GOLDEN BOYS SPARKLE AT CAESARS PERFORMANCE
By: Sandy Posnack
What do Francis Thomas Avallone, Fabian Forte and Robert Ridarelli all have in common? If you guessed that they are all of Italian lineage, born and raised in the same South Philly neighborhood and that each was a teenage idol I the late 50's and early 60's, then treat yourself to a Philly Cheese Steak with all the trimmings.
Avallone beached his given moniker in favor of Frankie Avalon: Forte found his forte' as a vocalist and assumed the name "Fabian," and Ridarelli rid himself of a few letters and achieved fame as Bobby Rydell. Today the three buddies are collectively called THE GOLDEN BOYS. And Golden they were, dazzling the audience for two full hours last Friday evening, the first of a three-night engagement at Caesars Atlantic City.
The show kicked off with the Dick Paul Orchestra playing "Memories," while videos projected on a large screen at center stage showed memorable moments from the early years of each performer's career.
When the video ended, Avalon, Fabian & Rydell appeared together in the Circus Maximus Theatre stage, looking quite natty in elegantly tailored tuxedos.
The evening continued with a bit of humor. Fabian spoke of a telegram he received that gushed over his good looks. Who was it from? Richard Simmons! Frankie said that he spent the day surfing - on the Internet! And Bobby was ecstatic because he received a letter notifying him that he won a price - two days in Niagara. It turned out that he misread the letter, and the prize was actually two weeks on Viagra!
And then it was on with the show! Rydell was first up, and opened his segment with "They're Playing My Song." His strong, melodic voice continued with "Wild One," his 1960 "biggie." In 1963, Bobby starred as Hugo Peabody in the motion picture Bye Bye Birdie with Ann-Margret as his co-star. Scenes from the flick were shown on a large screen as Bobby proceeded to sing songs: "Kids," "Put on a Happy Face," the tender "One Girl," "I've Got a Lot of Livin' To Do," and the movie's title song. He continued with the advice-laden "Forget Him," and another one of his Gold Record winning "Volare."
Rydell, 57, shared some family background with the audience. He and his childhood sweetheart, Camille, who will mark 31 years of wedded bliss this October, have a son, Robert a daughter, Jennifer, and two grandchildren.
During an interview with the handsome, gray haired vocalist, he told us that The Golden Boys started performing together in 1985. "We really have a wonderful time on stage. The three of us were all born and raised no more than two blocks away from one another in South Philadelphia, and we've known each other for years. It's just a ball working on stage with the other two guys."
Fabian took the stage next. The blue-eyed rock 'n rollin' hunk became a star following a series of performances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Fabe, as he is called by his fans, proved that he could still shimmy and shake as he performed his opening "Johnny B Goode." He continued with "I'm A Man" and "Turn Me Loose" both penned for him by the legendary songwriting team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Next, Fabian extended an invitation to anyone that liked to twist to join him on stage. A dozen chipper souls, ranging from "teeniors" to seniors, accepted his offer and all seemed to be having a grand time twisting as he sang "The Twist."
Included among this group were four women from Australia who told us prior to the performance that they had seen Bobby Rydell perform in Australia 35 years ago and were fans of all three vocalists. They made their first trip to Atlantic City specifically to see this show.
Although Fabian, 57, did a lot of twisting and turning during his prior song (well, his high school classmate was Chubby Checker), he summoned up even more energy to continue with the spirited "Only In The USA" and "I Like That Old Time Rock and Roll."
Fabian, looking more relaxed than we have ever seen him, spoke of a son and daughter from his first of three marriages, and had the spot light focused on his bride of 11 months, who was in the audience.
Frankie Avalon, the paragon of perpetual youth, took his turn at center stage and told the audience that his Atlantic City connection goes back to the years when he performed on The Tony Grant Show on Steel Pier, a show that served as a stepping stone for youngsters who harbored show biz aspirations. Frankie and his wife have 8 children ranging in ages 25 to 35, and 3 grandchildren. "Why, Because I Love You" the song that he opened with on Friday evening, must have been his theme song!
He continued with a string of hits, including "Dee Dee Dinah," his first big hit; "Gingerbread," the ballad "Bobby Socks to Stockings" and "Yakety Yak." The audience -
Participating with "Charlie Brown" and "Walla Walla Bing Bang" - were followed by some rockers from Avalon's Back to the Beach flick. For these, the proud dad was joined by his oldest son, Frank, on drums and number two son, Tony, on guitar.
Avalon sang many of the songs with which he is identified, such as "Beauty School Dropout" from Grease and "Venus," the song considered his signature tune; "Great Balls of Fire," "Let's Dance," "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Hound Dog," and "Let's Go to the Hop."
For the grand finale, the trio assured us that "Rock and Roll is here to stay," as Avalon sang "Hello Mary Lou," in tribute to Rick Nelson: Fabian remembered his friend Elvis with "Hard Headed Woman," and Rydell ended with Bobby Darin's memorable "Mack the Knife."
Somewhere in rock and roll heaven, Nelson, Presley and Darin were probably nodding their heads in approval and perhaps even joined the audience in the lengthy standing ovation to The Golden Boys.
If you like entertainment that is 100% upbeat, the next time The Golden Boys come to Atlantic City get out the poodle skirts, polish the white buck shoes and head for the theatre.
"The Whoot" Atlantic City, NJ
8/26/99