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the del-rays REUNION CONCERT
The upcoming show is for family and friends only.
STRUTHERS — In 1961, the place to play for bands in the Youngstown area was the Elms Ballroom.
Become a regular at that venue, and you were officially one of the area’s top acts.
The ballroom, which stood on the site of what is now the Stambaugh Stadium parking deck on the Youngstown State University campus, is now long gone. All that remains are the memories of the bands and the fans who frequented the place.
One of those bands was The Del-Rays, a quintet whose members hailed from Campbell and Struthers.
The five men, who are now in their 60s, have long since disbanded, but they haven’t lost their desire to perform. As proof, they will give a reunion concert for family and friends only on the lawn of keyboardist Danny Carbon’s Poland home this Sunday.
The Del-Rays began rehearsing in May to prepare for the show.
The reunion was first proposed several months ago by Nick Timcisko, the band’s bass player. Timcisko, a Campbell native, now lives in Chagrin Falls.
The other members are Johnny Stanko, lead vocals and guitar; Joe “Mouse” Kalaman, saxophone; and Bruce Dill, drums. Stanko and Kalaman are Campbell natives and still live in the Mahoning Valley. Dill was from Struthers, and now lives in Conway, S.C. He will be traveling to Youngstown for Sunday’s show.
“We’re all getting old, and Nick said it might be fun if we could get together and have a picnic and play some songs for just family and friends,” said Carbon, who stressed the show is not for the public. “If we sound good and we get some positive feedback, we might do something later on for everyone, maybe a dinner-dance,” said Carbon.
The last time the group played together was a reunion show in 1991 at the Struthers Fieldhouse.
“We were invited to play at a Struthers Choir performance,” said Carbon. “More than 3,000 people showed up and it was the biggest crowd the choir ever had.”
The Del-Rays formed in September 1961 and were together until January 1964. During that time, they were the kings of the local music scene.
The band played doo-wop music, but unlike some similar acts of the day, each member also played an instrument.
“Johnny [Stanko] sang lead, and Joe and Nick sang backup, but both of them were also capable of singing lead,” said Carbon.
They were the darlings of radio station WHOT-AM 1330 (now Hot-101 FM), and the late Boots Bell, its legendary and influential DJ.
“Boots liked us, and we started working with him,” said Carbon. “We played dances — they called them record hops in those days — at the Elms and also at Idora Park in the summer.”
The Del-Rays played covers of songs by pop stars such as Dion and the Belmonts and Little Anthony and the Imperials. The quintet also recorded a couple of albums of songs written by Tony March of Struthers.
One of their songs was “Runaround Lou,” a take-off on the Dion hit “Runaround Sue.”
“We didn’t sell many records, and I think my mother bought most of them,” said Carbon. “Our recording career didn’t go far.”
Still, the Del-Rays won’t trade those days for anything.
“We had a good time,” said Carbon, “And that’s what we are hoping to have again.”