Their debut single "Don't Let the Rain Come Down (Crooked Little Man)" was a Top Ten hit and received the group's only Grammy nomination in 1965.
The members - Bryan Sennett (14 March 1940 - 7 September 2011), Brooks Hatch, Mike Brovsky, John Madden, Jon Arbenz (1 June 1940 - 1 February 2012), Bob Young (12 March 1939 - 16 September 2006) and Lynne Weintraub - had, with the exception of Weintraub, all previously worked together in various trios before coming together to form the Newport Singers.
[1] In 1963, after working extensively in the Rocky Mountain Denver-Boulder Front Range region, the Newport Singers moved to New York City based on a telegram offering a record contract from a William Morris agent.
Weintraub, also at the time the talent co-coordinator for the popular ABC Hootenanny television series, felt the group needed two more people to round out the sound.
After several months of rehearsal and work with Bob Bowers who became the group’s musical director, the Serendipity Singers opened at Weintraub's Bitter End café.
Despite having no new albums in 1966 and 1967, the group extensively played the college circuit and did appear on television including WABC's syndicated series "An Evening With" on May 21, 1966 and a return to The Ed Sullivan Show on January 8, 1967 where they sang, "If I Were a Carpenter" and a medley of folk tunes.
They also performed the soundtrack recording for a film spotlighting Lady Bird Johnson's beautification program singing, "We're On Our Way" which was played in movie theaters and television in 1967.
film, The Way West, including the title track released as a single which didn't chart and one LP in 1968, which was the Serendipity Singers' final album to feature original members of the group.
Schwarz" featuring the Serendipity Singers singing Christmas tunes and also starring Chuck McCann and the Paul Ashley puppets.
In 1969, the band without chart success continued touring and making television appearances including their final Ed Sullivan guest spot on June 8, 1969.
The group name was purchased by David Stanton of Theatrical Corporation of America, a company that primarily booked talent on the college circuit.
[13] The first album, "The Serendipity Singers Play the Palace" featured highlights from one of the television specials recorded live in San Francisco.
The group was featured in a 1979 White Castle television commercial which included: John Ross, Laura McKenzie, Carol Murphy, Bartha Hartman, Daryl Best and Gerry Barnas.
A tour called "Vaudeville '80" packaged by Roy Radin featured the group with six other acts including The Ink Spots, The Drifters, Tiny Tim, and The Marvelettes and drew small crowds.
They reunited to perform at the induction event also honoring Judy Collins, Bob Lind and Chris Daniels on November 8, 2013 at Denver's Paramount Theater.
[19] Their only album for United Artists, 1968's Love is a State of Mind, was reissued on compact disc for the first time in September 2013 by Now Sounds Records.