Songs People Should Hear

[Music Head]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoYRWY-r2so

"The Worst That Could Happen" is a song with lyrics and music written by singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded on The 5th Dimension's 1967 album of nearly all-Jimmy Webb songs, The Magic Garden, "The Worst That Could Happen" later reached the Billboard Hot 100's top 40 (at #38) on 4 January 1969 and peaked at #3 on 1-8 February 1969 for Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge.

It has been stated that along with "MacArthur Park" and "By The Time I Get to Phoenix", "The Worst That Could Happen" is about a love affair he had with a woman named Susan.

Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge (or simply The Brooklyn Bridge) is an American musical group, best known for their million selling rendition of Jimmy Webb’s "The Worst That Could Happen" (1968).

Brooklyn-born Johnny Maestro (born John Mastrangelo; May 7, 1939 – March 24, 2010) began his career in 1957 as the original lead singer of The Crests, one of the first interracial groups of the recording industry. [1] [2] Patricia VanDross, older sister to famed R&B singer Luther Vandross sang with Johnny Maestro during his tenure as lead vocalist with The Crests. After a regional hit with "My Juanita"/"Sweetest One" on the Joyce label, and two years of chart success on Coed Records with "16 Candles", "Step by Step", "The Angels Listened In", and "Trouble in Paradise", Maestro left The Crests for a solo career. Maestro was unable to reach his former chart heights with The Crests, but did have Top 40 hits with "What A Surprise" and "Model Girl" in 1961 and 1962, respectively.

By 1967, another New York vocal group called the Del-Satins--who had become well-known in the New York area as weekly performers on the local dance party program The Clay Cole Show, had made several non-charting recordings between 1959 and 1967 under their own name, and were also noted for backing up Dion on his post-Belmonts recordings--were looking for a new lead singer to replace original lead Stan Ziska. Other members were brothers Fred and Tom Ferrara (baritone and bass), Les Cauchi (first tenor) and Bobby Failla (second tenor). According to Cauchi, members of the group ran into Maestro at a local gym, playing his guitar, and approached him with the offer to join the group. After initially turning them down, Maestro's manager, Betty Sperber, called Cauchi and told him Maestro had changed his mind.

In 1968, Sperber, owner and founder of the talent management and booking agency Action Talents in New York City, was hosting her once a month Battle of the Bands talent search at the Cloud Nine nightclub in Long Island and brought Maestro along as the evening's special guest star. Action Talents' Vice President and General Manager Alan White suggested that Maestro be backed up that night by a seven-piece brass-filled group of youngsters called The Rhythm Method. That night's performance was such a success that the next day Sperber decided to combine the talents of Maestro, the four Del-Satins, and The Rhythm Method. The new group's name came about after White made the off-handed comment that "it would be easier to sell the Brooklyn Bridge" than book the proposed 12-piece act.

Johnny and the Bridge rehearsed their unusual combination of smooth vocal harmonies and full horns, and signed a recording contract with Buddha records. Their first release, a version of the Jimmy Webb song "The Worst That Could Happen" (a note-for-note cover of the version previously recorded by The 5th Dimension on the album The Magic Garden, which had not been released as a single), reached No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart. It sold over one and a quarter million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A.. The follow up, "Welcome Me Love", and its flip side, "Blessed is the Rain" — both by Tony Romeo — each reached the Top 50. A dramatic version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the controversial "Your Husband, My Wife" also reached the middle ranges of the charts. The group sold over 10 million records by 1972, including LP sales, mostly produced by Wes Farrell. Appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Della Reese Show, and other programs helped to bring the group to the national stage.

After its heyday, The Brooklyn Bridge downsized to a five-man group, with the vocalists playing their own instruments. For example, Maestro could be seen on stage playing rhythm guitar, while former Rhythm Method bassist Jim Rosica picked up a vocal part. Later in the 1970s, as the Rock and Roll Revival evolved from a nostalgic fad to a respected genre, the group began to add members, retaining its core vocalists. By 1985, the group had solidified into an eight piece group, including original Del Satins Cauchi and Fred Ferrara and original Bridge member Rosica, and augmented by a horn section for special occasions. The drummer for the current line up, Lou Agiesta, was the drummer for the original American touring company of Jesus Christ Superstar.

The later version of the Brooklyn Bridge released a Christmas EP in 1989 and a greatest hits compilation in 1993, re-recording Maestro's hits with The Crests. In the early 1990s, Maestro moonlighted as the background tenor on Joel Katz's studio project CD Joel & the Dymensions (which also featured baritone-bass Bobby Jay). In 1994, The Brooklyn Bridge recorded a 10-song a cappella CD.

Recently, the Brooklyn Bridge was featured in one of PBS's biggest fundraising events ever, "Doo Wop 50", performing both "Sixteen Candles" and "The Worst That Could Happen"; the entire program was released on VHS and DVD. In 2005, the Brooklyn Bridge released a full concert-length DVD as part of the Pops Legends Live series. They continue to tour and in 2004 released a CD on the Collectables label titled Today, featuring more re-recordings of their hits and versions of other groups' songs of the 1950s and 1960s.

The Brooklyn Bridge was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame with the class of 2005.

The Brooklyn Bridge were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006. On March 31, 2009, the album Today, Volume 2 was released on CD by Collectables.

Johnny Maestro died on March 24, 2010 from cancer in Cape Coral, Florida at age 70

Girl, I heard you're getting married
Heard you're getting married, this time you're really sure
And this is the end, they say you really mean it
This guy's the one that makes you feel so safe, so sane and so secure
And, baby, if he loves you more than me
Maybe it's the best thing
Maybe it's the best thing for you
But it's the worst that could happen to me
I'll never get married
Never get married, you know that's not my scene
But a girl like you needs to be married
I've known all along you couldn't live forever in between
And, baby, if he loves you more than me
Maybe it's the best thing
Maybe it's the best thing for you
But it's the worst that could happen to me
And, girl, I don't really blame you for having a dream of your own
Hey, girl, I don't really blame you
A woman like you needs a house and a home, baby
If he really loves you more than me
Maybe it's the best thing
Maybe it's the best thing for you
But it's the worst that could happen
Oh, girl, don't wanna get married
Girl, I'm never, never gonna marry, no no
No, it's the worst that could happen
The worst that could happen
Oh, girl, the worst that could happen