Lawrence Figueiredo (October 19, 1940 – September 5, 2023), better known as Larry Chance, was an American musician and the lead singer of the 1960s

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

group Larry Chance and the Earls, originally known as The Earls. Larry Chance was born in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County to its north; to its south and west, the New York City bo ...

, and raised in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Moving back to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, he originally formed his group as The High Hatters. The group was eventually rechristened The Earls and Figueiredo changed his last name to Chance, after the record label. In 1962, the Earls' single "

Remember Then "Remember Then" is a pop song written by Tony Powers and Beverly Ross, and first recorded in 1962 by doo-wop vocal group The Earls. Original copies of The Earls' version, on the Old Town label, show only Powers as the writer, while some later versi ...

" was a national hit. Other records entered the charts, including "Never" (top 5 on the local

chart), "Life Is But a Dream" (top 10 on the local New York charts), and " I Believe", considered an East Coast classic. Other recordings include "Looking For My Baby" and "Kissing". Albums included ''Remember Me Baby'', ''The Earls: Today'', ''The Earls – LIVE'', ''Earl Change'', and ''Streets of the Bronx''. Chance also had a short-lived solo career in the late 1960s, but as the

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

revival scene started a strong run in the early 1970s and 1980s, the Earls became one of the most requested groups in the doo-wop genre and Chance returned to the group. They continued to perform actively and remained popular on the oldies circuit. Chance was diagnosed with cancer in 2000, but went successfully through chemotherapy. He performed at the 2001 DOO WOP special in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, and told his fans about his experiences with his illness, before he sang "I Believe". He died of lung cancer in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, on September 5, 2023, at the age of 82.Doo-wop icon, Larry Chance, dies
''Mid Hudson News''. Retrieved September 7, 2023.

References

External links

Larry Chance and The Earls official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chance, Larry 1940 births 2023 deaths American male singers Singers from Philadelphia Doo-wop musicians Deaths from lung cancer in Florida