The Choir

It was 1968. Denny was nineteen and had just met Dann Klawon and Jim Bonfanti of The Choir while working on his degree from Cuyahoga Community College. He allowed the group to perform one of his original tunes, "Whatcha Gonna Do?". The Choir was Cleveland's most popular group and their song, "It's Cold Outside", had reached #53 nationally plus held #1 in Cleveland for five weeks in a row. They had signed a contract with Canadian, American and Roulette Records, but had broken up. Jim Bonfanti, after an unsuccessful attempt at forming a new group with Joe Walsh of the James Gang, decided to re-form The Choir with former member Ken Margolis, Dann Klawon's younger brother Randy, the James Gang's Phil Gillambardo, and Dennis Carleton (he switched to bass from his customary guitar).

This was the third lineup of the Choir and occasionally this group of Choir gets confused with the Mods/Choir lineup that recorded "It's Cold Outside". The Mods and the other versions of Choir, Carleton explains, "get all blurred together. TheChoir that I was in was a very good band, but was not the original Choir that recorded '..Cold Outside' and toured".

The band rehearsed three times weekly for a month, learned 20 originals and many covers, and became Cyrus Erie's (Eric Carmen) foremost competition. The band had a two-keyboard lineup with a sound that was a cross between British pop and classical. Among their favorite covers were some of Procul Harum, Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations", and notable version of "MacArthur's Park".

They were managed by Mark Barger of Global M. Productions, who also managed The James Gang, Lemon Pipers, and the Damnation of Adam's Blessing. With his help and that of WIXY's DJ Dick "Wild Child" Kemp, they recorded an album that was accepted by Mercury Records. But the band broke up when two members joined Eric Carmen. Though the record was never released, a cassette was released in 1988 on Greenlight Label which included two originals by Denny: "The Mummer Band" and "If These Are Men". "If These Are Men" is also on Choir Practice, which is on the label, Sundazed. Four cuts from this version of the Choir are on the Retro cd.