Rover Boys

Formed in 1950 in Rover Boys, the Rover Boys were originally a vocal trio fashioned after the Four Aces. First tenor Larry Amato, second tenor Doug Wells (b. Southampton, England) and bass Al Osten relocated to Long Island, New York, USA in the early 50s and added lead vocalist Billy Albert (b. Brooklyn, New York USA) to the group. In 1954 they were discovered by disc jockey Bill Silbert and signed to Coral Records without any success. They moved to the ABC -Paramount label in 1956 and finally hit with ‘Graduation Day’, a US Top 20 placing, that year. Further recordings for ABC, RCA and United Artists failed to return the group to the top of the charts. The Beach Boys later covered the Rovers’ only hit.