ArtistInfo

The Tonettes

Rock and Pop
A.k.a. The Claremonts

All girl doo wop group from the Bronx, New York city consisted of sisters Diana and Sylvia Sanchez with Josephine Allen. Manager Lou Ezzo having licensed their debut effort, "Why Keep Me Dreaming," to the Apollo Record label, sold the girls' contract to Apollo vice president Charles Merenstein. When Merenstein launched his own label, Doe Records, he brought The Claremonts with him, rechristening the group The Tonettes. He reasoned that the new name had a "snappier" sound that teenagers would better relate to. This was also the reason that he recorded the group on his new label thinking that the Apollo Records label was too historically aligned with the basic sound of R & B. And so in February of 1958 came "Oh What A Baby" backed with "Howie" on the B side. "Baby" was an immediate success, and beside the name change, the sound of the record certainly had a "snappy" sound. It took off up and down the East Coast and had that certain something that made it a favorite at record hops and dances everywhere. Soon Doe Records realized the extent of the appeal of the record and leased the master to ABC-Paramount which gave the record access to nationwide distribution. "Oh What A Baby" was a good seller and a mainstay on radio playlists, throughout the spring.The single hit retail in early 1958, and proved so popular on East Coast radio that ABC-Paramount licensed the disc for national release. Despite charting in pockets of the U.S., "Oh! What a Baby" failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100.After contributing un-credited backing vocals to singer Vince Castro's single "Bong Bong (I Love You Madly)," The Tonettes cut their follow-up, "Uh-Oh".When the single failed to catch fire, the trio's recording career came to a close, and they split in 1962. The Sanchez sisters, Diana and Sylvia,are alive and well. Sylvia is still on the east coast where as Diana has moved out on the West. Sadly, Josie Allen has passed on, and is missed by both of the Sanchez sisters. Diana and Sylvia continue to sing and do little writing,

Genres

• Rock
• Pop