Who originally performed “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”?
The expert at Sounds Enjoyable, a record store in Sacramento, California, informs us that The Four Lads were the first group to record this song, the record having been released in 1951. Bart adds that the jacket to the album The Most Requested Songs of the Fifties has this to say: If solo performers were particularly in demand in the 1950s, so were male quartets which proliferated like never before. With names like The Four Aces, The Four Freshman, The Four Coins, The Four Grads and The Four Most, they all vied for public attention. One of the most admired groups was The Four Lads, who backed Johnny Ray on his #1 hit, “Cry,” and went on to make a name for themselves as recording stars. The group consisted of Frank Busseri, Bernard Toorish, James Arnold, and Connie Coderini, all from Toronto, Canada, who were discovered by Orlando Wilson, of the Golden Gate Quartet. Brought to New York on a two-week engagement, they lasted 30 weeks and were signed to the OKeh label, where they recorded
