The Lettermen

The one change Tony Butala, original founding member of The Lettermen, would have made in the 40-year career of one of the most popular vocal groups in history is a surprising one.

"We chose the wrong name!" he exclaims. "If you want to get noticed today, you dye your hair purple and pierce your tongue.

"In the late '50's, there were groups called the Four Freshmen, the Four Preps - so we called ourselves The Lettermen and wore letter sweaters. By the time it was cornball, we were a success and our record company didn't want to try to market a new name.

"But we did pack away the sweaters. Fortunately, our fans have gotten past our name."

The name, The Lettermen, first appeared in 1958 on the marquee of the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, where Butala, Mike Barnett and Talmadge Russell played the part of the Rhythm Boys in the revue, "Newcomers of 1928," which starred Paul Whiteman, silent film comic Buster Keaton, singers Rudy Vallee and Harry Richmond, film star Fifi D'Orsay and the sneezing comedian Billy Gilbert.

Butala estimates the group made some 200 appearances on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" series. Performances on talk shows with Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, and Dinah Shore, among others, particularly in the late '70's, cultivated a new crop of fans.

The Lettermen have also enjoyed international appeal, touring Japan, the Philippines, China, Thailand, Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong, Mexico, France, South America, Canada and even Saudi Arabia.

Their All-American, clean-cut, no-drugs image was a drawback in the rock era but The Lettermen stood by it. Says Butala, "I never thought people who did drugs were hip."

Even as the British Invasion dimmed record sales, television and concert appearances sustained The Lettermen. The group has been that rarity that can perform from college campuses to the Waldorf Astoria to the New York State Fair to Las Vegas.

"Our one rule," says Butala, "is to never have the audience dress better than us." They don jeans for colleges, tuxedoes for hotels and glitzier garb for showrooms.

The Lettermen have also appeared in most of the major sports arenas in the U.S. with their touching a cappella rendition of the National Anthem. People Magazine honored their version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by voting the group "one of the best 'anthem-singing' groups in baseball."

They have continued to record, too, forming their own Alpha Omega Records in 1979. Their newest album, their 70th, is The Lettermen At The Movies, released in January 2000. Other labels, including Capitol, also continue to have success with periodic "best of" collections.

Over its 40 years, the trio has gone through personnel changes. Engemann left in 1966, replaced by Jim Pike's younger brother, Gary. The following year, Jim's even younger brother, Donnie, took over for Jim.

Since then, Mark Preston, Ernie Pontiere, Bobby Poynton, Don Campeau, Chad Nichols, Doug Curran, Paul Walters, David Saber and Harry Clewley have been part of The Lettermen.

Donovan Tea joined in1984 and his tenure has been the second longest other than Butala's.

Tea was born in Houston, Texas, and started singing professionally at 17 when he won an international vocal competition in Guilford, England. After touring Europe, he returned home to sing at the Hollywood Bowl with the L.A. Master Chorale and then became a lead singer for The Young Americans, opening for the likes of Sammy Davis, Jr., Rich Little and Tony Bennett, and performing for President Gerald Ford in Washington, D.C.

While with The Young Americans, he guest-starred on NBC's holiday special "Merry Christmas, Fred, From The Crosbys," performing a tap dance with Fred Astaire and singing backup for Bing Crosby on "White Christmas."

At 22, Tea went solo, performing in nightclubs before he was featured in two main room extravaganzas at The Dunes and Stardust hotels in Las Vegas, where he first crossed paths with The Lettermen."

The most recent member is Darren Dowler, who joined the group in 1995 and added to the group a renowned ability to impersonate a multitude of musical celebrities from Michael Bolton to Louis Armstrong.

Dowler started performing professionally in nightclubs and theatres right out of high school. A role in a soap opera, "As the World Turns," led to more prominent ones in the series, "The Swamp Thing," and "The Adventures of Superboy," and character parts on MTV.

He was also one of the hottest nightclub acts in the country, headlining Club R in Orlando, Florida.

Dowler's theatrical credits include "Elvis, A Musical Celebration on Broadway" as well as "Of Mice and Men," "Grease," "Oklahoma!" and "The Deadly Game." He's also starred in several productions in Reno, and his voice has been heard starring in the animated children's series, "The Reppies."

In 1998, after decades of acting as an unofficial clearing house for information about vocal groups, Butala fulfilled a long-held dream with the opening of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, in Sharon, Pennsylvania.

The non-profit organization honors vocal groups in barbershops, country and folk, R&B and blues, big band and jazz, and pop. Its second class, including The Supremes and the Four Seasons, was inducted in the fall of 1999.

Among the other members are The 5th Dimension, The Coasters, Sha Na Na, The Association, and dozens of others - including a group by the name of The Lettermen.