All of the original members were Italian Americans from the borough of Queens in New York, United States. Started by first tenor Mike Mincieli, the original group coalesced in 1958 – also including Nick Santo (Santmaria) lead baritone, second tenor Frank Reina, baritone Vinnie Narcardo, and bass John Cassese. Their name was taken from the Lincoln Capri. In 1959, they recorded two songs for Planet Records, "Indian Girl," and "There's a Moon Out Tonight." When the record sold badly, they disbanded and went their separate ways. Frederick Allen, a late night radio disc jockey continued to play their song, piquing the interest of Jerry Greene, an employee of the Times Square Record Store. Greene purchased the master and re-issued the record on Lost Nite Records. WINS 1010's disc jockey Murray the K played the song often, and it sold well. Realizing that their manufacturing and distribution capacity could not meet the demands of a hit record, Greene and Lost Nite sold their interest to Old Town Records, which had the capacity meet the needs of the 1961 number three national hit.
Santo's favorite singer was Clyde McPhatter, along with James Shepherd of Shep and the Limelights. The Capris patterned their sound on African-American vocal groups, rather than fellow Italian-Americans such as Dion DiMucci.
For a time, the Capris toured and performed in major venues all over the United States, but none of their follow up records sold well, and by 1963, members of the original group started to leave the ensemble. Some continued to perform locally as the Capris, but with no national profile.
Nick Santo, who left the group in 1962 and joined the New York City Police Department in 1965, continued to write songs.
In 1982, Santo, Mike Mincieli, and Frank Reina – joined at the time by Tommy Ferrara of The Del-Satins and Tony Danno, recorded "There's a Moon Out Again," an album of 12 songs, including nine compositions by Santo. "The Morse Code of Love," one of Santo's songs, quickly became a requested number on Oldies radio, with many disc jockeys and audience members believing it to be an unreleased song by the original Capris. In 1984, The Manhattan Transfer recorded "The Morse Code of Love" as "Baby Come Back to Me" for their Bop Doo-Wopp album and released it as a single. It reached number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.
Santo, Mincieli, and Reina, with other singers, continued to perform as the Capris until at least 2002.
Santo died as a result of cancer on December 30, 2010.
A version of the Capris including Frank Reina, is active in 2015.
Mike Mincieli (born Michael Mincieli; their original first tenor) died on March 15, 2015.
Wayne Smith, their most recent lead singer, died on March 12, 2016.
Theres A Moon Out Tonight
The Capris Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let's go strollin'
There's a girl in my heart, whoa-oh-oh, ooh
Whose heart I've stolen
There's a moon out tonight (whoa-oh-oh, ooh)
Let's go strollin' through the park
There's a glow in my heart, whoa-oh-oh, ooh
There's a girl at my side, whoa-oh-oh, ooh
That I adore
There's a glow in my heart I never felt before
Oh darlin'
Where have you been?
I've been longin' for you all my life
Whoa, baby, I never felt this way before
I guess it's because there's a moon out tonight
Whoa, there's a glow in my heart, whoa-oh-oh, ooh
I never felt before
There's a girl at my side, whoa-oh-oh, ooh
That I adore
There's a glow in my heart
I guess it's because
There's a moon out tonight
Moon out tonight
Moon out tonight
Moon out tonight
There's a moon out tonight
The Capris's "There's a Moon Out Tonight" is a classic doo-wop tune with romantic lyrics and upbeat rhythm. The song begins with the upbeat rhythm of doo-wop and captures the listener's attention right away with the sweet harmony of vocals. The lyrics are straightforward, and they speak of love and the beauty of the moon. The singer is urging his lover to go outside and stroll with him in the park under the moonlight. The lyrics convey a sense of longing and an intense attraction between the singer and his lover.
The chorus "There's a moon out tonight" repeats several times, emphasizing the importance of the moon and its effect on the singer. The use of "glow in my heart," "girl at my side," and "stolen heart" suggests the depth of the singer's feelings for his lover. Furthermore, near the end of the song, the singer expresses his long-life yearning for his lover and how the moon has brought a new feeling of affection. The final repetition of "There's a moon out tonight" brings closure to the song and a peacefulness that comes with embracing the serene night.
Overall, the lyrics of "There's a Moon Out Tonight" are rhapsodic and dreamlike, evoking strong emotions of love and affection. The Capris's performance of the song with vocal harmonies, toe-tapping instrumentation, and memorable lyrics made it a hit of the 1960s.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a moon out tonight whoa-oh-oh ooh
The singer notices that there is a full moon tonight.
Let's go strollin'
The singer suggests going for a walk to enjoy the evening and moonlight.
There's a girl in my heart whoa-oh-oh ooh
The singer is in love with someone and thinks about them constantly.
Whose heart I've stolen
The singer has captured the love of the girl in his heart.
Let's go strollin' through the park ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
The singer wants to enjoy the evening and moonlight by taking a leisurely walk in the park with his love interest.
There's a glow in my heart whoa-oh-oh ooh
The singer is experiencing a new feeling, which he describes as a glow in his heart.
I never felt before
This feeling is new to him and he has not experienced it before.
There's a girl at my side whoa-oh-oh ooh
The singer is walking with the object of his affections.
That I adore
He is referring to how much he loves and cares for this girl.
Oh darlin' Where have you been? I've been longin' for you all my life
The singer is expressing how much he has yearned for the love of his life whom he's finally with.
Whoa-uh-oh baby I never felt this way before
The singer is overwhelmed with emotions and is feeling things he never felt before.
I guess it's because there's a moon out tonight
The singer attributes his intense feelings to the effect of the full moon.
Moon out tonight Moon out tonight Moon out tonight Moon out tonight There's a moon out tonight
The chorus emphasizes that there is a full moon tonight.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Kanjian Music
Written by: Frank Reina, John Cassese, Mike Mincelli, Nick Santamaria, Vinny Naccarato
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@poohbearsally3530
There's a (moon out tonight) whoa-oh-oh ooh
Let's go strollin'
There's a (girl in my heart) whoa-oh-oh ooh
Whose heart I've stolen
There's a moon out tonight (whoa-oh-oh ooh)
Let's go strollin' through the park (ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
There's a (glow in my heart) whoa-oh-oh ooh
I never felt before
There's a (girl at my side) whoa-oh-oh ooh
That I adore
There's a glow in my heart I never felt before (ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
Oh darlin'
Where have you been?
I've been longin' for you all my life
Whoa-uh-oh baby I never felt this way before
I guess it's because there's a moon out tonight
There's a (glow in my heart) whoa-oh-oh ooh
I never felt before
There's a (girl at my side) whoa-oh-oh ooh
That I adore
There's glow in my heart
I guess it's because
There's a moon out tonight
Moon out tonight
Moon out tonight
Moon out tonight
There's a moon out tonight
@bobhoyt6276
I live in Southern Missouri, and driving home from Walmart today, I heard a song I
have not heard in many years. The song, by the Castells, is; "So, this is Love".
I graduated in 1961, so we had our reunion a couple of years ago. It was amazing
that there were 10-12 people who hardly changed. Some of the girls said I was as
good looking as ever. Nice words, but when I stand in front of a mirror I see an old
dude with a slight beer belly.
I got on the Google page and found several other groups that I didn't
remember. My older brother got into Folk Music and I really liked it. In fact,
I played the piano, (by ear) in the little band he formed.
Like many of you, I wish somehow we could hear more of this kind of music on
the radio more often. I had as many as 500, 45 RPM records, and my music was used for most of our school dances. When my oldest daughter was in high school, she
had some girl friends come over and listen to our 50's & 60's music and they would
laugh themselves silly. Well, she has grown up and loves the music of
that era and is trying to get her kids to like it also. The stuff they listen to now is
100% bad news.
Anyway, thanks for all the nice comments about, "our" music"!!!
Take care, Rob
@griseldamoreno6084
If history does "repeat itself", can this decade just relive again? One could only dream.
@DangerDummies
Griselda Moreno Do what you can to make these trends. Maybe revivals not impossible. Culture is influence.
@dianemillican9227
Oh God I wish😧
@Thisisstupid427
diane millican Hopefully I can make your wish a reality
@juliant43
That shouldn't be so hard to do . There's only one decade, this one
@likemypryvecy494
It did a little in the 80s❤. Waiting (im)patiently for Round 3! Good news is yesterday I saw 2 college-aged girls playing a Journey song on piano, quite proficiently, too! 😊
@linda5565
I am so happy that these doo wopp songs have been recorded. I was born in 1947 and was in high school when these groups were discovered..........I watched American Bandstand each day when I came home from school and fell in love with these tremendous melodious groups.
@curbozerboomer1773
I am guessing that you were more like in Jr. High when this music was getting so big...59-63 was the doo-wop zenith.
@mikehunt3688
Imagine how much great stuff there was that once existed but never got recorded and simply got lost to the depths of time. Songs before recorded history ever got recorded.
@michaelsochacki47
Me too! Grew up in Astoria, Queens, NYC, went to high school in Brooklyn. Quite a few doo-wop groups came from the city!