Beginning as a loose Melbourne pick-up band playing mostly covers of R&B, zydeco and blues songs, The Black Sorrows eventually evolved into a unit that scored several top 40 Australian hits with original material

Membership in the band has always been loose and fluid. Most of The Falcons were (at one point or another) members of The Black Sorrows; several dozen other Australian vocalists and musicians have drifted in and out of the line-up over the years, with Camilleri being the only constant.

The early line-up (c. 1983/84) included 'Joey Vincent' (i.e. Camilleri) on vocals and sax, Paul Williamson (sax/clarinet), Jeff Burstin (guitar), Wayne Burt (guitar), Wayne Duncan (bass), Gary Young (drums), George Butrumlis (accordion, piano) and Steve McTaggart (violin). Camilleri, Burstin, Burt and Young had all been members of Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons. The Black Sorrows first two albums were recorded live off-the-floor, and consisted almost entirely of R&B cover songs by the likes of Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Arthur Alexander, Don Covay and John Lee Hooker.