If you grew up in New Jersey itâ€s likely you knew somebody who had a friend whose second cousin had a brother-in-law whose uncle was connected to “the Mob.” Born in Jersey City and raised in Union City and then Secaucus, Jon Dâ€Amore had family members who were “connected”. An accomplished musician and songwriter, Dâ€Amore kept mental notes of a Las Vegas casino caper that went down back in the day and tells the fascinating and sometimes nail-biting story in his new book, “The Boss Always Sits in the Back.” Hereâ€s an excerpt:

“This is my story, based on actual events, of living on the fringe of what some people call ‘the Mafia.†You see, several members of my immediate family were connected. Connected simply means that through blood, honor or business…you have a direct connection to the Cosa Nostra, the Mafia, Our Thing, La Famiglia, the Mob. And those members of my family made a very comfortable living for many, many years through this affiliation. I thought about becoming more involved when I was in my early 20s, but at the time it was the mid-1970s. I was a professional musician and having too much fun living the rock ‘n†roll lifestyle. I was living every dream of most of my high school and college buddies (and at the time… that mattered!), so why would I want to cut my hair, wear dark suits and ties…and take the chance of getting whacked? Instead, I decided to watch da guys from the sidelines.”

Funny, irreverent and a natural storyteller, Dâ€Amore has made Los Angeles his home since the mid-1990s, but he has remained connected to his Jersey roots. He returns to Hudson this month for special appearances at the Secaucus, Jersey City and North Bergen libraries where he will read excerpts and sign copies of “The Boss Always Sits in the Back,” On a recent afternoon, Dâ€Amore took time out of his busy schedule to talk with Riverview Observer about his controversial new book.

 `RVO: Can you tell our readers what “The Boss Always Sits in the Back” is about?

JD: The book is about some guys I knew from Hudson County who pulled off one of the greatest scams to hit Las Vegas and after it was exposed it changed gambling laws across the country forever so that a scam like this could never happen again. It tells a story of the human side of these people and at the same time it describes the demise of what can be considered ‘the Mob,†because it certainly isnâ€t what we knew it to be from the 1940s through the late 1970s.

RVO:  Why did you decide to write a book about the Mob?

JD: The things that happened in this book started in 1975 when I was a musician. When I had heard about what these guys were doing in Vegas, I thought it would make a fantastic story. One thing I always believe to be true is that these guys are part of our history. Like it or not, there isnâ€t a culture that hasnâ€t come to this country that didnâ€t have to do what they needed to do to survive as a family and as a culture. Itâ€s part of our society. These things I heard about I knew it needed to be written about and that these people needed to be immortalized, because of what they were doing. These guys, and I say ‘these guys†with love and respect, did amazing things when you think that none of them had a college degree, or even prior to 1970, a large number of them didnâ€t have a high school diploma and some of the things they did were worth writing about. I knew I always wanted to write this story but the timing wasnâ€t right. I needed to wait. There were loose ends that needed to resolved – people needed to be incarcerated or released.

RVO: Werenâ€t you a bit nervous about naming names?

JD: I changed the names of everyone except my family. Everybody who is still alive and who I am still in contact with, I told them that I wrote this story and they all ask the same question: ‘Whoâ€s going to play me in the movie?â€

RVO:  Have there been any movie offers?

JD: Thereâ€s been a lot of interest. I wrote the screenplay and I have people contacting me wanting to talk business. Weâ€re just waiting for the right person to get a $25 million movie made. Thatâ€s the budget of this project.

 RVO:  How did you go from being a musician to a writer?

JD:  Because I had been taking guitar lessons since I was seven, by the time I was 14, I could read any kind of music chart put in front of me and that gave me impetus to write songs. Iâ€m not saying any were blockbusters or hits, but I learned how to write lyrics that were good. In the Jersey club bands I played in, the songs I wrote were good for the time we were doing them. I always wrote to a degree, just not books or anything that was publishable until 1976. At the Herald News an editor found out I was a traveling musician and gave me the opportunity to write a weekly column called “Jon Dâ€Amore on the Road.” When I was touring, I got to tell about being a musician on the road. I got to review albums, concerts. I got out of the music business in 1985 and I made it into the corporate world and by the 90s, I was traveling all over the country as a corporate executive doing presentations for large groups. I was in the insurance business but I never sold a life insurance policy in my life. After a decade in the corporate world, I was unhappy with what I was doing. I loved the people who were benefiting from what I did, but Iâ€m not really a corporate guy.

RVO:  What made you decide to become a Californian? Did you have ties there?

JD:  My father had two cousins who had established themselves in the restaurant business in Los Angeles from the 1930s to the 1970s, so when I was a kid, we came out here to visit. I donâ€t remember this, but I was told that when I was just an infant the actor James Dean, who was a frequent customer of my cousinâ€s restaurant, picked me up and held me in his arms. Six weeks later he would be killed. I always had a connection out here and I always knew I would live here.

RVO:  You have several book signings scheduled including May 16th at the Secaucus Library. How does it feel to come back to your hometown a published author?

JD:  In all honesty, itâ€s a wonderful feeling to be able to go back. From first grade to eighth grade, I attended school in Union City and from ninth grade to high school graduation I went to Weehawken High School. (Back when I was living in Secaucus, there wasnâ€t a local high school and we went to Weehawken.) At the book signings, there will be people I havenâ€t seen since then. I was the guy who played all the high school dances. And you know whose footsteps Iâ€m following? You know who else was famous from Secaucus who came before me? The Tidy Bowl Man, the guy who did all those Tidy Bowl commercials. Thatâ€s the guy Iâ€m following.

If you go:

Jon Dâ€Amore will read excerpts and sign copies of his new book

“The Boss Always Sits in the Back” on the following dates in Hudson:

 

Wed, May16, 7 pm

Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center 1379 Paterson Plank Road

Secaucus

(201) 330-2083

www.secaucus.bccls.org

 

Thursday, May 17, 6 pm

North Bergen Free Public Library

8411 Bergenline Avenue

North Bergen (201) 869-4715

www.njpl.org

 

Mon, May 21, 6 pm

Jersey City Free Public Library

Five Corners Branch

678 Newark Ave. Jersey City, NJ 07306 (201) 547-4543

www.jclibrary.org/branches/five-corners

 

For more information, or to purchase the hardcover or paperback of “The Boss Always Sits in the Back,” visit www.thebossalwayssitsintheback.com. (hardcover $22; paperback $13)

Kindle and Nook readers can download the book for $7.99 at www.Amazon.com and www.B&N.com

Boxing Promoter Al Certo (2nd from left) along with Boxers: (l) Joey Giardello, next to Al Certo the great Jack Dempsey and Willie Pep

Photo Below: A young Jon D’Amore future author holding a fake machine gun at a friends wedding

The post MOBSTER TALES-Jon D’Amore Who Grew Up in Secaucus, Pens Page Turner on Jersey Wiseguys and The Casino Caper first appeared on River View Observer.

by Sally Deering 

 In the 1920s, when Shirley Temple tapped into America’s hearts with her bouncing ringlets, ruffled crinolines and shiny black tap shoes, mothers from Canarsie to Kenosha trundled their daughters off to their local dance school dreaming of their baby girl’s name in lights. Nowadays, child stars go by first names like Britney, but the local dance school still thrives as the only training ground for kids who dream of a dancing career.

 One local dance pioneer who has kept the stage lights burning in her neighborhood dance studio for the past 34 years is Diane Dragone, Artistic Director of The Kennedy Dancers, a professional dance company and dance school that stands in the wings of New York City.  Through her school and with her years as a teacher and choreographer, Dragone has trained and enriched the lives of thousands of inner-city kids – some who became professional dancers — and she has brought modern and classical dance performances to the multi-cultural and economically-diverse Hudson community.

 On Friday and Saturday, May 7 and 8, dance-lovers will have the opportunity to see Dragone’s dynamic troupe perform when The Kennedy Dancers take the stage at St. Joseph’s School for the Blind in their beautiful theater space on Summit Avenue in Jersey City. This Spring Dance Concert will feature contemporary choreographer Sean Curran’s “Force of Circumstance,” and three Dragone choreographies:  “Caven Point” – about a Jersey City encampment during WWII; “La Dolce Vita,” Dragone’s valentine to her Italian heritage with songs by Rosemary Clooney, Dean Martin and Louis Prima; and the World Premiere of “My Obsession with Cats,” – a choreography that’s close to Dragone’s animal-activist heart.

 A successful business-and-Renaissance woman, Dragone runs a dance company and school, choreographs , raises a family, performs community outreach and rescues stray animals – all in a day’s work. And at the heart of it all, she is a dancer teaching others the “language of dance” so that they may feel the thrill she has known twirling across the stage, leaping into the air and springing into a dance partner’s arms. 

 “Dancing is ageless, I believe that,” Dragone says, sitting at her desk while a teen ballet class is in progress in her studio on Central Avenue.  “Everybody can dance; you have to break through those inhibitions.  Dancing can be a healing process. It’s excellent for your body, mind and soul.”

 FELINES AND THE REPERTOIRE

The Kennedy Dancers performances on May 7 and 8 in the theater at St. Joseph’s School for the Blind will feature the professional company and the Inner-City Youth teen company composed of students who have trained with Dragone since they were toddlers in tights and taps. One of the highlights of the program will be Dragone’s “My Obsession with Cats,” a choreography about the felines Dragone adores and rescues with the help of her husband, teacher and professional videographer Tom Horan and their children Gigi, 17, and Danny, 15.

 “Cats are beautiful, their movement is beautiful and their personalities are all distinct. They’re a great source of inspiration for dance because they move in many ways,” Dragone says while her two studio cats Sylvester and Silvio are busy cat-napping near her desk. “There have always been cats in my life from the time I was little.”

 Dragone has choreographed hundreds of dances and currently, The Kennedy Dancers perform about 30 dances from the repertoire in venues throughout the tri-state area. Committed to bringing dance to all members of the community, Dragone offers ballroom and exercise classes to seniors; ballet and tap to toddlers and adolescents; ballet, tap and hip-hop to teens and ‘tweens and Zumba and Yoga to adults. A certified dance teacher by the New Jersey Department of Education, Dragone has taught special education dance at Hudson County Schools of Technology and brought dance to children and adults with physical and learning disabilities at St. Joseph’s School for the Blind in Jersey City.

“They loved the dance classes,” Dragone says of the children with disabilities. “It was very emotional for our teachers because some of these children are encapsulated in their own world or they never really experienced creative movement before and you could see they loved dancing. If you can’t see very well and you’re afraid to move, this was a really freeing experience.”

 That program lost its funding. So did the program teaching dance to incarcerated teenagers at the Hudson County Juvenile Detention Center in Secaucus, which was funded by the New Jersey Council on the Arts.  Dragone hopes someone will come up with the funding to reinstate both programs. The students looked forward to it, she says.

 “I think dance gave them something beautiful and challenging,” Dragone says.

 A LOAN TO BUILD A DREAM ON

Creating beautiful and challenging dances was the most important thing to Dragone back when she first opened her studio in 1976 with money she saved and a loan from her parents Anne and Daniel. It was a tiny, bohemian studio on Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City that her dad helped her paint and where she used her training as a dancer and her certification as a teacher to teach ballet, tap and jazz to kids and teens. 

 “The dance students are the mainstay of a company,” Dragone says. “You’re developing young minds and bodies and your goal is to give them an aesthetic, enjoyment and a sense of physical accomplishment. The beauty of dance inspires children and adults to keep coming back to the dance studio.”

 And if the students can’t come to the studio, then Dragone goes into their living rooms with the cable-TV show she hosts and produces with her husband, Tom.  “Dance Vista,” features interviews and choreographies by contemporary dance artists and, after 13-years on the air, the show is now seen on cable stations throughout New Jersey and New York.

 THE STUDENTS’ SUCCESS

Many of The Kennedy Dancers’ students go on to professional dance careers and Dragone is thrilled by their successes. One former student is performing in the musical “Buddy” in London’s West End; another is currently in a show at the La Mama theater in New York.  One dancer joined the Miami Ballet, one is with the Martha Graham dance company and another is featured in the Julie Taymor film, “Across the Universe” – and those are just recent accomplishments.

 “I’m thrilled for them and proud of them,” Dragone says. “I love it.”

 Determined to bring The Kennedy Dancers to new heights, Dragone’s choreography “God Bless America,” was recently named a finalist in the NJN Hispanic Dance competition to be held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in May. And last year, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts gave Dragone and The Kennedy Dancers an Award for Excellence for their outstanding work and Dragone’s compelling choreography.

 THE DANCER IN HER SOUL

So, how does a choreographer make dances? What comes first, the movement or the music?

 “I see people walking down the street, kids dance around, the windshield wipers move;” Dragone says, “I sit in the car listening to the radio and someone walks by to the rhythm of the music – all things can inspire your dances.”

 And that goes for cats, too.                                                                                         

 The Kennedy Dancers present their Spring Dance Performances on Fri, May 7 and Sat, May 8 at St. Joseph‘s School for the Blind 761 Summit Ave, Jersey City.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door; $18 for students and seniors with ID.

Call 201-659-2190 for tickets and class information or visit www.kennedydancers.org.

 

 

 

 

 

The post COVER STORY-Leading The Kennedy Dancers first appeared on River View Observer.

Record producers will tell you that in order to make it in the music business you have to be equipped with; a good strong voice, loads of confidence and the ability to perform on the spot, and to have passion! The passion to give it all you’ve got and the drive not to stop until you get there!

Just ask Johnny Martin (aka John Marino) a singer whose drive and passion have propelled him to record his first CD, “Johnny Martin, I Will Always Love You.”

Growing up in Jersey City, N.J. Martin loved to sing; he was drawn to it and did it well. As a grammar school student at Holy Rosary in downtown Jersey City, Martin first realized that he had the ability to sing. Speaking to his parents he explained his desire to sing, soon after he began taking voice lessons to master his vocal technique, but after grammar school it soon came to a pause.

As a high school student at Ferris High School, he sung on street corners with small groups, always testing his vocals and enjoying his love for music, but never going beyond that.

In the year of 1974, Marino opened up his own business in hair restoration, and with true dedication to his business and raising his family, he took another pause from his music.

Although the passion to sing lived within him, he worked hard and dedicated all of his time into making his business a success.

The years would soon pass by, and Martin still continued to embrace his true feelings of singing deep within; so in the early 1990’s, he decided to finally take the next step into making his singing career a reality. With the support of his wife and family he picked up where he left off and committed himself to taking voice lessons. He worked hard at it for several years and perfected his voice, he refined his styled and decided that it was time to get serious.

Martin explains, “I started recording myself at home and playing it back and listening to myself. I started thinking if I want to get serious again, I better go back and take some lessons and that’s what I did.” As he continued with his lessons, Martin began to focus on his goal to make an album of songs that he loved.

In 2008, through friends of Martin’s he met a couple from N.J who had a studio, their names Sharman and Alfred Nittoli (the Nittoli’s are well-known for writing the song “Here’s to the Band” for Frank Sinatra.) Upon meeting the Nittoli’s, Martin realized that this was the direction he wanted to take in order to bring his album to fruition. Soon after their meeting Martin concentrated on his goal, he gathered together a talented ensemble of musicians, which consisted of Tommy Cavalucci (Drums), Frankie Cupo (Bass, Keyboards), Gill Chimes (Vibes, Harmonica) Sharman Nittoli (Piano, Keyboards, Background Vocals, Musical Director and Arranger) and Alfred Nittoli (Saxophone, Violin, Musical Director and Arranger). Together the entire team began recording and what transpired was not only Johnny Martin’s album, but a life-long dream of Martin’s that had finally become a reality. 

 His new CD is made up with a compilation of songs from the “great American songbook.” He explains, “I’ve always been a lover of the American songbook. As a matter of fact if you look at my high school yearbook, you’ll see that I was a big Sinatra fan.” Although at the time it was all about rock, I was always quoted as being a fan of his”.

The title of Martin’s new CD, “I Will Always Love You,” which is also the first cut on the CD and a wonderful song made famous by another crooner Dean Martin, is the perfect title and song to begin Johnny Martin’s tribute to the “great American song book”.

Johnny Martin shows real vocal mastery on each track of his CD, he demonstrates impeccable phrasing in each song and his love of this genre of music can be felt on each track. I especially loved “My Baby Just Cares for Me, “an up-tempo number with female background vocals that will have your foot tapping throughout the song.

Based on his first CD I believe Martin has a long singing career ahead of him. He does a wonderful rendition of “More”, and the “Way You Look Tonight.” Martin’s CD will always have a place as part of my own permanent record collection. I enjoyed the CD that much and you will  too!

Martin credits Sharman and Alfred Nittoli and his wonderful and talented musicians for their help and dedication to making this album. He also expresses heartfelt thanks and dedicates his CD to his wife Pat and his family, which he expresses, “Without their love and support, it wouldn’t have been possible.” His advice for up and coming singers is this, ” If you feel that you have a talent, pursue your talent and get professional help; pursue your dream and never give up. Never stop meeting people; by meeting people  that’s how you’ll network yourself and make connections. No one is ever going to promote you, you have to promote yourself.” Pursuing your dreams and never giving up is something this talented singer has truly accomplished; with a successful business, a completed CD and the realization of a dream, Martin is a true inspiration to us all.

If you’re interested in learning more about Johnny Martin or if you would like to listen to some of his songs, sign on to www.johnnymartinsings.com 

Also, if you’re interested in booking Martin for your next event you can email him at johnmartinsings@aol.com

Read more music stories @www.riverviewobserver.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Introducing the One and Only “Johnny Martin” first appeared on River View Observer.

But in Hudson County-He’s it!!    

Although Frank Sinatra died over 11 years ago, his legend, and music and escapades as an entertainer on and off the stage and screen live on. Especially in Hudson County where stories about the boy from Hoboken are passed down from parents to children. In Hudson County we love Frank Sinatra .Everyone has a Sinatra story – it really is -Six degrees of Frank Sinatra here. You hear things like “Frank was at my mother’s wedding,” or “they say he use to ride the streets of Hoboken late at night in his limo, remembering the good old days. And   there isn’t a restaurant in Hudson County that doesn’t have  some kind of photo of Frank. Yep, In Hudson County we love Frank- here is a bio on Hudson County’s favorite son.       

Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Frank Sinatraâ€s father was a firefighter and amateur boxer named Martin Anthony Sinatra while his mother, Natalie Sinatra had political aspirations. Over the next eighty years Frank Sinatra was a singer, actor, director and producer who entertained generation after generation all over the world.Maybe it was due to the fact that his father was an amateur pugilist, but Sinatra wanted to become a sportswriter when he was young. Frank Sinatraâ€s first job was as an office boy in the Hudson Observer. It was supposed to be his apprenticeship where he picks up the tricks of the trade. But once he heard the voice of Bing Crosby on radio, he changed his mind and decided that he would become a singer. Along with a few pals he formed the Hoboken Four.

Frank Sinatra was known as Ol†Blue Eyes to his fans. One of the first entertainment superstars the world has known. Frank Sinatraâ€s songs have a timeless beauty to them. Sinatraâ€s hit songs include “Strangers in the Night”, “The Lady is a Tramp”, “New York, New York” and “Chicago.” He was the first ever star to have teenage girl fans scream at him in public. The word bobbysoxer was coined around this time.

Frank Sinatra, the actor refused to be typecast or slotted into any particular category. He acted in serious movies such as “The Manchurian Candidate,” “From here to Eternity” capers such as Oceanâ€s Eleven and outrageous musicals such as “Guys and Dolls” and “Pal Joey.” He went on to act in more than fifty films.

Frank Sinatra is a ten time Grammy award winner, two time Golden Globe winner and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “From Here to Eternity.” He also won an honorary Oscar for his work on “The House I Live In” which was a short film advocating racial equality and secularism. Apart from these he also won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award and Cecil B DeMille Award. National achievements included Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award, Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Another legacy of Frank Sinatra was the legendary Rat Pack. It comprised his close friends in the entertainment business. The Rat Pack included Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Milton Berle and Tony Curtis.

It will be an understatement to say that Sinatra had a busy love life. At various points in time he was married to Ava Gardner, Mia Farrow and Barbara Marx. When Frank Sinatra married Mia Farrow, he was thirty years older than her. His lovers included Lauren Bacall, Juliet Prowse and Dorothy Provine. Sinatra was to be married to Bacall but he called it off when he realized that the press had heard of their engagement.

But it was not only milk and honey for Sinatra. The Frank Sinatra file in the FBI is in excess of two thousand pages. He was plagued with mob affiliations throughout his career. It is rumored that the character of Johnny Fontane in the book “Godfather” was inspired by Sinatra. Frank Sinatra lost his gambling license in Nevada after he was seen in the company of Sam Giancana. Giancana was at the time accused of ordering the killing of more than two hundred people.

Another Sinatra fan was the infamous Lucky Luciano. Frank Sinatra, Jr. was kidnapped in 1963. It was only on the payment of ransom money by his father that he was released. For his part Frank Sinatra has steadfastly denied his alleged mob links throughout his life.

Frank Sinatraâ€s children have all done work that keeps their illustrious fatherâ€s legacy intact. His daughter Nancy Sinatra was an actress and she wrote two books about Frank. His son Frank Sinatra Jr, was the conductor in his fatherâ€s orchestra. Frank Sinatraâ€s youngest daughter, Christina Sinatra produced a mini series on the life of her father.

Though Frank Sinatra announced his retirement in 1971, there was no way that his fans would let him stop. He appeared in numerous television serials and movies throughout the 1980â€s. In 1993 and 1994 he released two albums called Duets I and Duets II which comprised his songs with other artists over the years. These turned out to be his highest ever selling albums. He even went on to the win the Grammy for Duets II. Frank Sinatra died on May 14, 1998.

Anish Chandy

The post Hudson County’s Favorite Son-Frank Sinatra first appeared on River View Observer.