Frankie Avalon

He met Kathryn Diebel, a beauty queen, at a friend’s house. It was love at first sight for Frankie and he decided that she was the girl he would marry. The couple got married in 1963 and was blessed with eight children. Today they have been happily married for over 50 years.

He was born as Francis Thomas Avallone to Nicholas and Mary Avallone in Philadelphia. He has one elder sister.

He loved music from a young age and his father recognized his talent and taught him to play the trumpet. Young Frankie was so taken in by the instrument that he used spend up to five hours daily practicing the instument.

He soon began taking classes from professionals; one of his instructors was a member of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra who impressed by the boy’s performance, decided to train Frankie. He participated in and won local contests and began to gain fame as a child prodigy.

Once he went to a party organized by a local singer, Al Martino, where he played his trumpet. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and were mesmerized by his performance. A talent scout present there helped him to appear on the ‘The Jackie Gleason Show’.

His career took off post his television appearance in ‘The Jack Gleason Show’ as it gained him more visibility. He got many offers to appear on other television shows.

He signed a contract with a small label called X-Vik Records in 1954. His initial recordings were instrumentals called ‘Trumpet Sorrento’ and ‘Trumpet Tarantaella’.

He began playing with a local band called ‘Rocco and the Saints’ as a twelve year old. The band also had Bobby Rydell and played shows at the parish bazaar, school gyms, vacation resorts, etc.

A chance encounter with a local public entertainment manager Bob Marcucci who was enquiring about some rock and roll singer became the turning point in his career. Even though Frankie was a trumpet player, Marcucci liked his voice and helped him sign a contract with Chancellor Records.

He released the singles ‘Cupid’ and ‘Teacher’s Pet’ in 1957. Even though they were not very big hits, the songs helped him grab a role in the movie, ‘Jamboree’ the same year.

He is best remembered as a teen idol who gave the world singles like ‘Venus’ and ‘Why’. Highly popular with the young audience, ‘Venus’ was the song that paved the way to his stardom and catapulted him to the status of a star.