One of the first teen heartthrobs, Frankie Avalon made his way back to the WNY area after a few postponements due to the pandemic. Avalon has been in showbusiness since making his first appearance on The Honeymooners playing his trumpet back in 1956. He has been in many movies and TV shows over that time. He may be best known for his various movies with Annette Funicello in the early to mid 1960’s portraying a beach guy. Another big role of his was as a Teen Angel in the movie Grease. Outside of his acting roles, Avalon also had two number one hits back in 1959 (including the last one of the decade called “Why”).
Besides his band, Avalon was also backed by a small 6 piece horn section. His guitar player Edan Everly (who is the son of the late Don Everly) joined him to sing lead vocals on a few Everly Brothers classic songs. This show was truly a retrospective on Avalon’s career. Video’s and Avalon himself talking about some of his career defining moments were highlights throughout the set. He made poked fun at himself along the way, which made him very enduring and likeable. His son Frankie Junior played the drums . His father stated he came to be a drummer after idolizing KISS. He also talked about his 7 other kids and his long lasting marriage of 59 years to his wife Kathy. His voice has held up extremely well as he did both his his number one hits “Venus” and “Why” and did them both justice.
His hour and 20 minute set was filled with great music, humor and fantastic storytelling. Avalon is still showing the younger generations on how to produce a quality show after all of these years. Many could only wish they could end up having the type of career that Avalon had.
Setlist:
Venus (reprise)
Where or When (Rodgers and Hart cover)
Yakety Yak
Witch Doctor (David Seville cover)
Beach Blanket Bingo
California Sun (Joe Jones cover)
Beauty School Dropout (Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey cover)
DeDe Dinah
Bye Bye Love (The Everly Brothers)
Dream (The Everly Brothers)
Wake Up little Susie (The Everly Brothers)
Bobby Sox to Stockings
Why
Venus
When the Good Guys Used to Win
Blue Moon, Cherry Pie, For Your Love, Darling You Send Me, Earth Angel, Good Night Sweetheart
Rock and Roll Heaven (tribute to Bobby Rydell), Old Time Rock and Roll
We’ll Meet Again/Mickey Mouse Club
We would like to thank David Fillenwarth from the Riviera Theater for the credentials to review the show.
