Paul McCormack and his brothers Tom Lennon, Dan Lennon Sr. and the late Ray Dow grew up in the Brickyard section of West Lynn, an ethnically diverse, close-knit, rough-and-tumble neighborhood that today borders the Lynnway, Neptune Boulevard and Commercial Street. When they weren’t boozing or instigating relatively-innocent hooliganism, they would be standing side-by-side, singing their hearts out.
McCormack and the Lennon brothers, who have been singing together for 54 years, have always had a soft spot for the vocal harmonies of doo-wop and R&B. Last year for Christmas, McCormack’s wife, Carla, gifted her hubby with three hours of recording time at Wellspring recording studio in Acton. The trio, with 48-year-old bassist Dan Lennon Jr. in tow, headed west and cut 16 songs in one day.
McCormack, a Lynn Trade grad and the elder statesman at 76, sings tenor regularly with the Beverly-based Northshoremen barbershop chorus. “It took 54 years for us to record our first album,” he said. They chose the name the LenDows, to honor their families, because, he added, the McLenDows was clunky.
Tom Lennon, 75, who sings lead on most songs, said putting out a record “has been bantered around for years, probably back to 1964 when we sang in Breed Square at a thing for Bill Nichols when he ran for mayor. He didn’t win.” The song selection includes R&B staples “In the Still of the Night,” “So Fine” and “Money Honey” and more recent tunes such as Mumford and Sons’ “I Will Wait.”
Dan Lennon Sr., 73, a Classical High grad who has a studio in his cellar and has played guitar (Fender Strat, mostly) since he was 14, said: “We come from a large family, a musical family. Everyone would sing. There’s an a cappella band Five O’Clock Shadow; our cousin (another Dan Lennon) sings lead with that group.”
Lynn Trade grad Tom added that relative “Jack Lennon was an old song-and-dance man in vaudeville, with Ray Bolger, the Scarecrow in ‘Wizard of Oz.’” He “thinks” the Lennon Sisters are distant relations and wouldn’t be surprised if Beatle John Lennon is in the family tree as well. Pure blarney, say his bandmates. “I went to the Beatles store in Liverpool, showed them my passport with the name Lennon. They didn’t say no,” said Tom with a smirk.
Before Prohibition, Tom and Dan’s ancestors owned Lennon’s bar on the corner of Blossom and Alley (site of the current Brickyard Bar+Grill). Alcohol has played a role in the lives of McCormack, 39 years in recovery, and Dan Sr., 42 years sober.
“Years ago, we were crazy,” said Tom, who his brothers say was always able to control his drinking. “If we had a good manager back then who’d grabbed us by the g-damn ears and said ‘Drink after the show,’ who knows what might have happened.”
“We used to get a lot of free drinks when we were singing,” said Dan Sr. “At age 14 I was recruited by the Rascals (a local band, not the Felix Cavaliere hitmakers). I was caught drinking with them, and that was too much for my mother who kicked me out of the band. I was in a band, the Whirlwinds, in ’64 or so. We opened for the Beach Boys at Surf Nantasket. Someone asked for my autograph and Mike Love took offense. He was being a (jerk). I almost knocked him out. … and I was sober that night.”
Once CDs are made and artwork is finished, the music by the LenDows will be available to family, friends and practically anyone else who asks for it. “It’s free, but we’ll accept donations to offset costs,” said Tom, adding that information about the album will be forthcoming.
