VOCAL GROUP HALL OF FAME Butala moving back home to guide museum's fix-up

They new museum will also feature a restaurant and piano bar.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- Tony Butala and his pet project, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, both have new homes.
Butala, Sharon native and founder of the singing group The Lettermen, is moving back to his West Hill roots to help with renovations of the hall's new museum.
Thursday the group finalized purchase of the former Phoenix Restaurant at 100 E. State St. In addition to the hall's regular displays, the building will have a restaurant and piano bar.
"We'd like to think that we will be open by fall," said Bob Crosby, president and chief executive officer of the hall of fame.
Crosby said they are still working on determining how much renovations will cost and are hoping that several state grants the group has applied for will pay for most of the work.
Crosby and Butala envision the new building as a clubhouse of sorts for the inducted vocal artists.
"We have 100 inductees; 75 are still living, and about 50 have fan clubs. They will be able to have events there, and these artists will be able to perform at the piano bar," Crosby said.
Butala also wants it to become a nightspot.
"I want to create an atmosphere where people come to lounge and where there will be impromptu acts singing," he said.
Returning to roots
Butala said he is moving back to the West Hill home where he was born. The eighth of 11 children, Butala left Sharon in 1950 at age 10, traveling to California with his mother, the former Mary Ference, to care for an ailing relative.
He had been singing professionally since age 6, making $10 to $15 a night for his 20-minute show. In California he auditioned for and was accepted into the Mitchell Boys Choir. His parents agreed to allow him to remain in California where he lived in a choir house and attended choir school.
Butala said he has owned his birth home since 1979 and visits the Shenango Valley several times a year but has decided to spend more time here since his sister moved back to the area from California.