Sal Valentino

{{Short description|American rock musician, singer and songwriter (born 1942)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox musical artist |name = Sal Valentino |image = Sal Valentino.jpg |caption = Sal Valentino in 1974 |birth_name = Salvatore Spampinato |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1942|9|8}} |death_date = |birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S. |genre = Folk rock, pop rock, garage rock, blues-rock |occupation = Singer, songwriter |years_active = 1961–present |label = |past_member_of = The Beau Brummels, Stoneground }}

'''Sal Valentino''' (born '''Salvatore Spampinato'''; September 8, 1942)<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Childs|first1=Marti Smiley|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qwOyZukEwD4C&q=1942+Salvatore+spampinato&pg=PT253|title=Echoes of the Sixties|last2=March|first2=Jeff|publisher=EditPros LLC|year=2011|isbn=978-1-937317-02-7}}</ref> is an American rock musician, singer and songwriter, best known as lead singer of The Beau Brummels, subsequently becoming a songwriter as well. The band released a pair of top 20 U.S. hit singles in 1965, "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little". He later fronted another band, Stoneground, which produced three albums in the early 1970s. After reuniting on numerous occasions with the Beau Brummels, Valentino began a solo career, releasing his latest album, ''Every Now and Then'', in 2008.

==Early life== Valentino grew up in the North Beach section of San Francisco.<ref name=":0" />

== Career ==

=== The Beau Brummels === {{Main articles|The Beau Brummels}} In 1964, he received an offer to play a regular gig at a local club.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} Needing a band, he called childhood friend and songwriter/guitarist Ron Elliott, who recruited drummer John Petersen, rhythm guitarist/singer Declan Mulligan, and bassist Ron Meagher.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} They called themselves "The Stepping Stones", and played the Longshoreman's Hall in S.F., which led to a more lucrative deal at the Morocco Room, a club in nearby San Mateo, California.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} There, the Beau Brummels were discovered by prominent San Francisco DJ Tom Donahue, who quickly signed the band to his label, Autumn Records.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} The band released "Laugh, Laugh" in December 1964 as their debut single. The song peaked at number fifteen in February 1965. "Just a Little", the follow-up single, fared even better on the charts, peaking at number eight.<ref name="salbio">{{cite web | title = Sal Valentino – Biography | publisher = Allmusic (Rovi Corporation) | date = | url = {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p133841|pure_url=yes}} | format = | doi = | accessdate = August 23, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = The Beau Brummels - Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles | publisher = Allmusic (Rovi Corporation) | date = | url = {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3646|pure_url=yes}} | format = | doi = | accessdate = August 23, 2009 }}</ref> Valentino appeared with the band in the 1965 science-fiction/comedy movie ''Village of the Giants'', which was featured in a 1994 episode of ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''.<ref> {{cite book | last=Renzi | first=Thomas C. | title=H.G. Wells: Six Scientific Romances Adapted for Film | edition=2nd | publisher=Scarecrow Press | page=173 | location=Lanham, Md. | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-8108-4989-1}}</ref> Valentino also appeared with the band as The Beau Brummelstones on the animated TV sitcom ''The Flintstones'' in the season six episode "Shinrock A Go-Go," which originally aired on December 3, 1965.<ref name="flintstones"> {{cite book | last=Childs | first=T. Mike | url=https://archive.org/details/rocklopediafakeb00chil | url-access=registration | quote=The Rocklopedia Fakebandica. | title=The Rocklopedia Fakebandica | publisher=St. Martin's Press | location=New York | page=[https://archive.org/details/rocklopediafakeb00chil/page/14 14] | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-312-32944-0}}</ref>

Although the Beau Brummels' subsequent releases were not as commercially successful as their debut album and its first two singles, the band earned underground credibility with 1967's ''Triangle'' and 1968's ''Bradley's Barn''.<ref name="urban"> {{cite book | last=Unterberger | first=Richie | title=Urban Spacemen and Wayfaring Strangers: Overlooked Innovators and Eccentric Visionaries of '60s Rock | edition= | publisher=Miller Freeman, Inc. | pages=[https://archive.org/details/urbanspacemenway0000unte/page/180 180–181] | location=San Francisco | year=2000 | isbn=978-0-87930-616-8 | url=https://archive.org/details/urbanspacemenway0000unte/page/180 }}</ref> Critics noted the works as early contributions to the country rock genre.<ref name="urban" /><ref name="rsbio"> {{cite web | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thebeaubrummels/biography | title=''Rolling Stone'' – The Beau Brummels – Biography | publisher=Rolling Stone (Wenner Media) | date= | accessdate=August 20, 2009}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/SalValentinoOnOutsightRadioHours | title=Sal Valentino On Outsight Radio Hours}}</ref> The band, which by 1968 consisted of only Valentino and Elliott, split up.

He later participated in numerous Beau Brummels revivals over the next two decades.<ref name="salbio" />

=== Stoneground === {{Main articles|Stoneground}} Following a stint recording singles for Warner Bros. Records, Valentino assembled a new band, Stoneground.<ref name="rsbio" /> After the group released three albums in the early 1970s, Valentino left the group in 1973.

== Later career == After a hiatus from music, Valentino contributed to a 2003 Bob Dylan tribute album, ''Positively 12th and K'', with musician Jackie Greene. In 2006, Valentino released ''Dreamin' Man'', the first solo album of his 45-year career.<ref> {{cite web | last=Selvin | first=Joel | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/02/22/DDG53HC7SP1.DTL | archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209125157/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/02/22/DDG53HC7SP1.DTL | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 9, 2012 | title=Decades in obscurity, Beau Brummels front man surfaces to remind us what the fuss was all about | publisher=San Francisco Chronicle (Hearst Corporation) | date=February 2, 2006| accessdate=August 20, 2009}}</ref>

Another album, ''Come Out Tonight'', followed later that year, and his third solo album, ''Every Now and Then'', was released in 2008.<ref>{{cite web | title = ''Every Now and Then'' – Overview | publisher = Allmusic (Rovi Corporation) | date = | url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1292302|pure_url=yes}} | format = | doi = | accessdate = September 14, 2009 }}</ref>

== Personal life == Disenchanted, he left the music business. For many years, he worked non-musical jobs, including forklift driver and warehouse stockman, finally ending up working as an agent in the Race Form at Northern California race tracks. In 1993, he herniated his back and was forced to go on disability. This was the first time in 15 years he thought of returning to music and singing again.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Childs |first1=Marti Smiley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qwOyZukEwD4C&q=stone+ground+band&pg=PT257 |title=Echoes of the Sixties |last2=March |first2=Jeff |date=October 2, 2011 |publisher=EditPros LLC |isbn=9781937317027}}</ref>

==Discography==

=== With The Beau Brummels === {{Main articles|The Beau Brummels discography}}

=== With Stoneground === * ''Stoneground'' (1971) * ''Family Album'' (1971) * ''Stoneground 3'' (1972)

=== Solo albums === * ''Dreamin' Man'' (2006) * ''Come Out Tonight'' (2006) * ''Every Now and Then'' (2008)

=== Collaborations === * ''Positively 12th and K: A Bob Dylan Tribute'' (by Jackie Greene/Sal Valentino & Friends) (2003)

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060202161933/http://beaubrummels.com/ BeauBrummels.com], official site of Sal Valentino * http://www.gragroup.com/valentino.html

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valentino, Sal}} Category:1942 births Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:American rock songwriters Category:Living people Category:Singer-songwriters from California Category:Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:American people of Italian descent Category:The Beau Brummels members