Ron Dante

Born Carmine Granito in Staten Island, New York, Ron Dante knew he wanted to be a singer from a very young age. A childhood fall from a tree resulted in a broken arm and, fortuitously, the choice of either squeezing a rubber ball in the afflicted hand or taking up guitar as a means to keep the muscles from atrophying. Ron chose the latter. Making the rounds at New York City's famed Brill Building, where tunesmiths worked diligently in cubicles cranking out hit songs, Ron met several folks who would have a hand in shaping his career. One was Don Kirshner, who along with his partner Al Nevins, had founded the publishing company "Aldon Music". The others were Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, a songwriting team who had had a few successes with tunes such as "Catch a Falling Star" and "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini". After recording several singles under the name "Ronnie Dante", Ron teamed up with two other staff writers/session singers, Danny Jordan (Vance's nephew) and Tommy