Boys Town Gang

Best remembered for releasing a chart-topping cover of Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" in 1982, Boys Town Gang was a disco-influenced dance group formed in 1980 in San Francisco, California. Local DJ Bill Motley assembled the group with the intention of marketing Boys Town Gang's music to the city's significant gay population, with Jackson Moore, Tom Morley, Bruce Carlton, and lead singer Cynthia Manley all earning spots in the band's roster. Boys Town Gang debuted in 1981 with a two-sided single that featured covers of "Remember Me" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," both of which climbed to Number 5 on the American Dance Club Songs chart. A full-length album, Cruisin' the Streets, was also released that year, with Disc Change following in 1982. Disc Change's first single, "You're the One," became another hit in America, peaking at Number 6 on the Dance Club Songs chart. Even so, it was the group's contemporary reworking of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" that made the biggest splash on a global level. Produced by Bill Motley, the song peaked at Number 4 in the UK, earned a gold certification in Japan, and topped the charts in Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain. Before 1982 came to a close, Boys Town Gang's cover of the Stevie Wonder classic "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" cracked the Top 10 in Belgium and the Netherlands, giving the group one final taste of global success. A third album, 1984's A Cast of Thousands, failed to maintain the group's popularity, and Boys Town Gang broke up shortly after its release. Jackson Moore, who had replaced Manley as the group's frontman on Disc Change, briefly pursued a solo career following the split.

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