A Canonsburg childhood

The Four Coins

Canonsburg has a holy trinity of musical talent: Perry Como, Bobby Vinton, and the Four Coins.

The Four Coins got their start as members of Bobby Vinton's "Band of Tomorrow" back in the day before the Polish Prince was a household name. Jim Gregorakis, George Mantalis, and Jack Mahramas were horn players for Vinton's big band.

In 1952, they began doing side gigs as the Four Keys, joined by Mahramas' brother Michael. They became a vocal act, harmonizing along the lines of the Four Lads and other popular acts of the time.

In January 1953, the group performed on the "Wilkins Amateur Hour," a KDKA-TV talent contest in which listeners selected winners by phoning in votes. The group won the top prize for a performance of the Detroit-based Gaylord's 1952 debut "Tell Me You're Mine."

The ethnic mix in Canonsburg played a hand in capturing the cup. The Greek guys sang part of the song in Italian ("Tell Me" was lifted from an old Italian ballad), a "get out the vote" strategy that proved successful for the Wilkins' poll.

They left Vinton in 1953 to strike out on their own. The Four Keys became the house band at a Pittsburgh club called the Blue Ridge Inn for the next year, pulling down the princely sum of $250 per week.

George Heid liked their sound after hearing them cut a demo in his downtown studio, and signed them to his Corona Records label. He released their first wax, "Hot Toddy," in 1953 and the following year cut "I'll Make the Best Of It."

The recordings led to some regional gigs for the band, and they hit paydirt in Columbus, Ohio, when they impressed visiting General Artists agent Danny Kessler, who was there on his honeymoon. Kessler was also Johnnie Rays' rep.

Canonsburg orchestra leader Lee Barrett took them to Cincinnati for a contract-winning audition with Kessler. He became their manager, inked them to a Columbia Records deal, and they recorded the group on Epic, which would later become Bobby Vinton's label.

Of course, that called for another name change, and they became the Four Coins, influenced by the 1954 flick "Three Coins In A Fountain." Or maybe it was because of the Four Aces, who sang the movie theme. Take your pick; it was probably a combination of both.

The group’s first Epic single was 1954's "We’ll Be Married (In The Church In The Wildwood)," followed by a cover of Charlie and Ray's "I Love You Madly," and "Memories of You," which was the theme song for the movie "The Benny Goodman Story." All three tunes cracked the Top Thirty on the charts.

Their next hit (after a six-song drought) was to become their signature song. In 1957, the group released "Shangri-La," a powerful ballad that sold more than a million copies, earned the group a gold record, and just missed making the Top Ten, stalling at #11. It was the most-played record of 1957.

"Shangri-La" has been covered by several times over the years. Robert Maxwell rode it to a Top 40 instrumental hit in 1964, Vic Dana scored a Top 40 hit with it in 1964, and versions by the Lettermen and Al Capps appeared in 1969 and 1973. Jackie Gleason even used his melody for the TV theme of his Reginald Van Gleason III character.

The follow-ups fared well, too. 1957's "My One Sin" reached #28, while 1958's "The World Outside" peaked at #21, just missing becoming their second million seller, and "Wendy Wendy" charted at #22. They were so hot that they even turned down the chance to record "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which became a monster track for the Tokens.

But the hits stopped coming after that, and the label-jumping began. In 1960 they switched to MGM Records and later continued on to record for Jubilee, Vee Jay, Laurie, Roulette, and Columbia Records, undergoing personnel changes along the way. Jack Mahramas took his brother Michael's spot when Mike left to become an actor.

In the mid sixties, the Mahramas brothers George, Jack, and Michael, formed the Original Three Coins, later to morph into the Brothers James. Clevelanders Tommy Richards and Ronnie Fiorento took their spots. The group carried on until 1970, when they called it quits.

They left behind a sweet legacy. The Four Coins had ten hit singles which sold more than 500,000 copies each, a gold record, and eight songs that charted.

They appeared many times on "American Bandstand," twice on "The Perry Como Show," and three times on "The Ed Sullivan Show." They also performed on "The Patti Page Show," "The Tonight Show" with Steve Allen, and several times on "The Mike Douglas Show."

The group also appeared in the 1957 Warner Brothers rock and roll movie "Jamboree," singing "A Broken Promise," and performed in the nation's top nightclubs, including the Copacabana in New York and the top Las Vegas casinos. They worked 48 weeks per year, good for the bankroll but hard on the bod.

After the break-up, they scattered to Canonsburg, South Park, Phoenix, and Palm Beach. They took on careers as a laundromat owner, business manager, maitre d', and cell phone exec. For the next three decades, they carried on their everyday life.

Then, in 2003, they decided to get together for a farewell concert at the Pepsi Roadhouse in Hanover Township after a 33-year hiatus. The crowd convinced them they shouldn't be saying good-bye, but maybe starting all over again.

The success of that gig persuaded them to repeat the show in 2004 and eventually returning to the road for short, mostly regional, stints.

The revival was helped along when they took part in T.J. Lubinsky's 2004 PBS special "Magic Moments: The Best of '50s Pop." The Four Coins reunited for the taping in Atlantic City at Trump Taj Mahal, performing "Shangri-La" in their first appearance on television in more than 40 years and restoring their mojo.

So they're back on the road again, spacing out shows and traveling the country spreading their harmonies.

The Four Coins have played the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, Greensburg's Palace Theater, the Silks Lounge at the Meadows, Cleveland's Holiday Inn and St. Demetrios Church. They've also gigged at venues in the Poconos, Johnstown, and Columbus.

And never let it be said that the Coins are prophets without honor. They are inducted members of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and the Canonsburg civic fathers named "Four Coins Drive" for them.

Good music never ages; it just gets better, like a fine wine, over the years. Cent'anni!

Four Coins - "Shangra-La, 1957

Some Early Days of Canonsburg Baseball

Canonsburg Cubs - Circa 1930

Canonsburg-Canon McMillan WPIAL Champions

Canonsburg-Canon McMillan WPIAL Champions
1936,37,38,39	Andy Puchany	1948,49,50	Ronald Roman	1987	Mike Toplisek
1936,37	Steve Blyshak	1949,50,51,52	Manuel Pihakis	1988	Dana Pinson
1936	Mike Matyuk	1949,50,51	Joe Solomon	1988	Jim Herriott
1936	Joe Chesnik	1951	Bill Hulings	1990	Romy O'Daniel
1936	Herb Mollenauer	1953	James Cargnoni	1991,92	Bryan Matusic
1936	Alex Polasky	1953	Robert DeFelice	1992,93,94,95	Mark Angle
1937,39	William Stanley	1954	Victor DeFelice	1992,93,94	Keilan O'Daniel
1937	Joe Mikos	1954	Eugene Smittle	1994	Chucky Murdy
1937	Mike Abraham	1955	John Karpy	1994,96	Bruce Cridge
1937	Stanley Walkowicz	1955	Nick Dano	1996	Bob Patnesky
1938,39,40	George Custer	1957,58,59	Art Maughn	2004	Kyle Deliere
1938	John Abraham	1958.59,60	Robert Haney	2005	Mike Catalano
1939,40,41	Mal Podrasky	1951	Bill Hulings	2005,06,07,08	Colin Johnston
1939	Tony Mazza	1961	Frank O'Korn	2007	Matt Ryan
1940	Joe Malacky	1962,63,64	Jim Biringer	2009	Sam Brownlee
1940,41	Daniel Abraham	1962,63	Richard Quarture	2011	Colt Shorts
1941	Edward Champ	1963	Frank Dellorso	2011	Connor Schram
1941	Mike Kusturis	1963	Tony Compeggie	2011	Solomon Chishko
1942	George Pihakis	1965	Terry Zaccarino	2011	Nick Catalano
1942,43	Elias George	1966	Rick Trunzo	2011	Cody Klempay
1942	George Yates	1966	Rod Patterson
1942	Alex Supinski	1967,68,69	Lester Peterson
1943	Aldo Zanoni	1967	Amedio Piccioni
1943	Lary Dudzik	1968	Dave Batista
1943,44	Tony George	1971	Mike Marino
1944	Richard Abraham	1972	George O'Korn
1944	Benny Mafio	1973,74,75	Angelo Marino
1944	James Cooklis	1975	Kevin Telep
1945,46,47	Eugene Bowman	1976	Bill Clemons
1945	Dave Solomon	1979	Darrell Patterson
1946,47	Pat Haney	1980	Mike Skittle
1946	James Chemento	1983	Rich McClain
1946,47	Joe Ogrogodowski	1983	Craig Dellorso
1947	Charles Shannon	1985,86	Ron Rothka
1947,48,49,50	Don Haney	1985	Rich Dami
1947	Harold Addis	1985	Rob Benjamin