Though affiliated with producer Wes Farrell (who had written several hits at the time and would later find major success with The Partridge Family), Astoria's The Alibis never achieved a level of success that would launch them to national fame. They did achieve a great deal of local fame, however, when they were recruited as the campaign band for New York mayoral candidate John V. Lindsay. Although they recorded two songs, neither was released--perhaps further sealing the fate of Robert Deviccaro's teen band. But lack of national success didn't prevent Deviccaro from reaching for the stars, nor in having the greatest time of his life, as a member of The Alibis.
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An Interview With Robert Deviccaro
60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music?
Robert Deviccaro (RD): I can remember in the early 1950s seeing five guys huddled together on the corner harmonizing. I was blown away. I knew at that moment that I wanted to do that. Shortly after that I discovered my brother’s 45 collection. My mom bought me my first transistor radio, and Elvis was here. I nagged my parents for years, so at nine-years old I finally started taking guitar lessons.
(I had) a couple of pipe dream bands with friends on the block but nothing significant.
60s: Where and when was The Alibis formed?
RD: The Alibis formed in Astoria, Queens, New York in 1964. Warren, Tony and I were inseparable friends who did every thing together; we sang and played constantly, honing our skills, constantly practicing. We literally taught Tony to play bass and sing. Then there was this guy, Noel, whose parents bought him a brand new drum set but he didn’t know how to play them—and he had a basement for rehearsing—so Warren taught him to play, and with much practice he became our drummer.
The The Alibis were: Warren Kelly (14) - Main lead vocals and rhythm guitar (he also played piano, bass and drums equally as well); Me, Robert Deviccaro, aka Bobby Dee (15) - Lead guitar and vocals; Tony Castro, aka Gene Davis, (15) - Bass guitar and vocals; and Noel Vassallo, aka Noel Edwards, (16) - Drums.
60s: How would you describe the band’s sound?
RD: We were an extremely tight vocal group, musically as well, and we had a spark that set us aside from the rest. We could cover everything from Little Anthony & The Imperials to The Beatles, who were our main influence.
60s: What was the Astoria music scene like in the ‘60s?
RD: Wow! Astoria in the ‘60s for me was probably equivalent to what it must have been like in England at the same time. It was explosive. Everyone grew his hair and bought a guitar. Music had arrived.
60s: Where did The Alibis typically play?
RD: We played all the local school and church dances, Sweet 16s, and graduations. We were very much in demand. One summer day we decided to set up and play on the sidewalk of a busy shopping area in Astoria. We arrived in a black limo and started to play. It caused pandemonium. We drew a very large crowd and were mobbed by young girls seeking our autographs. This launched The Alibis to a new level.
That same day a guy representing the John V. Lindsay for Mayor of New York City campaign approached us. He saw the crowd we drew playing outside and got a brainstorm. They bought a big truck and hired us to lead the music throughout the five boroughs of New York, drawing massive crowds to meet and greet John V. Lindsay. We shared the stage with many celebrities like Tom Jones, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jr. and, needless to say, Lindsay was elected mayor. At many performances on the Lindsay campaign trail the crowds got so intense that sometimes we needed police to help us get out. The girls literally tore our clothes off our backs; it was real Alibimania.
Sammy Davis, Jr. loved us. We worked with him many times. He couldn't get over how we kids could back him musically right on the spot; he would give us the key, count it off, and we were right there. We became known as "Sammy's Boys." He hired us to play at his private party at Danny's Hideaway in New York City celebrating his one year anniversary in "Golden Boy" on Broadway. He also invited us to Los Angeles to do his TV show, but that caused a conflict of interest with our management so that never happened.
Lionel Hampton hated appearing with us because we stole the show. He loved his spotlight. We also campaigned for Nelson Rockefeller for Governor of New York after the Lindsay campaign. Needless to say, Rockefeller won but we lost because the Governor gave Hampton some kind of music title in New York and that was it for us. We weren't invited to play at the Governor/s Inaugural Ball.
We played the Greenwich Village clubs, The Bonsoir, The Café Wha, and also played the mob bars and hangouts. For some reason wise guys really liked us. We were so young and naïve.
60s: How far was the band’s touring area?
RD: The Alibis never got to play outside of New York.
60s: Did The Alibis participate in any battle of the bands?
RD: We played a few battle of the bands but it really wasn’t our thing. We always came out on top. We were very versatile musically and weren’t locked into other bands sounds.
60s: What other local groups do you especially recall?
RD: There were so many local bands at that time. I can name a few like The Devotions, The Forum Quorum and The Generations. There were always lots of rival band members checking us out whenever we played somewhere.
60s: Did the band have a manager?
RD: My oldest brother, Tony Dee, became our manager. He formed “Tony Dee Enterprises.” He was very active promoting us; we had our own roadie, photographer and driver at the time.
60s: How popular locally did The Alibis become?
RD: We became very popular locally; it seemed we were destined to become stars. We were not popular with many envious friends and musicians or jealous boyfriends.
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60s: What were the circumstances leading to The Alibis’ opportunity to record?
RD: We were introduced to Wes Farrell through the ex-manager of The Devotions, who was now a member of our management team along with Roy Baxter, who managed many celebrities at the time. Wes loved us. As we sat there in his office he said if he had met us sooner he would have had us record ‘Hang On Sloopy,’ which he wrote and produced and was a big hit. Wes Farrell was a huge hitmaker in the music industry and we were under his wing. We recorded two 45s, ‘I Still Feel Blue’ and ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ but they were never released.
60s: Where did The Alibis record?
RD: We recorded in many studios with Wes Farrell: Liberty, Atlantic, and Columbia. Our experience recording was not a good one. Back then the hitmaker producers always used studio musicians at their sessions and this didn’t sit right with us, but we were told this is how it’s done, stick with it and we will have a hit.
60s: Who was the band’s primary songwriter?
RD: Warren Kelly, at 14-years old, was our primary writer. He was incredibly talented at such a young age. Wes Farrell negotiated a deal with Warren for 50% of writing and publishing rights, plus be named as co-writer on the record in return for a sure hit record. Warren’s parents objected to this deal and so started the beginning of our problems.
60s: Are there any other Alibis’ recordings, either unreleased or live?
RD: To my knowledge only a generic 45 that was not released exists. After our record deal crumbled our management had an idea—we would make the record ourselves on some guy’s eight-track with our own label, Boss Records. It was awful, a real disaster, and this was the downfall of The Alibis. But the records made great Frisbees.
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60s: Did the band make any TV appearances?
RD: While campaigning for John V. Lindsay we were interviewed many times by Gabe Pressman and appeared on local news shows several times, and there were many newspaper articles.
60s:Why did The Alibis break up?
RD: Although the life span of The Alibis was 1964-1966, we did and experienced an amazing amount of things in such a short time. We were so close. The journey was very exhausting for such young kids, and we could not hold it together any longer. (But) what a ride.
Warren and I continued playing after the break up. We formed a group called The Mumbly Pegs, which had a short but successful life with the school dance and nightclub scene. From there the journey began, with many bands and many musicians and many musical situations and many hopes and broken dreams.
60s: What keeps you busy today?
RD: Because of an injury, I have been disabled for the past four years and unfortunately I am unable to play the guitar. I have retired with my wife to a quiet and simple lifestyle in the middle of Pennsylvania farmland.
60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with The Alibis?
RD: My experiences with The Alibis were the best time of my life. It was an amazing journey for a 15-year old guitar player reaching for the stars. I came so close. What a ride. I would do all over again. Who wouldn’t?
Thank you for allowing me to remember the best time in my life. There is still so much to this story I haven’t told you. Maybe some other time…
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