Nostalgic sounds of Reunion, will caress the ears of listeners Wednesday, 7 November, in the BYU-Hawaii McKay Auditorium. The group will perform a semi-private concert as part of the International Business Conference to be held November 6 to 10 on the BYU-Hawaii campus.
Formerly known as “The Lettermen,” a trio once referred to by Billboard Magazine as “the greatest male romantic vocal group of all time,” gained phenomonal fame during the 60’s and 70’s. The original group consisted of Tony Butala, Jim Pike and Bob Engemann. In 1961, the first of their many hits, “The Way You Look Tonight” made the music charts.
Other of their numerous classic hits include: “When I Fall in Love,” “The Theme From A Summer Place,” “Goin’ Out Of My Head/Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You,” “Hurt So Bad,” “Put Your Head On My Shoulder,” “Traces/Memories,” “I Only Have Eyes For You,” and “Shangri-La.”
In 1967 Engemann left the group and was replaced by Jim’s younger brother, Gary Pike. As “The Lettermen,” Jim and Gary, combined, had an unprecedented forty-six (46) consecutive hit albums on Billboard Magazine’s national charts, twenty hit singles, two gold singles, nine gold albums, five Grammy nominations, and to date have sold over $100 million worth of records, tapes and CD’s worldwide.
At the height of the Lettermen fame, Jim lost his voice and was unable to sing for the better part of ten years. Initially, he found a replacement for himself in the Letterman trio, but finally sold the “Lettermen” to a friend in 1976. When Jim regained his singing voice, he and his brother, Gary, decided to reunite.
Ric de Azevado , a long-time friend, was invited to join the Pikes in forming “Reunion.” During the same time period Gary and Jim performed as the Lettermen, Ric performed as a member of the King Family, touring extensively doing live performances around the country for 14 years, as well as performing in over 55 one-hour episodes of a weekly Saturday night series, “The King Family Show,” produced for the ABC television network.
The current trio, consisting of brothers, Gary and Jim Pike, and Ric de Azevado, now call themselves “Reunion,” and have performed world-wide during the past 22 years.
A limited number of tickets for the concert are available to the general public, and may be purchased through Ticketmaster at the Aloha Center information desk, 675-3545. (The available seats are in the back third of the auditorium.)