The Capris
One of the signature songs of the early 1960s doo-wop revival was "There's a Moon Out Tonight" by The Capris from Queens, New York (not to be confused with a black Capris group from Philadelphia that recorded in the mid-'50s for Gotham Records). A Top 5 hit in 1961, "There's a Moon Out Tonight" had actually been recorded three years earlier, and when the single broke wide open, The Capris--lead singer Nick Santo, first tenor Mike Mincelli, second tenor Frank Reina, baritone Vinnie Narcardo and bass John Caassese--didn't even exist because the members had disbanded over a year earlier. But they came back…and kept coming back. In 1982 they recorded an album for Ambient Sound Records that produced yet another classic recording, "Morse Code of Love.
The first tenor, Mike Mincelli, started the group and kind of organized everybody. Nick came in six or seven months after the group was started. I would say probably around early 1958-spring or the summer is when we really got together. Then we had the final member to come into the group, Frank Reina. Shortly thereafter we recorded "There's a Moon Out Tonight" in1958 and it was released in the early part of 1959. It came out on Planet. If anybody has the record on Planet, it's worth anywhere from $500 to $1,000. I don't even have one. Mike is the only one [in the group] who has the record on the original label. Recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York, only two songs were recorded, "Moon" and "Indian Girl."
The Capris were named after the 1957 Chevy Capri.
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