Len Barry was born Leonard Borisoff in Philadelphia on June 12, 1942 (some sources state that it was December 6, 1942, but Donny Borisoff, whose father and Len were first cousins, has confirmed that Len's date of birth was June 12) ; it was an ideal place to be exposed to the black group sounds of the '50s. In 1958, an outfit called The Bosstones had an uptempo rocker - 'Mopitty Mope' - out on the Boss label (# 501, b/w 'Wing Of An Angel') : 16-years old Len Barry is thought to have sung on it and it does sound like him. Some time later, Len teamed up with another bunch of guys out of West Philadelphia to form the Brooktones, soon to be rebaptized The Dovells, a name coined by Bernie Lowe, owner of the Cameo-Parkway record company who would sign them in early 1961. The line-up then was comprised of Len (lead singer), Jerry Gross (first tenor), Mark Stevens (bass), Arnie Silver (baritone) and Mike Dennis. Mark Stevens soon left the group, to be replaced by Danny Brooks who wouldn't stay very long either, thus reducing the quintet to a quartet. Their first single, 'No No No' (Parkway 819) was an instant flop but the second, 'Bristol Stomp' (# 827), co-written by Kal Mann, Bernie Lowe and Dave Appell, became a #2 hit in a matter of weeks, after Dick Clark played it on 'American Bandstand'. It was originally coupled with a ballad, 'Out In The Cold', although later pressings had 'Letters Of Love' on the flip (that song had already been the flip-side to 'No No No'). To me, 'Bristol Stomp' was one of the superior 1961 singles and just about as important as 'Stay', the Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs hit of the previous year, for defining the new '60s Rock'n'Roll sound.

Good exposure and fine singing helped establish The Dovells as one of the top dance groups on the scene. They appeared in the film, 'Don't Knock The Twist' in 1962 (with fellow Cameo-Parkway artists, Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp and The Carroll Bros who once cut a powerful version of Billy Emerson's 'Red Hot') and lined up more smashes for a couple of years : 'Bristol Twistin' Annie', 'Hully Gully Baby' and finally 'You Can't Sit Down', a vocal version of The Phil Upchurch Combo classic instrumental (Boyd 3398) which reached #3 in 1963. In fact, The Dovells used to jam a lot with guitarist Philip Upchurch at the 'Harlem Club' in Atlantic City and that's how they got the idea of putting words to that exciting tune. Once again, the hit side was coupled with two different B-sides. Other good tracks recorded by the group included the snappy 'Save Me Baby' (featuring a special appearance by bass singer, Danny Brooks), '36-22-36' and the rockin' 'Betty In Bermudas'. Most of these songs featured wild tenor sax breaks and wavy organ backings but all of them displayed Len's raucous voice (and sometimes his incredible falsetto) at the forefront. With due respect to the other members of the group whose nice harmonizing echoed the '50s Doo-Woppers they idolized, it was plain obvious that the singing star was Len Barry. Before 1963 was over, Len had walked out on them and started a solo career on Parkway's sister label, Cameo.