Frankie Avalon - Venus (1959)

One of a spate of teen idols to come out of Philadelphia in the 1950s and 1960s, Frankie Avalon--unlike many of the others--actually had a musical background, having been taught to play the trumpet at a very young age by his father. As a youth Avalon performed in local clubs and theaters. He won a local TV talent contest playing a trumpet solo. One day in 1952 he was performing at a private party held for singer Al Martino. A talent scout who was also at the party was impressed enough by Avalon to get him an appearance on Jackie Gleason's TV show, which led to more television appearances, and in 1954 he cut his own record on a small local label. At age 12 he was in a band called Rocco and the Saints, which included another soon-to-be famous teen singer, Bobby Rydell. Avalon eventually landed a recording contract with Philadelphia's Chancellor Records, and he recorded "Cupid" and "Teacher's Pet". These records got him his first movie role, a small part in Jamboree (1957) designed to promote "Teacher's Pet." His next record was "De De Dinah", a song written by his managers (and one for which he had so little respect that he pinched his nose while recording it, resulting in its extremely nasal sound). After an appearance on Dick Clark's teen dance show "Bandstand" (1952), sales of the record zoomed and it eventually sold more than a million copies. His next several songs were also big hits, and in 1959 he recorded the song he is probably best known for, the million-selling "Venus." However, as 1960 rolled around his career began to wane and his record sales dropped precipitously. He soon began taking small parts in movies, most notably in John Wayne's The Alamo (1960). He began to get somewhat bigger parts and had his first starring role in Drums of Africa (1963). His movie career really took off, however, when he was paired with former Mousketeer Annette Funicello in Beach Party (1963) and its string of sequels. These films, with their combination of surfing, low comedy, dancing and bikinis, struck a nerve with teenage audiences, were produced for peanuts and made a fortune. Avalon still recorded songs for Chancellor and other labels, but now he was far better known among younger audiences for his movies than for his records. In 1985 he began touring with fellow teen idols Rydell and Fabian in an oldies show called "The Golden Boys of Bandstand," which was a rousing success. In 1987 he and Funicello were reunited in Back to the Beach (1987), an homage to, and parody of, their earlier "beach" movies. Avalon still makes personal appearances and tours, many with and for his old friend and mentor Dick Clark. ~IMDb Mini Biography By: frankfob2@yahoo.com

PLEASE NOTE: I divided my uploads among multiple channels, Bookmark this link in your browser for instant access to an index with links to all of John1948's oldies classics. LINK: http://tinyurl.com/Channel-Index

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[benozzo1942]

Ancora grazie a John 1948 per aver caricato una delle canzoni più romantiche della mia gioventù !

[John1948Five]

Siete i benvenuti. Mi piace condividere la mia musica.

[SuperAram111]

men were better looking back then too.....

[Brad C]

Grandfather passed away. This 8 track was laying next to his old Zenith. We were going to throw out but cannot after hearing this. Born in 1980 here but holy cow did music really go to hell these days. Great tune.

[atmoms2]

My sisters and I wore this 45' out!



[Diana Tsigg]

Glad I found the original. I'm sending it to my sister! In the 50s, 60s, they were all great.

[codestud3]

Bellisimo.

[robwallyworldmusic]

Venus, Goddess of Love that you are, please watch over my first love (Annette Funicello) who has left Earth this day to join you in the heavens. Venus if you do, I promise that I always will be true... ♥♡♥

[wescoolya]

love isn't what it used to and that's what makes this song so great.

[sauquoit13456]

On this day in 1959 {March 14th} Frankie Avalon performed "Venus" on the ABC-TV program 'Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show'...

Exactly one month earlier on February 9th it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; and on March 9th it peaked at #1 {for 5 weeks} and spent 17 weeks on the Top 100...

And on the same 'Beech-Nut' show the Fleetwoods performed "Come Softly To Me"; it was that song that knocked "Venus" out of the #1 spot on April 13th, 1959...

R.I.P. Mr. Clark {1929 - 2012}...

[Barry Gormley]

It's already over.

[Hayrettin Güler]

Arthur Mitchell from Dexter brougt me here.

[karina escamilla]

WOOOOOW HERMOSO CIERTO DE VERDAD CUANTOS RECUERDOS TAN BELLOS Y GRATOS COMO OLVIARLO SI ESMDE MI ÉPOCA HERMOSA CANCIÓN DE FRANKIE AVALO ES LO MAXIMOOOOOOOOO CIERTO