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Since his grade school days in Penn Hills, Frank Czuri, second tenor, baritone and lead singer of Pure Gold, has been a gifted performer. As early as age 10, Czuri was drawn to R&B, forming groups with fellow students and playing local dances, parties and talent contests. Czuri’s boyhood groups evolved into The Igniters who recorded “High Flying Wine” with Charlie Appel in the mid-60s. Later, re-coined as Jimmy Mack and the Music Factory, they released a record through Atlantic that achieved Tri-State airplay and a second record came a year later featuring two original songs with Czuri on lead vocals. Czuri performed with Pittsburgh-based Diamond Reo and yielded a Top 40 hit. Other stints included an appearance on American Bandstand; tours with Kiss, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Frank Zappa, Kansas, Ian Hunter, Blue Oyster Cult, Canned Heat, XTC and others. The group continued to write original material and perform R&B covers like “Carol,” “Mona,” and “Route 66.” They evolved into a powerful hard rock group consisting of Czuri on vocals, Warren King on guitar, Norm Nardini on bass and Rob Johns on drums. Their 1975 “Dirty Diamonds” was acclaimed by British Fan Magazines as “the best Heavy Metal LP to escape from the U.S. in years.” Commercial acclaim did not follow critical acclaim and the band, discouraged with lack of big-time success, broke up in 1979. King and Czuri followed up Diamond Reo days by forming the Silencers with Ron “Byrd” Foster, DT Tacos and Mike Pella. With Tom Cossie as executive producer for his CBS-affiliate Precision Records, they recorded “Rock and Roll Enforcers.” Produced by Bob Clearmountain who went on to produce the Stones, Bowie, Springsteen and other rock and roll heavyweights, the release yielded “Shiver and Shake” which charted in the low 80s and was acclaimed to be one of the 10 best local artists’ records by Pittsburgh Magazine during the 90s. The group’s video, consisting of the “Peter Gunn Theme,” the Czuri-penned “Remote Control,” and “Illegal” received heavy rotation on MTV and again the group toured extensively performing with Hall and Oats, ACDC, Heart, Foreigner and others. Their live show always consisted of original material as well as classic R&B covers. Their second LP, “Romanic,” yielded the local favorite “Sidewalk Romeo,” which Czuri co- wrote. The group eventually disbanded in 1984. In 1985, Frank approached Henry DeLuca, Pure Gold’s manager, about singing with the group. As a lifelong vintage R&B fan and performer, Czuri welcomed the opportunity to work with his childhood idols from Bo Diddley to Aretha Franklin. He continues to bring his own unique style of R&B to the group. |
