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Sonny Pell, Patsy Cline, Hank Pell
The Copa in Seacaucus NJ, Circa 1956

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• Contact Joe Curcio

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GREENPOINT MUSIC PRESENTS
THE PELL BROTHERS
Hank & Sonny

by Joe Curcio

I spent 4 years in high school with friend John Pellegrino, and had no idea what amazing talents his father Hank and Uncle Sonny were! They were the famous Pell Brothers of Greenpoint Brooklyn, New York!


OK, actually they were Anthony and Michael Pellegrino -- but who's gonna take a couple of neighborhood Italian guys seriously as a pair of soon to be country music icons? Well luckily another Brooklyn paisan (pie-zon) who incidentally, also changed his name from Carmine to Slim, knew that these guys were the real deal.


As fate would have it good ‘ole Slim the (Italian)Yodeling Cowboy got ill and the Pell Brothers jumped in for him and were on their way! From gigs at Brooklyn roughneck joints like The Lincoln Rondevous to working with the who’s who in country music from colorful, honky-tonk classic and country music hall of fame singer Faron Young to American country music legend Patsy Cline. The Pell Brothers also played in a variety of bands, including an Irish Show-band where they performed a range of musical styles and selections from Top 40 to The Beatles -- but it was Country music that was in their hearts.


You may have never guessed it but in the early 50’s, Brooklyn kids like Hank and Sonny Pell and even Bronx boys like Dion DiMucci (aka “Dion and the Belmonts”), and thousands of country music fans in New York, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and Connecticut were glued to their radios and tuned into programs like Don Larkin’s “Hometown Frolic” country music show on Newark radio station WAAT, where they listened to the twangin’ of the likes of Hank Williams, Montana Slim, Gene Autry, and Grandpa Jones. It was those country music inspirations that eventually lead Hank and Sonny to meet Shorty and Smokey Warren.


Smokey Warren was also a booking agent. Back in the 50s the Warren brothers also owned The Copa Club in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Warren Brothers also had their own television show, The Garden State Jamboree, on WATV, featuring big name country and hillbilly artists. The Pell Brothers made an appearance on The Jamboree with Marvin Rainwater and performed at live Jamboree shows with Faron Young, Mona Kray, and Steve Reeves!


The famous Pell Brothers of Greenpoint Brooklyn, New York went on to have quite an impressive discography, including their first side, “Itch To Leave” on Al Hawkes Event Records. Other Event Records artists included Dick Curless, Hal Lone Pine, Charlie Bailey of the Bailey Broothers, the Lilly Brothers & Don Stover. They also recorded for Jay Records and Western Ranch Music! The Pell Brothers also were session players for a host of top name country acts and even appeared in Rustic Rhythm Magazine in June 1957 (the Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash, and Little Jimmy Dickens issue) with The Carter sisters.

Unfortunately, in July of 1994 we lost older brother Sonny Pell, born 1929. Henry “Hank” Anthony Pellegrino, passed away at age 82 in 2019.

Contact John Pellegrino

Contact Joe Curcio

GreenPointMusic.com

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More Photo's: Click to Enlarge
Hank Pell, on pedal steel with Shorty Warren backing Wanda Jackson The Pell Brothers Band The Pell Brothers Band The Pell Brothers appear in Rustic Rhythm magazine, June 1957 with The Carter Sisters, and the Louvin and Webster Brothers.
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