Joseph "Joe" P. Spereno

Joe Spereno was the first inductee into the reestablished Oswego Music Hall of Fame, a fitting tribute to a man whose love for music and commitment to his hometown never faded. His musical life began early with his closest friend, Sam Domicolo; their shared passion created a friendship that lasted more than sixty years and carried them into performing with the Satellites, where Joe sang and played saxophone, as well as the Thunderbirds throughout the 1950s and 1960s a band later honored by the Oswego Music Hall of Fame in its own right.

After graduating from Oswego High School in 1964, Joe earned a Bachelor’s degree from Fredonia State and a Master’s degree from Albany State. He went on to serve in administration at Oswego Statef irst in administration, then as Activities Director—before continuing his campus entertainment career at Brockport State as Entertainment Director. His path eventually led him into the heart of the music industry: he moved to New York City, worked as an agent with Phillip Morris, and later settled permanently in Los Angeles, where he represented major artists including Isaac Hayes, Tom Petty, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Ozzy Osbourne, Gladys Knight & the Pips, ELO, Chuck Mangione, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Liberace, and more.

Even with his success on both coasts, Joe remained deeply connected to Oswego and devoted time to volunteer efforts such as Dream Halloween for children affected by AIDS, the Special Olympics, and the Marina Del Rey Boat Parade. After his passing, Joe’s family founded the Oswego Music Hall of Fame, Inc. and the “Keep the Music Playing” program in his honor—created to reflect his pride in his hometown and to support local youth discovering their own love for music.

Though Joe moved from Oswego in the 1960s, he returned often to be with his family and lifelong friends. His passing on May 11, 2015 left a lasting void in the community, but his legacy endures. In his honor, the Oswego Music Hall of Fame proudly presents its most prestigious recognition—the Joseph P. Spereno Hall of Fame Award—ensuring that Joe’s spirit, generosity, and love for music continue to inspire future generations.

Joseph (Joe) Spereno was born on January 17, 1921, the only son of Catalina and James Sperino (Vincenzio Sparandeo). He graduated from Oswego High School in June 1941, where he was well known for his singing and dancing talents. Driven by a deep love for his country, Joe enlisted in the United States Air Force immediately after graduation.

During his service, Joe’s remarkable singing ability was discovered, and he was quickly recruited into the Air Force’s distinguished Special Services Division. While serving in this elite unit, he performed alongside legendary entertainers including Jimmy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, The Andrews Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald, and Lena Horne. Joe rarely spoke of these accomplishments his humility ran deep and his family did not learn the full extent of his experiences until 1969, when an old Air Force buddy, Sully, began reminiscing over dinner. As Sully recalled the days they played and sang for those famous celebrities, Joe gently stopped him, admitting he had never shared that part of his life with his children. The short list the family heard that day would have been much longer had Joe allowed the stories to continue.

Joe’s voice can still be heard on two 78-rpm vinyl recordings: “I’ll Never Let a Day Pass By” (from Kiss the Boys Goodbye, written by Frank Loesser and Victor Schertzinger) and “Time Was.”

On June 16, 1945, shortly after returning from the service, Joe married his longtime sweetheart and the love of his life, Mary Margaret Raby. They first met years earlier while swimming at Flat Rock, where Joe tried to kiss her and boldly told her he would marry her someday. He kept that promise, and the two shared nearly 50 happy years together until Joe’s passing.

In the years that followed, Joe became well known in the community as a talented tailor and the proprietor of Spereno’s Tailor Shop. He purchased the shop from Jake Kosoff in the early 1950s and operated it until the construction of the new Bridge Street bridge. Located at the end of the old bridge next to the WOSC radio station, the shop became a beloved gathering place where locals stopped in daily for coffee, conversation, and a bit of Oswego’s trademark chatter.

Joe’s love of music lived on through his children and grandchildren, all of whom learned to appreciate music through his influence. He was a devoted father, grandfather, and friend to many in the Oswego community, and his warm smile and contagious laughter remain treasured memories.

Click to view the Key to the City presented to Joseph Spereno at the 1990  ceremony by Mayor John T. Sullivan Jr.

Audio recordings of Joseph Spereno on vocals are shared below.

John Richard “Dick” Workman, 93, a resident of Oswego, passed away on Thursday April 9, 2015. Born in 1927 in Oswego, he was the youngest of three sons of the late Walter and Vina (Muskell) Workman, who ran a second-generation family flower shop at 87 West Bridge Street.

Dick was a member of Beta Mu Gamma men’s glee club chorus in high school, but was also a very talented artist and cartoonist. Encouraged by numerous mentors, after graduating from high school in 1938 he enrolled at Syracuse University as an art major, but ended up getting vocal training and ultimately graduating from Crouse Music College.

Dick performed on the radio in Syracuse for a brief period, and then enlisted in the U.S. Army. Following basic training, he was allowed to come home on Christmas leave but before he could alert his family that he was back in the area, he was invited to sing White Christmas over WFBL radio in Syracuse – that’s how his mother found out he was home for the holidays.

That  same Christmas, Dick married his junior high school sweetheart, Rachel  Turkington, and then Dick returned to the Army to be deployed to the  South Pacific, where he saw combat in New Guinea.

After the war, Dick was hired as a full time vocalist with the Jim Deline Gang, a program that was born at radio station WFBL in Syracuse in the 1940s. In 1949 Deline and the Gang moved to WSYR and, by 1951, the Gang was performing three shows a day out of WSYR’s new studio located at 1050 James Street: a 9:15 AM morning radio show, followed by a noon time television show, and then another radio show at 1PM. Dick and Rachel always resided in Oswego, and Dick commuted to Syracuse daily.

The Jim Deline orchestra consisted of prominent local musicians Sox Tiffault, Jimmy Hogan, Carl Mano, Myron LeVee, Claude Bortel, Herb Fetrinelli, Sid Wilcox, Kenny Drum, Randy Miller (later Norm Coleman) plus many others through the years.. The band was a direct copy of Ted Heath's Swingin' Dance Band of the 30's & 40's. Vocalists appearing with the band included Dick Workman, June Gardner, Fran Walsh, Gayle Huber, Patti Hammond, Charlotte Hale, and Eileen Wainer along with the locally renowned Bigtree Sisters (Norma, Jean and Sandy).

During his singing years, Dick had an opportunity to meet quite a few national celebrities of the era (too numerous to mention), and was asked to perform at various CNY community events. At one time, Dick appeared as a contestant on the nationally syndicated Arthur Godfrey Show in New York City, and another time, he and the Deline Gang performed with the Grand Old Opry. 

Dick Workman retired from the Deline Gang in 1955, returning to Oswego to take over the operation of Workman’s Flower Shop after his parents retired. He was the third generation proprietor of the flower shop, and continued that role until he, too, retired.

Charlie Davis – A native of Indianapolis and son of trombonist  Abijah Davis, Charlie Davis caught the dance band bug after arriving at  Notre Dame in 1917.  With classical piano training under his belt, Davis  also learned to play the trumpet and eventually made his mark as a  bandleader. 

The Charlie Davis Band (sometimes  called The Joy Gang) formed in Indianapolis in 1923 as a combo and  developed into a big band, which played throughout the 1920s and into  the 1930s.  Known for their “sweet style,” the Charlie Davis Band was a  popular attraction at the Casino Gardens, a hot dance spot near the  White River in Northern Indianapolis. Their success at the Casino  Gardens led to a recording date at Gennett Records. 

While  in Indiana, the band’s activities intersected those of Hoagy Carmichael  and Bix Beiderbecke’s Wolverines, who shared gigs with the Davis Band  at Butler College and Marion’s Luna Lite Theater in 1924.  Also in 1924,  the Wolverines made a Gennett recording of Davis’s own “Copenhagen,”  which became a jazz standard along with “Jimtown Blues” (co-written by  Davis with Fred Rose). 

Starting about five  years later, the Davis Band got bookings in New York alongside such  talents as Rudy Vallee, the Duke Ellington Band, Cab Calloway, Bojangles  Robinson, and Ethel Merman. One of the highlights was sharing a  Paramount Theatre marquee with the name “Duke Ellington.”  

International  tours included widespread travel throughout Russia, Mexico, Spain,  France, Holland, and South Africa. After the band dissolved in the  1930s, Davis worked in the furniture and linoleum business in Oswego,  New York, while some of his former band members went on to successful  music careers. For example, Arkansas-born Dick Powell was the band’s  featured vocalist and became a well-known Hollywood actor and singer. 

Immediately  after the band’s break-up, Earle Moss, who played clarinet and  sometimes trumpet with the Joy Gang, became an arranger for CBS radio  and Radio City Music Hall.  After relocating to New York, trombonist  Phil Davis went on to run the Phil Davis Musical Enterprises, which  produced jingles for radio and television. 

Written by and permission granted by:
Richard Dowell
https://sites.google.com/nhj.k12.in.us/indianamusicmakers/jazz/charlie-davis

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