The DeFranco Family.nfo
From threecg@noemail.net Sun Jul 18 08:47:49 2004
Here's some retro 70s teen-idol kitsch music. The DeFranco Family,
sort of a Hanson of that decade, featuring 13-year-old Tony on lead.
Their two vinyl albums were reissued on a single CD in 2000, and this
is a posting of that. Though of course somewhat dated today in terms
of production, the songs are candy-coated infectious pop and the
singing talent strong. 21 tracks of music, plus CRC .SFV file, cover
graphic and group photo graphic. http://www.defranco.com/ is the
official site, and below are pasted articles tracing the group's
history.
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Thanks - and enjoy!
- ThreeCG
VH1.COM:
With their youthful exuberance and lighthearted approach to pop, the
DeFranco Family was one of the most successful pop groups of the
1970s. Their debut 1973 single,
"Heartbeat, It's a Lovebeat," featuring the lead vocals of
then-13-year-old Tony DeFranco, reached number three on the Billboard
charts, the top slot on the Cashbox singles chart, and sold more than
two million copies. Their second single, "Abra-Ca-Dabra," which
reached the Top 40, was followed by their final hit, "Save the Last
Dance for Me," which reached number 18 on the charts in May 1974.
The DeFranco Family's reign came to a sudden halt when a rock version
of their tune "Write Me a Letter" failed to generate much attention
and reached no higher than the 104th slot on the charts. Although
their earlier hits had been produced by Walt Meskell, the
disappointing sales of "Write Me a Letter" prompted their record
label, 20th Century Fox, to fire Meskell and team the group with Mike
Curb, who had previously worked with the Osmonds. The collaboration
proved disastrous. When Curb attempted to recast the group as a cover
band, they resisted and severed their relationship with their
publisher and manager, Charles Laufer and Laufer Entertainment, and
20th Century Fox. Unable to attract interest from another label, they
continued to tour and perform in Las Vegas. Frustrated by their
inability to attain their previous heights, they disbanded in 1978. A
reunion concert at Rhino Records' Retro Fest in 2000 was followed by
the DeFranco Family's final performance at B.B. King's Nightclub in
Los Angeles.
The five siblings who comprised the DeFranco Family were born to
Italian immigrant parents and raised in Port Colborne and Welland,
Ontario. Initially performing as the DeFranco Quintet, the group found
success after a demo tape of their songs was heard by Sharon Lee,
editor of teen magazine Tiger Beat. Impressed by what she heard, Lee
arranged for Charles Laufer to fly the group to Los Angeles for an
audition. Laufer signed the group to an exclusive deal with his
company, Laufer Entertainment, financed a three-song demo, and helped
them to secure a contract with 20th Century Records.
The DeFranco Family recorded in Los Angeles' Western Studios with
accompaniment by Wrecking Crew veterans Hal Blaine on drums, Larry
Carlton on guitar, and Max Bennett on drums. They appeared on Dick
Clark's American Bandstand nine times. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide
CANOE.CA:
DeFranco Family
Anthony "Tony" DeFranco (vocals)
Benito "Benny" DeFranco
Nino DeFranco
Marisa DeFranco
Merlina DeFranco
[ BIOGRAPHY | Discography | Links | Photos ]
The five DeFrancos - Benny, Marisa, Nino, Merlina and Tony - were born
and raised in Port Colborne and Welland, Ontario, by Italian immigrant
parents Antonio and Maria, the DeFranco children all experimented with
musical instruments at an early age.
Mr. DeFranco taught 10 year old Benny guitar and, less than eight
years later, Benny was busy teaching guitar professionally and winning
awards for his playing all over Canada.
Soon after Benny began his lessons, Marisa developed her own talents
on the accordion and then the organ. Nino followed by showing his
natural ability on the guitar.
The three of them played so well together that younger sister Merlina
insisted on a place in the group - so they bought her some maracas.
Tony, who was only 4, took to the maracas before Merlina could
protest, so Mr. DeFranco bought Merlina a set of drums...and the
DeFranco Quintet was formed.
It wasn't long before the DeFrancos were a much sought-after act in
their local area. They were in demand for local TV shows, benefits,
parades, weddings and church functions. All this time, however, the
DeFrancos remained a musical group, singing only during rehearsals.
Mrs. DeFranco, who knew her son Tony had a fine singing voice, asked
him to sing onstage at a large banquet in Toronto. Tony refused. Mrs.
DeFranco offered him $5. Tony reconsidered. The song was "Hey Jude,"
and it brought the house down. After that, singing became the
DeFrancos' specialty, and they became more popular than ever.
A friend believed in them enough to send their picture to Charles
Laufer, publisher of Tiger Beat Magazine, who immediately invited the
DeFrancos to Hollywood for an audition.
Once in Hollywood, the DeFrancos did a series of interviews and photo
sessions for Laufer and his staff. Their stories and pictures were
published in the teen magazines, and it wasn't long before the mail
response convinced Chuck Laufer that there was something special about
this family.
The DeFrancos took up residence in Hollywood, and the Laufer
Entertainment Group (L.E.G.) had the DeFrancos cut three sides. Laufer
took the finished songs directly to Russ Regan, President of 20th
Century Records who signed the band to the label after only a single
listen to the material.
Producer Walt Meskell trained The DeFranco Family, and particularly
Tony DeFranco, in preparation for their first album. The first single
was "Heartbeat, It's a Lovebeat," in June of 1973. Dick Clark invited
the DeFrancos on "American Bandstand" in July, which created more
viewer reaction than any other Bandstand guest at that time. In total,
the DeFrancos would appear on American Bandstand 9 times. "Heartbeat"
would go to sell more than 2 1/2 million copies.
The follow-up single, "Abra-Ca-Dabra", was released at the beginning
of 1974. The label decided to strike while the fire was hot and return
the act to the recording studio to prepare for the next album.
There erupted a power struggle in the production of second album LP
with management telling returning producer Walt Meskell which songs to
record while the DeFrancos themselves wanting more hands-on
participation. Though they believed in continuing with the same
musical tradition, they wanted the elbow room to mature as musicians
and performers. Meskell elected to stockpile more of his own original
songs while the DeFrancos fought for the right to record one of
Benny's original compositions. Alas, the label, producer and
management team tethered the act to their bubblegum origins.
The sophomore album, 'Save The Last Dance for Me', contained their
third and final Top 40 hit. Originally a hit for The Drifters, the
remade title track reached #18 in 1974.
The band's schedule was relentless and in June of 1974 they began an
11-week United States/Canadian tour in the summer and by the fall
would tour Japan. Following the tour, they were sequestered for work
on album #3. Pressure was immense from the creative team to zero in on
the specific type of songs that needed to be recorded. With the
success of the Drifters remake it was decided the act should continue
the route of revising old cover tunes. Coupled with that came the
decision to switch producers replacing Meskell with Mike Curb who'd
had great success with the Osmonds. The DeFranco's stuck to their
creative guns hoping that the successful formula of the previous two
records could be maintained. Ultimately, they lost the battle and were
coerced into recording several songs with Mike Curb which proved to be
less than satisfactory. By the end of 1974 the DeFranco's had no third
album or a recording career.
The band retired in 1979 and the family relocated to southern
California. The ladies settled into married life; Benny did production
work at Disney studios; Nino owned a music store in the San Fernando
Valley; Tony and his wife ran a production company and were handling
the careers of several international artists.
Despite their standing Canadian citizenship, the majority of their
recordings were disqualified as Canadian Content due to the
songwriting and production being American.
In recent years The DeFranco Family have reunited including an
appearance at Rhino Records' annual RetroFest and on April 13, 2000 at
B.B. King's nightclub in Los Angeles to coincide with a long overdue
CD re-issue of their best material on a K-Tel Records 'best of' CD.
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