V. RARE1959 UK#16 FRANKIE AVALON 78 VENUS HMV POP603 EX

	£		33
	$		44

MEGA RARE 1959 UK CHART HIT 78 FROM FRANKIE AVALON ON THE HMV LABEL

VENUS - frankie avalon

Hey, Venus! Oh, Venus!
Hey, Venus! Oh, Venus!

Venus, if you will
Please send a little girl for me to thrill
A girl who wants my kisses and my arms
A girl with all the charms of you

Venus, make her fair
A lovely girl with sunlight in her hair
And take the brightest stars up in the skies
And place them in her eyes for me

Venus, goddess of love that you are
Surely the things I ask
Can't be too great a task

Venus, if you do
I promise that I always will be true
I'll give her all the love I have to give
As long as we both shall live

Hey, Venus! Oh, Venus!
Make my dreams come true

Hey, Venus! Oh, Venus!
Hey, Venus! Oh, Venus!
Hey, Venus! Oh, Venus!

Francis Thomas Avallone, better known as Frankie Avalon, was born on September 18, 1939, in South Philadelphia to Nicholas and Mary Avallone, He has an older sister named Theresa. Although today he is known for his singing and acting career, Avalon got his start playing the trumpet. Labeled by many as a child prodigy, Avalon’s father taught him to play the trumpet at a very young age. Practicing four to five hours a day, Avalon made a name for himself playing in local theaters and clubs. His career really started to make headway when he was discovered at a private party.

Al Martino, a singer from the same Philadelphia neighborhood as Avalon, was holding a private party to celebrate signing with a record company. Avalon snuck into the party and began playing his trumpet. In Avalon’s own words, “It was just like a movie. Everyone stopped talking and Al Martino liked me.” A local talent scout at the party also liked Avalon, and helped get him booked on The Jackie Gleason Show (a variety show running from 1952 to 1970). More television appearances followed, and, in 1954, Avalon made a record with a small label called X-Vik Records. His first recordings were instrumentals called “Trumpet Sorrento” and “Trumpet Tarantaella.” Avalon continued playing the trumpet, and by age twelve he was in a local band called “Rocco and the Saints.”

Avalon was playing backup trumpet for the band when local public entertainment manager Bob Marcucci asked him if he knew of any talented rock and roll singers. Avalon suggested the band’s lead singer, Andy Martin. Marcucci did not care much for Martin, but he also got a chance to hear Avalon sing, and was very impressed with him. Shortly after, Avalon received a recording contract with Philadelphia’s Chancellor Records. His first two singles were “Cupid” and “Teacher’s Pet.” These songs helped him get his first movie role, a minor part in Jamboree (1957). Avalon’s next record was called “De De Dinah,” written by his managers. The song was “a piece of teen fluff,” and, to show his lack of respect for the song, Avalon pinched his nose as he sang it, giving it a very nasal sound. Avalon appeared on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in 1957 to showcase the song, and soon “De De Dinah” had sold more than a million copies, as well as becoming Avalon’s first top ten song.

Avalon’s first number one song on the music charts was called “Venus”; it was released in 1959. Unlike Avalon’s typical songs, “Venus,” written by Ed Marshall, was stylistically a much different song than Avalon usually sang; instead of guitars and saxophones, there was an orchestra, and Avalon sang the song in his full voice. Many consider “Venus” Avalon’s most well-known song; it sold over a million copies. After “Venus” Avalon also had success with the songs “Bobby Sox To Stockings,” “Just Ask Your Heart,” and “Why,” all of which sold at least a million copies.

In 1960, Avalon’s record sales began dropping and his career appeared to be coming to an end. He started taking small roles in movies, such as John Wayne’s The Alamo in 1960, and his personal life changed in 1962 when he met his future wife, Kathryn Diebel. Avalon was playing cards with friends in Los Angeles, when the former beauty pageant winner entered the room. Immediately upon seeing her, Frankie knew he wanted to marry her, which he did, three weeks later. Then, in 1963, he had his first starring role in a movie called Drums of Africa. Avalon’s movie career exploded later in 1963 when he and Annette Funicello starred in Beach Party and the many sequels that followed. Avalon’s career had been revived. The Internet Movie Database biographer states, “these films, with their combination of surfing, low comedy, dancing and bikinis, struck a nerve with teenage audiences,” not to mention the fact that they were inexpensive to make. Each individual movie was created over a 15 day span, costing only $350,000 to make, and still reaping huge profits. Trying to capture the significance of Frankie Avalon and the beach movie genre, journalist Thomas K. Arnold of USA Today writes “The Frankie Avalon-Annette Funicello beach movies, produced by celebrated B-movie house American International Pictures, have become an integral part of early 1960s pop culture.” Avalon’s transition from teen pop star to actor was surprisingly smooth.

DISC DETAILS

UK HMV POP 603  10" 78rpm

A SIDE : VENUS

ENTERED THE UK CHARTS 24 APRIL 1959  REACHED NO 16 STAYED IN CHARTS 6 WEEKS

B SIDE: I'M BROKE

CONDITION - EX

THIS ONE DOES NOT TURN UP VERY OFTEN ON 78 SO DON'T MISS IT

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