The Nu Tornados

The Nu Tornados were a group of high school kids from Philadelphia – who came together with the [a631489] (Mummers) to record “Philadelphia U.S.A.” in 1958 as their first release. Initially the song was met with resistance. Dick Clark passed on it and then Bernie Lowe from Cameo Records did the same. A willing taker turned out to be New York’s Carlton Records who had some cash on hand due to the success of Canadian-born Jack Scott. When the record took off, Clark would invite the Nu Tornados onto American Bandstand to lip sync the song. The song cracked the Top 100 in both Cash Box and Billboard in 1958 as well as Variety's Retail Best Sellers.

Members: Phil Dale, Tommy Dell, Mike Perna, Louie Mann, Eddie Dono