Joe Lynn Turner Rick Blakemore Abe Speller Bob Danyls Larry Dawson Denny LaRue Santos Lou Mondelli Joe De Lia Ron Zampini
Fandango was an Americanpop rock band which began as a four-piece, playing in the local clubs in the Tri-state area: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut (circa 1976) before adding three more members prior to their first recording contract being signed in March 1977.[1] It was fronted byvocalistJoe Lynn Turner (who by then had already changed his given name 'Linquito' through a suggestion byguitarist Rick Blakemore).[2] Larry Dawson (stage name ofLarry Dvoskin), one of the band's keyboardists, would later play forUli Jon Roth.
The band opened for acts likeThe Allman Brothers,The Marshall Tucker Band,Wet Willie,Billy Joel, andChicago.[3]Phil Walden's Paragon Agency (who initially represented such artists asOtis Redding,Percy Sledge, andSam & Dave in the early 60s) were responsible for booking Fandango.[4] Turner has stated that the band took influences from theEagles andsouthern rock. The group, after the release of their fourth album (Cadillac), disbanded shortly after their equipment was stolen at Chicago Fest.[5] Turner's work with the band got him noticed by Barry Ambrosio (who wasRitchie Blackmore's personal assistant). He put Blackmore on the phone and asked Turner to audition forRainbow.[6]
Cadliac was Fandango's final album beforeJoe Lynn Turner joinedRainbow in the fall of 1980. Released onRCA Records. Re-Released on CD in 2008 onWounded Bird Records in the United States and in 2010 on Canyon in the United Kingdom.
^"Presenting Fandango". Artista, RCA Sign New Artists.Cash Box. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 43. George Albert. March 12, 1977. p. 10.
^Turner, Joe Lynn.Personal Interview. (1 March 2017). "Rick Blakemore suggested changing my name...I like the Blues...He said, Big Joe Turner!...His cousin had the middle name 'Lynn'...very common in (the) southern states...so he yelled out, Joe Lynn Turner!...And it stuck! RCA loved the name when we signed the record deal."
