Cathy Jean and the Roommates

Cathy Jean & the Roommates (sometimes spelled Roomates) are an American vocal group who recorded in the early 1960s, and had a US pop hit in 1961 with "Please Love Me Forever". A version of the group, fronted by original singer Cathy Jean Giordano (now Cathy Jean Ruiz), still performs.

The Roommates were originally a duo formed by 15-year-olds Steve Susskind and Bob Minsky, of Russell Sage Junior High in Queens, New York. After placing second in a local talent show--behind another duo, Tom & Jerry, who later became better known as Simon & Garfunkel--they became a quartet, adding singers Jack Carlson and Felix Alvarez in 1960. The group released their first record, a cover of Kitty Wells' hit "Making Believe", on the Promo label. Their managers, Gene and Jody Malis, then set up their own label, Valmor. For their first release they recorded teenager Cathy Jean Giordano (born 8 September 1945, Brooklyn, New York) singing "Please Love Me Forever", a song that had been a minor hit in 1958 for Tommy Edwards and would become a hit again in 1967 for Bobby Vinton. Before releasing the record, the Malises overdubbed harmonies by the Roommates; Cathy Jean and the group had never met in person when the record was issued. Credited to Cathy Jean and the Roommates, and promoted by leading radio DJ "Murray the K", the record rose to #12 in the Billboard pop chart in early 1961.

The Roommates then had success with their own record, "Glory of Love", a song first recorded in 1936 by Benny Goodman and am R&B chart hit in 1951 for The Five Keys. The Roommates' version reached #49 on the chart. The group continued to back Cathy Jean on her later singles, toured with her and recorded an album, Cathy Jean and the Roomates; however, none were successful and Cathy Jean soon retired from the music business. The Roommates later recorded for the Cameo and Philips labels, with little success, and the group split up in 1965.

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