Epilogue: Dr. Dennis Pupello, heart surgeon and founder of The Fabulous Rockers

Dennis Pupello wanted rock and roll stardom. And in the early 60s, he was knocking on that door.

Leading the way on keyboard, his Tampa band The Fabulous Rockers played New York City's popular Peppermint Lounge, had a song on the regional top 40 chart and performed alongside the likes of The Four Seasons and Jerry Lee Lewis.

But he gave up a shot at celebrity for a career as a heart surgeon.

Decades later, Dr. Pupello literally got the band back together and The Fabulous Rockers again regaled Tampa fans.

Still, his musical talents were never shared with the world to the degree they might have been.

Dr. Pupello died of heart failure on October 25. He was 79.

Son Brad Pupello said his father had no regrets.

"His first passion was music," he said. "But he chose medicine over fame and fortune because that was his true love."

Among Dr. Pupello's medical accomplishments: He served on the team for the first heart transplant in Tampa, was one of the founding members of the cardiac surgery staff at Tampa General hospital, founded St. Joseph's Heart Institute and performed over 25,000 surgeries before he retired in 2005.

Still, Dr. Pupello's friends and family said, he would also want to be remembered for The Fabulous Rockers.

"He was loved by many and will be missed," Fabulous Rockers percussionist Manny Gutierrez said. "The Fabulous Rockers had a great run."

A West Tampa native, Mr. Pupello formed The Fabulous Rockers in 1957.

A few of the original members quit over the next year, new ones were brought in, and, by 1958, they had the nine-person ensemble — a mix of Jefferson and Hillsborough high school students — that resonated with Tampa.

Within a year they were drawing weekly crowds of 1,000 to the Letter Carrier's Hall on W. Cypress Street. In between songs, they were known to entertain audiences with comedy bits that included flying pies and punchline schtick.

Proms were scheduled around their availability. National bands touring Florida hired them as an opening act or backup band. Popular clubs in New York booked them. Their original tune, Would I Still Be Loving You, made it onto national radio.

"They were local heroes," said filmmaker Lynn Marvin Dingfelder, who produced the documentary The Fabulous Rockers Forever! "A Tampa band getting radio play was mind boggling."

Dr. Pupello, she said, "was the heart of it all."

That's why the band broke up when he left to study medicine.

And it's why they got back together in 1994 when Dr. Pupello wanted a reunion show.

It was to be a one-time affair. Then, more than 6,000 showed up to the Tampa Convention Center concert. So, they decided to make it the first show of many.

Their fanbase was decades older than when the band first formed. But they danced the night away as though still teenagers.

It was not lost on some devotees that they had the strength to dance thanks to Dr. Pupello's work as their heart surgeon, son Brad said. "He was one of those of rare people with a right and left side of the brain working without an imbalance."

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A dream of the band in their younger years was to perform in Havana when it was still the nightlife capital of the Caribbean. But by the time they hit their peak, Fidel Castro had brought Communism to Cuba and the U.S. severed relations with the island nation.

So, in 2016, with relations restored, Dr. Pupello booked a Havana show. More than 60 fans made the trip with them.

"That's dedication," filmmaker Dingfelder said.

On Oct. 23, The Fabulous Rockers played The Mayors Hispanic Heritage Celebration at the Tampa Theatre. Dr. Pupello was not feeling up to it, but did not want to let his fans down.

"He was weak but played awesome," son Derek Pupello said.

The final song The Fabulous Rockers performed was Jump Jive an' Wail.

"They went out on a high note," son Derek said.

Also part of the set list was What a Wonderful World.

"That's not normally a song he plays," son Brad said. "I think he knew more than he let on. He knew this was the last opportunity he had to play."

Dr. Pupello died two days later.

"He played his heart out," wife Lisa Pupello said. "That is how he wanted it to end."

Contact Paul Guzzo at pguzzo@tampabay.com. Follow @PGuzzoTimes.