Raymond Mariani

Raymond (Ray) Mariani was born in New York City. Growing up in New Jersey, Raymond started taking piano lessons and accordion lessons at a young age. Influenced by the music of the era, as well as, Italian opera, Broadway musicals, Rhythm & Blues, Big Band show tunes, Raymond performed with various bands as a teenager. It was as a teen when he joined The Royal Teens. The Royal Teens were a New Jersey band formed in 1957, best known for their single "Short Shorts", which was a No. 3 hit in the U.S. in 1958. Their hit, "Short Shorts" was written by group member Bob Gaudio, who would in time become an important and future member and founder of The Four Seasons. Which regrouped into the legendary Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. "By September of 1959, the group was a quartet comprising Villa, Gaudio, Austin and a new addition, Ray Mariani." The Royal Teens signed a new contract with Capitol Records enabling them to then released their follow-up single. 1959's "Believe me", reached No. 26 on the charts. The B-Side of “Believe Me” was “Little Cricket” written by Mariani, Austin, Gaudio, and Villa. Raymond Mariani also worked on the air. Traveling the world working successfully as a radio Dee-Jay. Including KBIC 1210 Radio: The Wonderful World Of Music In The Far North Thule Greenland. ***Raymond Mariani is actress-dancer-singer Marilyn Mariani Father-In-Law.