Beau Coup

Beau Coup is one of the standout Cleveland rock bands of all time. Its Born & Raised (on Rock & Roll) is one of the most recognizable Cleveland songs of all time and considered by many to be the anthem for Cleveland Rock & Roll. Beau Coup began in the early 1980's when Tommy Amato was recording Demo's at Agency Recording Studio upstairs of The Cleveland Agora with drummer, Eric Singer (Black Sabbath) and Mike McGuill guitars. One Monday night evening when Jonah Koslen and the Heroes were playing at a "Monday Night Out" at the Cleveland Agora, Tommy Amato and Henry LoConti, Jr.

Beau Coup began in the early 1980's when Tommy Amato was recording Demo's at Agency Recording Studio upstairs of The Cleveland Agora with drummer, Eric Singer (Black Sabbath) and Mike McGuill guitars. One Monday night evening when Jonah Koslen and the Heroes were playing at a "Monday Night Out" at the Cleveland Agora, Tommy Amato and Henry LoConti, Jr. who would become Beau Coup's 1st manager along with Joey Millitello came downstairs and fetched his friend keyboardist and song writer Dennis Lewin of Jonah Koslen and the Heroes and asked him if he would come upstairs and listen to what they were doing. Dennis obliged and offered to write songs for the group. Tommy's brother Frank also became interested in the recording project and he soon joined the band along with bass player William March.

Dennis wrote a batch of songs at this point, including Still In My Heart and the haunting Somewhere Out in the Night. While in Cleveland, Julian Lennon actually stopped by with some musician friends one evening while Beau Coup was recording Somewhere Out in the Night and liked what he heard. With help from Henry LoConti, Sr. and the "Agora Record Label", Beau Coup put together an EP of 5 songs and released Still In My Heart as the first single. Thanks to 98.5 WGCL with General Manager Kim Colebrook and Program Directors, Bob Travis and Tom Jefferies, Still In My Heart became a top 10 record on the station and CBS, Scotti Brothers Records became interested in the band.

Ironically, the band did not have a name at this point and they called themselves Pop Opera which everyone in the band hated. The band was named Beau Coup 5 minutes before they appeared on the Cleveland television program Local Spotlight hosted by WGCL's Dancin' Danny Wright, by a Clevelander named Eddie Marshall, who had his own local Comedy TV show on Cablevision. No one complained when Danny Wright announced the bands name and the name Beau Coup was coined. Eventually WMMS took great interest in Beau Coup with Program Director John Gorman's help.

At this point, Cleveland manager Carl Maduri and his son became Beau Coup's managers and the band was signed to Rock and Roll Records a division of CBS Scotti Brothers Records. Other names on that label were Survivor and Weird Al Yankovic, with much turmoil with CBS Scotti Brothers Records, the album, which was ready to be released never was. Beau Coup ended their management agreement with the Maduri's after many problems.

Next came a deal with Avion Record's owned by the late Joe Simone and managed by Bob Skaff and Ron Iofanaro. The band worked with engineer Kirk Yano. Again things did not work out and record promoter Michael Mannochio became Beau Coup's manager and struck a deal with Amherst-A&M Records. The Beau Coup Born and Raised on Rock and Roll album, CD, and cassette were finally released on the Amherst label and Beau Coup began to gain much international acclaim.

Four of the songs, Still In My Heart, Born and Raised on Rock and Roll, Somewhere Out in the Night, and Sweet Rachel all reached local, national, and international charts including the Billboard Hot 100. The single "Sweet Rachel" reached the mid 50's on the Billboard Hot 100 along with a video that was played on many International and National Video Show's including MTV and USA Video Hits. Early in the 1990's. The band disassembled because of much internal dissension.

Beau Coup:
Tommy Amato - Lead Vocals, Background vocals
Frank Amato - Lead Vocals, Background vocals, and percussion
Dennis Lewin - Keyboards, Background vocals, and percussion
William March - Bass guitar, Background vocals
Don Krueger - Drums, Percussion, Background vocals

Studio Players and Live Players:
Debbie Lewin Bankhurst - Vocals
John Franks - Drums
Tim Pierce - Guitars
Jimmy Clark - Drums
Steve Schuffert - Guitars
Billy Sullivan - Guitars
Danny Powers - Guitars
Rodney Psycha - Percussion - Vocals
Mike McGill - Guitars
Norman Tischler - Saxophones
Tom First - Horns
Kenny Z - Horns