Hooke was instrumental in helping the band create their first demo recording. One of their early excursions as a trio was backing up violinist Helen Hooke of the legendary group the Deadly Nightshade (one of the first all-woman rock bands of the 1970s) at Gerde's Folk City. They quickly found favor at Manhattan's new wave and no wave venues such as Tier 3 and the Mudd Club, with a guitar-driven pop sound that included a strong influence of avant-garde and propulsive dance music.

The group played extensively in Hoboken and New York City and toured the U.K. James Mastro, later of the Health & Happiness Show, joined the band as a guitarist after the release of their first LP. The group was led by Richard Barone on vocals and guitar and included Rob Norris, formerly of the Zantees, on bass and Frank Giannini on drums. 'a' was the first band to play Maxwell's, a rock and roll club in Hoboken. The Bongos grew out of a band called 'a', which had included the three original Bongos and Glenn Morrow, who later formed the Individuals and helped found Bar/None Records. Along with a handful of others, the Bongos were instrumental in the advancement of the alternative rock movement. Their breakthrough song 'Numbers with Wings' garnered the group a major cult following and was nominated at the first MTV Video Music Awards. With their unique musical style, they were major progenitors of the Hoboken indie-pop community, college radio favorites, and made the leap to national recognition with the advent of MTV.

The Bongos were a power pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey that emerged from the New York City arts scene, primarily active in the 1980s, led by Richard Barone. RCA Records, Sony BMG, Sony Legacy, Razor & Tie, Fetish Records, PVC Records, Stiff, Cooking Vinyl, Jem Records (Clockwise from center): Richard Barone, James Mastro, Rob Norris, Frank Giannini.

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