Steve Santoro photos

There are many musicians in the Happy Days String Band, but Mr. Santoro has a long history with Big Bands from the 30's and 40's and deserves special recognition.

1943. Steve (3rd from left - alto sax) with the Army Special Services Band in Hawaii.

George Pappas (4th from left - alto sax) and Steve (5th from left - alto sax) with the Sammy Kaye Orchestra aboard the SS Constitution.

Steve (right - baritone sax) George Pappas (3rd from right - alto sax) with the Sammy Kaye Orchestra.

Al Repoli (left - clarinet) and Steve (2nd from left - clarinet) with the Frank Albert Dance Band.

Al Repoli (2nd from left - alto) and Steve (3rd from left - alto) with the Frank Albert Dance Band.

Al Repoli (2nd from singer) and Steve (next to singer - alto sax with the Frank Albert Dance Band.

L-R: Steve (alto), Al Repoli (alto) and Dan Scalera (tenor) with the Gary Mann Big Band.

Steve (left - baritone sax) and Ed Finkel (next to Steve on tenor) with the ??? Band.

The famous Phil Woods on alto sax with Art Martin (next to Woods on Baritone sax) and Steve (3rd left of Woods, partially hidden by stand) on alto sax.

Bob Herrman (drums) Steve (center - tenor sax) and Al Geffinger (tenor sax) with the Sentimental Journey Big Band.

Steve (left - tenor sax), Al Geffinger (2nd from left - tenor sax) with the Sentimental Journey Big Band.

Steve (left - tenor sax), Al Geffinger (2nd from left - tenor sax) with the Sentimental Journey Big Band.

L-R: singer, Carl Stabile (tenor), Frank Wolf (tenor) and Joe Racina (alto and leader).

Steve (2nd from right - alto sax) and George Pappas (3rd from right - alto sax) with the Benny Snyder Orchestra.

PLEASE NOTE: Many of the dates on this page are incorrect. The bogus dates were generated to complete the page and get the format aligned. Steve is the holder of the date information and when he emails the corrections, they will be immediately posted here.

click on any photo to ENLARGE

2nd Tenor with Sammy Kaye for 8 years (1930-1938) and doubled on Clarinet and flute.

2nd tenor with Tommy Dorsey for 2 years (1939-1941) and doubled on Clarinet and flute.

2nd tenor with Jimmy Dorsey for 2 years (1942-1944) and doubled on Clarinet and flute.

2nd tenor with Perez Prado for 6 months (1946) and doubled on Clarinet and flute.

2nd tenor with Dizzie Gillespie 2 years (1947-1948) and doubled on Clarinet and flute.

"We were having a fun time at rehearsal and Ella Fitzgerald walked over and stuck her big butt in my face. The other band members yelled: "bite it". But Ella would have killed me."

"There was a bari sax player that one of the band leaders wanted to get rid of, but the band members protested because the bari guy was the band's drug supplier."

"At one gig, I discovered that the tenor man next to me got $15 more per gig because he could double on flute. I immediately bought a flute, and started taking lessons. After the 2nd lesson, my teacher said: "you are a smoker, which wrecks your tone, and if you don't quit smoking, I will not have you as a student". I quit smoking on the spot and eventually became proficient on the flute and also earned the additional $15."

"Frank Sinatra asked one of the famous band leaders for a raise. The request was declined. Later in the day a mob guy put a broken bottle to the neck of the band leader and asked him to reconsider. Frank got his raise."

"One of the best gigs was on a cruise ship in Hawaii. We played 3 hours at night, had free food and had the run of the ship."

"On one job, a musician had a heart attack and died. There was a brief intermission as the body was dragged off the stage, then we started up playing again."

My husband Ed and I danced to all of the Bands that Steve played in and we always had a most enjoyable time. Steve became a good friend to us and during each dance intermission, we invited him to our table to have a piece of cheesecake and a cup of coffee. Steve still says I caused his Heart Attack.

The best Steve moment was when we went to dance with the Sammy Kaye orchestra in Lakewood at the former Castle aka Château Grand Catering also know as the famous Winklemenn's Restaurant. The band leader asked if anyone would like to lead the band and Steve motioned for me to come on the stage. I knew little about leading a band, but I kept my eyes on Steve while he played and as I was waving the Baton, Steve kept prompting me as to whether it was a down beat or an upbeat. Lo and Behold, I was the favorite Band leader due to Steve's silent prompting and I won the contest.

We also danced to The Art Martin Band where Steve was a regular and we never missed a dance. He started playing with the band at the VFW in Bricktown on Adamstan Rd. and each month we danced on a Sunday afternoon.

We were also regulars at the Old Mill Inn and I asked the previous owner, Joe Amiel to listen to the Art Martin Band at the VFW . He did attend and from there on, Joe booked the band on a monthly basis with Steve always playing his saxophone. The band was an instant success.

Before Steve played with the Art Martin band, he played with the Benny Snyder Band which Art Martin took over.

Steve also played with the Wilbur Wittemann band for many years and we danced to that band too. Today, Steve remains friends with Art Martin and Wilbur Wittemann. The last band that Steve played with is the Frank Albert Band and he remains friends with all the guys in the band.

STEVE SANTORO

click on any photo to ENLARGE