal group and wanted to stand out from the crowd, all you had to do was use a novel new name that would give your group a unique look and image."
The '60's and early '70's saw The Lettermen score over 25 chart hit singles, including "Theme From 'A Summer Place" (No. 16, 1965, from the Sandra Dee/Troy Donahue film), "Goin' Out of My Head/Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (No. 7, 1968, the first hit record ever to completely integrate two songs as one) and "Hurt So Bad (No. 12, 1969).
Their signature sound made romantic standards of songs such as "Smile," "Put Your Head On My Shoulder," "Shangri-La," "Love," "Traces/Memories" and on and on.
Among those 32 consecutive albums, which charted in the Top 100 in the United States, four were certified gold: "The Lettermen!!!...And "Live" (1967) "Goin' Out of My Head" (1968), "Best of The Lettermen" (1969) and "Hurt So Bad"(1970).