The "Another Night At The Cicada Festival: Part I" Story

Foreword:  Standing with the rest of the crowd of between 700-1,000 old-timers, applauding The Lettermen after a stellar performance at the Mount Gretna Playhouse in Mt. Gretna, PA.  I must admit that there were a few whippersnappers in attendance, taking photos and videos of the performers, but most of them left at intermission, not realizing how great the songs were that were being performed on this beautiful evening in the middle of the forest in Lebanon County.  

The Mount Gretna Playhouse in Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania

Every year during the first couple of weeks in August, the Pennsyl- vania Chautauqua Foundation presents the "Cicada Music Festival" with a mostly oldies group of performers.  This years festival performers were: The Bronx Wanderers, Beginnings (Chicago Tribute Band), Tusk (Fleetwood Tribute Band), We've Only Just Begun (Carpenters Remembered), The Lettermen and Phil Dirt and the Dozers.  Carol and I chose to come to see The Lettermen and our all-time favorite Phil Dirt and the Dozers.  Today's story will tell you about our evening with The Lettermen while tomorrow's story will give you the highlights of our evening with Phil Dirt and the Dozers.

It was an ordinary day.  I knew right from the beginning that I had made a big mistake.  I always carry my trusty a55 Sony DSLR with me where ever I go, but since every other show at the Mt. Gretna Playhouse has not allowed recordings or photography, I left it at home.  And, as most of you know by now, I don't use or trust the camera I have on my flip-top Verizon phone, so I was without a device to document the concert we are watching that featured The Lettermen.  After they had sung a few of their great hits they announced that they love to have photos and videos taken during their performance even though it says the opposite in the program.  With that comment everyone pulled out their phones and began pointing them at the stage.  That is except for Carol and me!  After another song or two they asked if anyone in the audience wanted to have a photo taken with them to come up right now.  Wow!  Fifteen to twenty minutes later, after all the photos were taken, the show continued.  Very personable guys who did a great job helping us all remember why we loved their music so much.  Most groups we go to see at Mt. Gretna are tribute bands who at times look like the original performers and usually sound just like their recordings, but this band actually had the guy who founded and performed with The Lettermen.  Even though he has aged, as we all have, and his voice isn't as strong as it probably was at one time, he still has the energy, talent, personality and hair that he had when he began the group 57 years ago.  

The Lettermen featuring Bobby Poynton, Donovan Tee and Tony Butala.

Yep, the group has been on tour for 54 years!  Tony Butala, the only original member, who started the group in 1958, grew up in Sharon, Pennsylvania and began singing on radio at the age of eight.  Shortly after, he moved to Hollywood where he sang with the famous Mitchell Boys Choir who appeared on TV, radio, movies and toured worldwide.  In the mid-50's he formed The Fourmost, a group of three guys from the choir and Concetta Ingolia who later left the group for TV where she used her stage name Connie Stevens.  The Lettermen, Butala, Jim Pike and Bob Engemann signed a recording contract in 1960 with Warner Brothers and then in 1961 with Capitol Records.  Early songs that I remembered and were sung tonight were The Way You Look Tonight, When I Fall In Love, Come Back Silly Girl, Theme From A Summer Place, Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You, Put Your Head On My Shoulder, Traces/Memories and Goin' Out Of My Head.  At the beginning of show tonight, a large screen at the top right of the stage showed the group being introduced on TV shows from The Ed Sullivan Show to Milton Berle's show.  And, if you close your eyes, they sound exactly as they did 54 years ago.  There have been a few personnel changes over the years.  Since 1967 there have been seven different performers filling the shoes of Engermann and Pike.  Donovan Tea joined The Lettermen in 1984 while Bobby Poynton joined in 1988, left in 1995, and is now back once again.  Donovan was the lead singer with The Young Americans at the age of 17 in 1973 while Poynton tried his hand act acting with stops on Days Of Our Lives, Jake and the Fatman, Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Walker: Texas Ranger.  The harmonic melodies of The Lettermen filled the outdoor auditorium and brought back the days when music was at it's finest.  Hoping that they might once again return to Mt. Gretna and give us another chance to relive the days of Danny & The Juniors, The Four Freshmen, The Four Preps and naturally The Lettermen.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Listen to the original group perform "When I Fall In Love."  Click on Watch on YouTube below.