Bernie Toorish, co-founder of The Four Lads, dies at 94

They were the fabulous four from a British territory, but now the last surviving member has died: Bernie Toorish, co-founder of The Four Lads, died Sunday in hospice in North Olmsted. He was 94.

The Lads dominated pop radio in the pre-rock era, racking up 22 Top 40 hits. Five of them were million-sellers: "Moments to Remember," "No, Not Much," "Standing on the Corner," "Who Needs You?" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” the latter covered by They Might Be Giants in 1990 . The group actually got its start as the Otnorots, a reverse spelling of their hometown of Toronto.

“We came down to the States as the Four Dukes, and there was a group in Detroit that had that name,” he said during a 2001 interview. “So, the first two months in New York, we changed the name to The Four Lads.”

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