Fredianelli, founder of Gaylords, dies

Heather Rawlyk and Ed Koch

Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

Through more than 50 years in show business, Ronnie Gaylord saw it all.

As a member of the Gaylords, a trio that preceded rock 'n' roll, he hit the pop charts and later worked with top entertainers, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Shecky Greene, Bill Cosby, Wayne Newton, Patti Page, Juliet Prowse, Al Hirt, Duke Ellington and Frankie Laine.

Three of his children followed in his entertainment footsteps.

Ronald L. "Ronnie Gaylord" Fredianelli, who also was a popular Las Vegas lounge performer from the late 1970s through 2002 as part of the team of Gaylord and Holiday, died Sunday at his Las Vegas home. He was 73.

Services will be 11 a.m. Friday at Palm-Mortuary Eastern.

Since he was a teenager, Gaylord knew show business would be his life.

"I was still in high school when I had a local TV show ("Melodies in Music") five days a week, and I was working nightclubs," Gaylord told the Sun last year.

Gaylord was born June 12, 1930, in Detroit.

He played standup bass and joined with lead singer/guitarist Burt Bonaldi and pianist Don Rea to form the Gaylords in Detroit in the mid-1940s. While on tour in the early 1950s, they caught the eye of a representative from Mercury Records, who signed the band to the label.

The Gaylords' first release in December 1952 was "Tell Me You're Mine," which became a million-seller.

In 1954 the group released its biggest hits: "From the Vine Came the Grape," which hit No. 1 on the pop charts, "The Little Shoemaker" that topped out at No. 2 and "Isle of Capri" that also reached the top 10.

Soon after Gaylord was drafted into the Army and was assigned to Special Services, singing for a military band.

After being discharged from the service in 1958, he reunited with his band. The Gaylords performed regularly at Harrah's venues in Reno, Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas. Gaylord and Bonaldi later formed Gaylord and Holiday and played, among other venues, the Railhead at Boulder Station.

Gaylord is survived by his wife, Terry Fredianelli of Las Vegas; three sons, Christopher Fredianelli and Anthony Fredianelli both of Las Vegas and Ronald Fredianelli of Michigan; two daughters, Tiffany Fredianelli of Las Vegas and Melissa Fredianelli of Reno; two grandchildren; and two great grandchildren. Tiffany is a vocalist with Love Shack at Texas Station and with Venus, an all-girl band that appears at the MGM Grand. Sons Tony and Chris are members of the rock band Third Eye Blind.