Directions

If comparisons are to be made, the omniscient Joe Franklin picked the right star.

Wayne Newton sings, plays the banjo, guitar, drums, taps, tells funny stories and sings a mean "Donke Shoen."

Larry Cutrone plays the banjo, the uke, the guitar, taps, tells funny stories, writes plays, songs and screenplays and sings a mean

"Mala Femina."

Trouble is, Wayne's a star; Larry ain't.

And when show-folks sit around over coffee and cheescake debating that age old dilema, the consensus is: "Larry is just too talented

to be a star."

Most folks who are not in show-biz or the music-biz might not grasp this inequity, but it is possible to be too good at too many things --- especially in this new age of specialization. You juggle? Good, I get it.

Let me put it another way. How many times have you attended a stage show or an amusement park revue and a performer steps out of the chorus and belts out a song that sends shivers up your spine and knocks your socks off! "Why isn't this kid a star?" you no-doubt think.

Larry has been knocking socks-off for over forty-years and is still at it. In a recent one-man show near his hometown, Long Valley, NJ, a reviewer wrote:

"The comedian and musician Larry Cutrone provied to be a virtuoso on several stringed instruments: guitar, mandolin, ukulele and strumming on the old banjo singing a country tune. Cutrone’s repertoire of songs seemed limitless as he performed pieces made famous by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, the Mamas and the Papas, and many other celebrated vocalists. He had fun with "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" and a number about an Italian mouse in the house. Cutrone played heavily on his ethnicity as he joked with the audience. (Don’t eat the baccalà if you’re invited to an Italian home for Christmas.)"

“But the love songs! That’s when Cutrone’s voice took on the deep, rich tones that sounded like creamy dark chocolate in musical form.

At the end of the planned performance, the audience clamored for an encore, and Cutrone obliged with “ New York, New York .”

Not mentioned was that Larry keeps busy every day by performing for those who may not be able to get out to see him, for Seniors and Assisted Living Centers. [Hear Larry Cutrone play banjo and sing "Swanee" ]

Back to the beginning. Larry confesses that he was first inspired by seeing Elvis on Ed Sullivan. "That was it! In 1965 I formed my first band The Four Roses, a combo that gained wide popularity in the explosion of boy-bands on the NJ club scene. "

"In 1966, right out of High School I left the Four Roses and started doing Greenwich Village Coffee houses as a single. I opened for some of the most famous folk music acts of the '60's. Then in 1969, I formed a band with Bobby Bandiera, who would later go on to be lead guitar with Bon Jovi, Springsteen, and Southside Johnny. The band broke up after only about 6 months. I auditioned for Pat Galo to go to Vegas as a featured act with him but (as usual with him in those days) he went ballistic on me and it didn't happen. I went back to doing a single and I never stopped doing to this day. "

Pat Galo is the prime example of a guy with too much talent not achieving stardom. A ruggedly handsome, blonde Italian stallion, a natural show-stopper, who could swing. His flashy house-rocking lounge act was top-shelf, comparable to the Treniers, Bell Boys, and Sam Butera's Witnesses. Sadly, he was his own worst enemy.

Larry Cutrone saw the contradictions in Galo's sparkling life on-stage and the drama of his darker side off-stage, and has spent several years writing a screenplay ("Fly Me To The Moon: The Pat Galo Story"), with Charlie Calello (who arranged for Sinatra, Striesand, Neil Diamond and others),

to produce the soundtrack. It is currently in the hands of HBO.

The remarkable thing about entertainers like Larry Cutrone -- they never give up. The rewards come in the day-to-day work, and for that he is blessed. Let's hope for Larry Cutrone his ship comes in with a mother-lode with his Pat Galo story. It's much too late to wish the same for Pat Galo.