Frankie Avalon Can So Sing

Did you know that today is Frankie Avalon’s birthday. That’s right, Frankie is 70 years old today, and wasn’t it just yesterday that Joy Behar was getting her Golden Boys of Bandstand mixed up in an interview with Neil Sedaka. She was asking Neil if it’s true that he (Neil) was a pop singer, as opposed to rock and roll.

It seemed like a pretty weird question coming from Joy, who is not that much younger than Neil Sedaka — Neil is 71 and Joy will be 68 on October 7th, so you would think that Joy would know that all the new music was called rock and roll in the 50s and early 60s, until they started differentiating between pop, rock and soul music.

Neil told her he was in on the beginnings of American rock `n roll. “We called “Happy Birthday Sweet 16” and “Calendar Girl” rock `n roll,” he told Joy, who was who knows where at the time — but certainly not in an infant stroller !

Joy said “Frankie Avalon and all those guys were pop right?” and Neil Sedaka agreed. Actually they were what was called “teen idols.” Then Joy dropped this bombshell: “… Well, he didn’t sing, did he sing, Frankie Avalon?”

Well, yes, Joy, Frankie did sing, and he sang very well. “Venus,” “Bobby Sox to Stockings,” and even in the 80s, Frankie was in the movie “Grease” singing “Beauty School Dropout.” And everybody knew Frankie Avalon, even Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Diana Ross, the fabulous Supremes:

So either you meant he can’t act (all those Beach Blanket movies with Annette) or you have him mixed up with Fabian. The Golden Boys of Bandstand are Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell and Fabian. Frankie and Bobby are great singers.

Fabian wasn’t exactly the best singer ever to come out of South Philly but he did win an award as “The Promising Male Vocalist of 1958” when he was 15. It was not uncommon in the music business. Years later, Gary Lewis (“This Diamond Ring), won a Best Male Vocalist award and he was no Mario Lanza either. But Fabian made the most of his opportunities and over 40 years as an entertainer showed his appeal and staying power.

One movie Fabian was in was Agatha Christie’s “Ten Little Indians” with Hugh O’Brian and he played Pretty Boy Floyd in another, and Bobby Rydell played Ann-Margret’s high school boyfriend, Hugo, in “Bye Bye Birdie.” Before he began the Beach Blanket string of movies, Frankie Avalon was in a John Wayne movie “The Alamo.”

So tweet this to @JoyBehar and maybe she can invite the Golden Boys on her talk show so they can educate her a little about their contributions as 3 of the most popular teen idols in the early 60s. Like Joy Behar, they are all Italian. They can tell her about the clean-cut wholesome image they not only portrayed but lived. Frankie has been married to his wife, Kathryn, since 1963. They raised a large family (remember Frankie’s cameo appearance in “Casino” where he says “I’m very proud to say that we have eight children”?) and have 10 grandkids.

A very Happy Birthday to you, Frankie. You’re a great singer, and we really love this youtube: