Just about twenty years ago, a dad and his two sons embarked upon a journey that began in the Bronx and who ultimately became some of the brightest stars on the Las Vegas strip.

Vinny Adinolfi was a successful producer with Columbia Records working regularly with icons and legends including Neil Diamond, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel and other “up-and-comers”.  He was living his dream, a part of the New York City music scene.

Then Sony bought the label and cleaned house.  Vinny and so many of his peers were involuntarily sent on a new career path, which was a different way of deciding whether to deliver pizza or work at the local car wash.  The only thing that helped him keep his sanity during all of that was the time he spent with his sons Little Vin on the guitar and Nicky on the drums, playing songs next to the kitchen table while mom made their pasta.

Being from the Bronx and in the music biz, it was only natural to befriend two “Neighborhood guys” who helped Vinny get on the straight and narrow.  Dion DiMucci of “Dion and the Belmonts” fame and Chazz Palminteri, the star and brainchild of the classic film, “A Bronx Tale”.  Chazz would even perform the George Benson classic, “On Broadway” with the guys when they would play local parties.

“Why don’t you take the boys and play around the neighborhood and make a few bucks that way?” Chazz suggested. So that’s what Vinny did.  He put an “official” family band together including 15-year-old Little Vin and 12-year-old Nick.  He also had his brother Rich on keyboards, but to add some “legitimacy” to the enterprise, he called upon a couple other neighborhood friends to help.  Jimmy Fracassi, who did a stint with “Larry Chance and the Earls” and Jay Leslie brought his “Joy of Sax” over from his time with “The Tokens”.  With a nod of respect to Dion and his megahit, “The Wanderer,” “The Bronx Wanderers” were born.

The group began picking up a bit of steam playing outdoor events around the Big Apple and in New Jersey.  The band performed at Italian clubs, restaurants, anywhere the family breadwinner could pick up $100-$200 for the night.  Having friends in the music industry started to pay off as they locked up opening slots for Tony Orlando, Danny Aiello and other celebs.  Their ship began to sail.

I was also managing the Chicago cast from the new hit musical, “Jersey Boys” at the time. Everybody wanted them to play their church picnics and Italian festivals.  But rich dads were hiring them for $25,000 to come sing “Sherry” at their daughter Sherry’s wedding, so they were a bit steep for the local events I was getting calls for.

I was looking for bands who performed songs from “The Four Seasons” catalog, since nobody in Chicago was really doing any.  Remember, this was just when the musical first came out.

Being friends with Tommy DeVito who was in the Four Seasons, Vinny took his advice of putting together medleys of Seasons’ songs because he knew there would be a demand for it shortly.  He was right.

It was also at this time I acquired The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles.  I began doing many more national act shows.  Through a mutual friend, I met Chazz Palminteri and began a close friendship that has lasted two decades. 

I asked Chazz if he knew of anybody doing Four Seasons’ stuff.  Boy did his eyes light up.  The next day, I had a VHS tape on my kitchen table (That’s right, a VHS tape!).

I immediately called the guys to come play at my Festa Pasta Vino Festival on Oakley Avenue.  This was their first official out-of-town gig, and boy, were they excited!

When they played the festival, I couldn’t help but notice that there was something very different about this band.  They touched the audience in a way I had not seen before.  The family story, the on-stage chemistry, the “picking-on-each-other” jokes, the unique set-list and their sincere warmth truly captivated the crowd.  “We got something here,” I said to myself.  They came as a band; they left a part of our family.

The next year, I brought them back to play all four nights of the Oakley Festival, then all four nights of our Little Italy West-Fest in Addison.  The following year it was at our Taylor Street Little Italy Festa, followed by the big stage at The Arcada.  Chicago could not get enough of these guys!

Meanwhile, they began touring around the country, including long runs in Florida.  The boys were getting older, then band was getting tighter, and the audiences were getting larger.  The time seemed right for Vinny to set his sights on his life-long dream.  He wanted to play Las Vegas.

In 2016, with some key people in their corner, Caesars Entertainment came knocking.  They were new so they had to agree to a tough deal.  They were to play seven days a week at Bally’s Casino.  That was over three hundred shows a year for two years.  But they shared a room with “Mr. Las Vegas,” Wayne Newton, so it WAS the “Big time”.

“We actually had our first ‘Wow moment’ when Dad had his 60^th birthday,” recalled Vinny’s son Vincent John.  “Tony Orlando was there, and Wayne Newton presented my dad with a replica of a one-of-a-kind bracelet Frank Sinatra gave to him.  THAT was when we knew we belonged!”

Albeit a more civilized schedule, they continue to play Vegas at the Southpoint Hotel and Casino, while still touring the country.  Today the band still consists of a dad and his two sons.  But now the rest of the group are a couple of high school buddies of the boys, Joe Bari on sax and Fernando Tort on bass.

When I asked the guys the secret to their success, it all came down to their Italian American upbringing.  “Italian family-first values, a strong work ethic and the respect we were taught at a young age got us here.  Our first whiff of Vegas was at the Italian American Club out there, before any casino heard of us!” said Vincent John.

And of course, they owe it all to their “secret weapon,” Vinny’s wife and the matriarch of the family, Carol.   After forty years she is the behind-the-scenes part of the true “Mom and Pop” operation.  Tour logistics, bookkeeping, contracts-she does it all.  Just don’t ask her to sing!

From Florida to Vegas, Chicago’s Columbus Day Parade Grand Marshalls to working with The Righteous Brothers, The Bronx Wanderers are looking towards the future with bigger shows and television projects.  But to us, they will always be a dad and his two boys, proud and part of our family.

The Bronx Wanderers will perform at The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles on Saturday, April 19 at 2pm.  Log onto oshows.com or call 630.962.7000 for tickets.