From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Wed Feb 6, 2002  1:14 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Fabian

FABIAN (By Shaun Mather)

Born Fabiano Forte Bonaparte, 6 February 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Although Fabian will ultimately be considered little more than a teen pop
idol, his very limited vocal work did sit in front of some pretty neat, easy
going, rock 'n' roll. He was discovered at the tender age of 14, by a
chance meeting with Bob Marcucci, the owner of Chancellor Records.
More of a beef cake than Frankie Avalon, he also benefited from some
Elvisy good looks, and a set of releases on Chancellor penned by
sometime Elvis scribes, Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. A regular slot
on American Bandstand did little to harm his chances, and he scored
reasonable hits with "Turn Me Loose", "I'm A Man" and the Elvis tribute,
"Hound Dog Man". At 15, he won the Silver Award as "The Most
Promising Male Vocalist of 1958". His biggest hit (# 3) came in 1959
with "Tiger", backed with my favourite Fabian track, "Mighty Cold (To
A Warm, Warm Heart)". During the payola hearings, Congress assumed
that disc jockeys must be receiving gifts to play his records and his pop
career came to a halt. A move into films in the early '60s was the obvious
move, but the flame soon burned out, despite working with the likes of
James Stewart, John Wayne and Jack Palance.

Recommended listening/viewing;
Fabian EP Collection - See For Miles.
Website: www.fabianforte.com