Sunday, September 18, 2011

Happy 71st birthday, Frankie Avalon...

 


(From Wikipedia, so it must be true)- As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints. In 1959, "Venus" (5 weeks #1) and "Why" went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. "Why" was the last #1 of the 1950s. Avalon had 31 charted U.S. Billboard singles from 1958 to late 1962, including "Just Ask Your Heart" (U.S. #7), "I'll Wait For You" (U.S. #15), "Bobby Sox to Stockings" (U.S. #8), and "A Boy Without a Girl" (U.S. #10). Most of his hits were written and/or produced by Bob Marcucci, head of Chancellor Records. Teamed frequently with Annette Funicello, Avalon starred in a number of popular "beach" comedy movies during the 1960s. The wholesome and romantic coupling of "Frankie and Annette" in summer movies such as Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo became iconic figures in American films during that era. Avalon also had straight dramatic parts in the John Wayne historical western film, The Alamo, as well as the science-fiction story, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) with Barbara Eden. Materializing as a character called Teen Angel, his performance of "Beauty School Dropout" in the hit 1978 film of the musical Grease introduced Avalon to a new generation of viewers.

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