The year was 1968...
Five Milwaukee teenagers recorded a single with record producer Jon Hall for his local Teentown Records. That song was
"Little By Little"
, written by sixteen-year-old Tony Dancy and Dennis Duchrow. Within a few weeks, it was number one in the Midwest, receiving heavy airplay on WOKY, and WRIT. It wasn't long before all the excitement caught the eye of A&M Records president Herb Alpert, who quickly signed them to his fledgling label.
Based on the success of their hit single, Tony's Tygers recorded their only full-length album, which was released in summer of 1968. The band performed nonstop, traveling around the U.S. and locally at Wisconsin venues. Remember the CYO dances? The trademarks of a Tony's Tygers show were the band's five-part vocals and high energy.
The summer of 1997 saw Tony's Tygers reunite for a special Milwaukee reunion concert at Maritime Days. The magic was still there. For 45 minutes, Tony's Tygers, with their amazing vocal power had a crowd of over 25,000 people dancing in their seats. That incredible response motivated Tony to put the band back together. The Tygers regrouped and performed locally from 1998 thru the summer of 2002, then it was time for Tony to return to Los Angeles.
Tony Dancy
After the original Tygers disbanded, guitarist/vocalist Tony Dancy and keyboardist Craig Fairchild moved to LA, where they became staff writers for Wednesday's Child Productions. Here they wrote music for such national TV shows as "The Brady Bunch" and "The Flintstones", and became accomplished studio singers. In the mid 1970s, Tony returned to Milwaukee to assemble the vocal group Quiffy, which he took to LA. Quiffy became one of the hottest nightclub bands in the area and worked with Three Dog Night producer Richard Podolor as well as shooting a TV pilot with William Shatner before calling it quits in 1978. After stints with such groups as Ambrosia and El Chicano, and lots of studio work, Tony returned to Milwaukee, 
where he re-formed Tony's Tygers and recorded his first solo CD, "A Hopeless Romantic", released in February 1999. His second CD, "Midnight Dancing", was released in 2004. After a long stint in Hong Kong, and several months traveling, Tony is back in Milwaukee working on some cool new tunes.
Craig Fairchild
Original member Craig Fairchild's story pretty much parallels Tony's, thru the early 70's, when they were a songwriting team in LA. At the same time they were writing for TV, Craig became an engineer at Larrabee Sound in Hollywood, where he did sessions for such artists as Sonny and Cher, Liza Minelli and Johnny Mathis. In the mid 1970's he founded the group Quiffy, with Tony, but left the group before it moved to LA. He was a member of the popular Milwaukee group Rocket 88 for many years, where he acquired a large female following, drawn by his slightly risque take off on Roy Orbison. Today you'll see him perform with the Doo-Wop Daddies.
Barry Beihoff
Barry Beihoff, bass/vocals, a long time fixture of the Milwaukee music scene, originally played with Freddie and the Freeloaders, Barry went on to play with the Jet Set and Seven Card Stud, before moving to California where he became a household name in the LA club scene. He toured Russia with Skunk Baxter (Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan), was a member of Shawn Murphy's (Little Feat) band, and played/recorded with Cheech and Chong, Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, Jon Stewart, Joe Walsh, Coco Montoya, Debbie Davies and Fats Domino. Sadly, Barry passed away in April of 2006. It was a blow to all of us - he is truly missed.
Louie Fragassi
Lead guitarist/vocalist Louie Fragassi has been a professional musician since the late 1960's. In the early 1970's he moved to LA, where he became a member of Crazy Elephant. After leaving Crazy Elephant, Louie joined the 1910 Fruitgum Company. Louie returned to Milwaukee in 1980 for a 1910 Fruitgum Company reunion tour, and has resided there ever since. He became a permanent fixture of the Milwaukee music scene as a member of Jules Blattner and the Warren Groovy All Star Band. Most recently, Louie was a member of The Game with Mark Lansing, until they left the band to join Tony's Tygers. He is also the proprietor of the popular riverwest nightspot, Bosco's On Burleigh where the remaining Tygers can be found drowning their sorrows in Louie's fine selection of tap beers.
Mark Lansing
California-born guitarist/vocalist Mark Lansing first broke on to the national music scene in 1970 with the band Flying Machine, whose hit "Smile A Little Smile For Me" went top 5 on the Billboard Charts. He worked as a studio musician in LA until the mid 70's. In 1978 he moved to Wisconsin and joined one of the state's biggest acts of that time, Sunblind Lion. In 1989, Mark teamed up with Louie and they formed The Game. When The Game disbanded, Mark found himself in Tony's Tygers. Retired but never tired, Mark is now a member of the Doo-Wop Daddies.
Mike Murphy
Mike Murphy provided the heartbeat of the Tygers' driving rhythm section. Mike started his career as the original drummer for Sweetbottom in the 70's. He then traveled extensively and recorded with the jazz-fusion band Matrix, which had an album on RCA and several Warner Bros releases. In the late 80's and into the 90's, he hooked up with guitarist Daryl Stuermer, of Phil Collins/Genesis fame - they toured and recorded into the 90's. Mike remains in the music scene in Wisconsin focusing on jazz.
Dave Kuck
Dave was the rhythm guitarist and sang the high falsetto parts in the band. He became a prominent LA booking agent in the 70's and 80's. Dave currently is a rancher in Wyoming, near Cody.
Dennis Duchrow
Dennis was the original drummer and co-writer of "Little By Little". He left the band to join the army in '69. Today you can find Dennis running his upholstery shop in Richfield, WI.
Fred Euler
Fred was the one and only bassist of the original Tygers. He sang many lead vocals and was a very strong part singer. After the Tygers, he went on to become a noted chef in Milwaukee and around the state. Today, Fred is the general manager of the elite Hyatt Regency in Reno.
Gary Smith
Gary was the first keyboardist, playing his Farfisa organ for the Tygers. Currently, Gary is an executive at Manpower International headquarters in Milwaukee.
Joe Turano
Joe was the keyboardist and sang leads and parts with his strong tenor voice. He moved to LA and did session singing and also learned to play sax. Joe played sax & keys with Michael Bolton for many years and now plays sax for Al Jarreau.
Lanny Hale
Lanny was the drummer and a lead vocalist, singing the tenor parts. He joined the band after Dennis joined the army. Lanny is currently a prominent ophthalmologist with clinics in Milwaukee and Phoenix.
