THE THREE CHUCKLES

The Three Chuckles were an early American rock & roll group from Brooklyn.

Although designated rock & roll by contemporary observers, the sound of The Three Chuckles is closer to vocal pop, in hindsight. They formed around 1950, naming themselves after a popular candy of the day, and played East Coast establishments. Original accordionist/keyboardist Bill Bentl left the group in the mid-1950s and was replaced with Teddy Randazzo, then a teenager. In 1954, they recorded a song called "Runaround", written by a truck driver named Cirino Colacrai, and released it on Boulevard Records as the B-side to "At Last You Understand". The single was picked up for national distribution by RCA Victor, and "Runaround" became a hit, peaking at #20 on the U.S. national charts.

With their newfound fame, Randazzo became the lead singer and songwriter. They scored two further hits on the new Billboard charts: "Times Two, I Love You" (#67, 1955) and "And the Angels Sing" (#70, 1956). In 1956 Alan Freed offered them a spot in his movie Rock, Rock, Rock; following this Randazzo left the group for a solo career. Jackie Farrell joined after Randazzo left, but the group did not return to record, and broke up by 1958. Randazzo recorded solo.

Tommy Romano continued in the music industry, performing into the 1970s. In 1997, Collectables Records issued a collection of Three Chuckles songs on CD.

Members

Tommy Romano - vocals, guitar

Tommy "Russ" Gilberto - vocals, bass

Bill Bentl - accordion

Teddy Randazzo - accordion, vocals

Jackie Farrell - accordion