The original quartet grew up together in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and were members of St. Michael's Choir School, where they learned to sing. The founding members were Corrado "Connie" Codarini, bass (died April 28, 2010); John Bernard "Bernie" Toorish (born March 2, 1931), tenor; James F. "Jimmie" Arnold (January 4, 1932 – June 15, 2004), lead; and Frank "Frankie" Busseri (October 10, 1932- January 28, 2019), baritone and group manager. Codarini and Toorish had formed a group with two other St. Michael's students, Rudi Maugeri and John Perkins, who were later to become founding members of another group, The Crew-Cuts.