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"THE FELLAS DO IT RIGHT"


“I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with The Fellas last fall and I must say; they brought back the days when my group, The Cookies, toured with Temptations. The moves and singing was just like it was back in the 60s. I look forward to sharing the stage again with The Fellas.”Margaret Williams - FRIEND ENTERTAINMENT - MARGARET WILLIAMS


"SENSATION, STUPENDOUS, TERRIFIC, EXCITING, ETC..."

"I just had to drop you a note and tell you how sensational, stupendous, terrific, exciting etc, etc your performance was last evening! I had received these tickets from a friend as a birthday gift and to tell you the truth I was not excited to see a tribute? show but boy was I wrong! I cannot remember a better concert that I have been to in many years. Every single group was superb. Your opening act, Sammy Sax and the MD?s along with your two singers were incredible. You had me right from there, I did not need to see anyone else. The Righteous Brothers were great and The Fellas' tribute to The Temptations, WOW they kicked it out of the park. Gladys Knight, that was performed by Barbara Harris-- you could of sworn that Gladys and her Pips (once again the Fellas)were right there in front of you dancing and singing to all her hits. She certainly deserved the stand ovation she received... "
- Loretta Riciardi, FRIEND ENTERTAINMENT (Mar 06, 0011)


- Friend Entertainment


"AWESOME"

"On behalf of the Black Student Union at the College of New Jersey, thank you for coming out and playing at our event this past Saturday. There is no doubt that without you guys, the ceremony wouldn't have been as successful as it was. You guys were awesome and everyone that I asked said that they really enjoyed your performance... Christine Director of Programming Black Student Union The College of New Jersey " - Friend Entertainment


"SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS"

"NORMAN I AM STILL JUMPING UP & DOWN!!! WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE PERFORMERS YOU ENGAGED FOR OUR SPECIAL CELEBRATION. WONDERFUL, FABULOUS, EXCITING, SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS ? THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH ADJECTIVES TO DESCRIBE THE LEVEL OF TALENT AND PROFESSIONALISM YOU AND THE GROUPS EXUDED... THE FELLAS OF MOTOWN WHO MANY GUESTS THOUGHT WERE SOME OF THE ORIGINAL TEMTPATIONS. THAT GOOD!! I AM STILL ON AN ADRENALINE HIGH! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY DREAM A REALITY. "
- Geri Campbell, FRIEND ENTERTAINMENT (Jun 04, 0010)
- Friend Entertainment


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

Photos

Bio

CLASSIC SOUL brought to you by THE FELLAS

The Fellas were formed in the summer of 1991. The group consisted of founding members, Joe Rivera III (lead vocals/1st tenor), Ricardo Wright (lead vocals/1st tenor) and Andrew 'Drew' Rhoden (lead vocals/2nd tenor) and Anthony Cooper, Jr. (lead vocals/baritone/bass).

The Fellas are patterned after the Temptations, whose style allows anyone to step out front and sing lead, without compromising the harmony. Not wanting to be known as an "oldies" group, The Fellas are also armed with original material catered to the adult audience. Artists that influenced The Fellas (besides Motown acts) are The O'Jays, The Manhattans, The Spinners, Rachelle Farrell, Marvin Gaye, Will Downing and Phil Perry, to name a few.

Today in 2011, original members Ricardo Wright and Joe Rivera III have reunited to perpetuate Classic Soul music, along with JoQuae DeVonish, a member of the latter lineup of the Fellas and Roman Barksdale. Classic Soul returns from Detroit, MI and New York City.

ROMAN BARKSDALE - Roman got his first break in the industry as a member of Black & Latino Rap group THE MEAN MACHINE out of New York City. They were signed to the same record label as THE SUGARHILL GANG in the late 1970's. Roman brought his crooning skills to THE MEAN MACHINE. In 1984 he and Joe Rivera III co-founded R&B band PERFECTION. During the group's 2 year history, PERFECTION was the houseband on the record 'Don't Let Them Starve' produced by Arthur Crier, Eugene Thompkins and Jay Siegel (lead singer of THE TOKENS of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' fame). In 2011 Joe & Roman have reunited to bring back Classic Soul.

JoQUAE DeVONISH - JoQuae began singing at a very early age. At the age of 10 he sang with the group Soul Direction and had his first stage perfomance.As a young man, in the early 90's JoQuae met Joe Rivera through mutual friend, Anthony Warr in 1993. This was when he began to sing with the Fellas. Soon afterwards the members of the group went on to lead their lives and in 2009 The Fellas reconnected. JoQuae currently sings lead & first tenor.

JOE RIVERA III - Joe started his career in high school where he co founded an acapella group. After high school he played keyboards and sang lead in a few local R&B bands. In 1991, Joe cofounded The Fellas with Ricardo Wright. The group disbanded in 1993. Afterwards Joe went on to sing with NYC doowop group Earl Lewis & The Channels from 1995 to 2009. In November 2009, the Fellas regrouped with Joe doing leads and singing 1st tenor, 2nd tenor and baritone backup vocals. He also scores out all music for the group. Joe was inducted into the DooWopp Hall of Fame in 2007 as a member of Earl Lewis & The Channels.

RICARDO E. WRIGHT - Ricardo started his singing career with his two sisters, Rosalyn and Denise as The Wright Trio. Afterwards he moved to NYC to pursue an acting career where he was a member of The National Black Theater, touring across the USA and abroad in Asia. In 1989 he joined R&B band CLOUT where he was the lead singer and he met keyboardist Joe Rivera III. When the band parted ways, he and Joe co-founded The Fellas. In November 2009, Ricardo returned to The Fellas where he sings lead, 1st tenor, 2nd tenor and baritone background