Frankie Avalon

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Frankie Avalon (2018)

Frankie Avalon (* 18th September 1940 as Francis Thomas Avallone in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) is an American pop singer and actor , who was successful with his records in the 1950s and 1960s.

Career

Singer

Frankie Avalon was one of the first and most successful teenage idols from the Philadelphia area, who has many other well-known pop musicians, e. B. Al Martino . Inspired by his father's trumpet playing, he began to occupy himself with music at an early age. At the “CR Club” in Philadelphia, where parents were given the opportunity to let their children perform, Frankie first presented his musical skills with trumpet solos, followed by appearances on local talent shows, and he won an amateur competition. Through a talent scout, he finally made it onto the nationally broadcast Jackie Gleason TV show on CBS in 1952 . In 1954, RAC's own record label "X" released two singles with trumpet solos with the eleven year old Frankie Avalon . At this time he also became a member of the musical group "Rocco and the Saints", which participated in many local events and performed in youth clubs. One of the members was also Bobby Rydell .

In 1957, the record company Chancellor Records was founded in Philadelphia . One of the owners knew Frankie Avalon and helped him get a record deal with the new company. The first single, released in June 1957, only caught attention in Frankie's hometown. It was only with the title De De Dinah of his third Chancellor single, which was released in December 1957, that Avalon achieved the breakthrough, the title became a million-dollar success.

German pressing of the single Venus , 1959

During his first recordings, Avalon was only accompanied by his band "Rocco and the Saints" or other studio musicians. For the track Venus , the producer Marcucci provided him with a large orchestra and a choir, and the track became Avalon's first number 1 hit in the spring of 1959. Half a year later, he was able to top the US charts again with “ Why ”. By 1962, almost all of his singles were on the leaderboards. In total, he reached the Hot 100 of the US music magazine Billboard 25 times . With Venus and Why he was also able to place in foreign hit lists. As a result of the British Invasion , interest in the now 23-year-old, whose music was always specifically tailored to the teenage audience, decreased.

After Avalon had released 28 singles and ten long-playing records with Chancellor , he changed the record company in 1963 and switched to United Artists Records (a subsidiary of the film studio United Artists ), where he remained just as unsuccessful as afterwards with a number of other companies. Only with the disco version of Venus did he again attract attention on the record market in 1976. His last single You're the Miracle was released in 1983 on the CBS sub-label Bobcat. He then successfully toured America with his old fellow singers Bobby Rydell and Fabian as "Golden Boys".

As an actor

Since he had previously worked in a number of films, Avalon increasingly turned to this medium in the 1960s. He had his first major film role in 1963 in the film Drums of Africa , after which he was the male lead in the Beach film series, at the side of Annette Funicello . In 1960 Avalon had a supporting role in the Western Alamo , where he also sings the title Ballad of the Alamo . As a partner in the musical Grease , in the film adaptation of which he himself took on a small role in 1978, and as the owner of a medicine company, he has achieved considerable prosperity. In 1990 he played a small guest role on the sitcom Full House . Avalon made a small cameo in the 1995 film Casino by Martin Scorsese . He had other cameo appearances in 1994 in the film Chicks by James Melkonian and in 2001 in the series Sabrina - Totally Verhext! .

Discography

Filmography (selection)

  • 1957: Jamboree
  • 1960: Alakazam the Great
  • 1960: He came, saw and won (Guns of the Timberland)
  • 1960: Alamo (The Alamo)
  • 1961: Fire Belt Company (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)
  • 1961: Sail a Crooked Ship
  • 1962: Panic in Year Zero (Panic in Year Zero!)
  • 1963: Demolition squad leather neck (Operation Bikini)
  • 1963: The Castilians (El valle de las espadas)
  • 1963: Slavehunter (Drums of Africa)
  • 1963: Beach Party (Beach Party)
  • 1964: Muscle Beach Party (Muscle Beach Party)
  • 1964: Bikini Beach (Bikini Beach)
  • 1964: Pajama Party (Pajama Party)
  • 1965: Surf Beach Party (Beach Blanket Bingo)
  • 1965: Sweden - Just for love (I'll Take Sweden)
  • 1965: Ski Party (Ski Party)
  • 1965: How to Stuff a Wild Bikini
  • 1965: Sergeant Deadhead
  • 1965: Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine)
  • 1966: Tomorrow the devil will get you (Fireball 500)
  • 1967: Sumuru - The Daughter of Satan (The Million Eyes of Sumuru)
  • 1968: Skidoo - A Happening in Love (Skidoo!)
  • 1969: Goosebumps (The Haunted House of Horror)
  • 1974: The Take
  • 1978: Grease (Grease)
  • 1978: Love Boat (TV series, one episode: 11 # 21, The False French Women )
  • 1982: Blood Song (Blood Song)
  • 1987: High-Life on the Beach (Back to the Beach)
  • 1989: Troop Beverly Hills (Troop Beverly Hills)
  • 1992: Twist (Twist)
  • 1994: Chicks - Totally stoned and crazy about girls (The Stoned Age)
  • 1995: Casino (Casino)
  • 2001: Sabrina - Totally Bewitched!
  • 2007: Charlie Gracie Fabulous (documentary)
  • 2007: Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (documentary)
  • 2008: The Wages of Spin (documentary)
  • 2018: dad

literature

  • Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia Of Pop, Rock And Soul . 3rd revised edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 21f - ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .
  • Bronson. Fred: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 3rd revised and expanded edition New York City, New York: Watson-Guptill, 1992, p. 50.
  • Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit Guide US Chart Singles 1950–1963 , Taurus Press 1992, ISBN 3-922542-47-6 .

Web links

Commons : Frankie Avalon  - Collection of Images
personal data
SURNAME Avalon, Frankie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Avallone, Francis Thomas (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician and actor
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, USA