From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Mon Jul 8, 2002  1:17 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Frank Slay

FRANK SLAY

Born 8 July 1930, Dallas, Texas

Producer / songwriter.
Slay rose to prominence with work for Philadelphia area labels, writing
and producing, with his partner Bob Crewe (born 12 November 1937,
Newark, New Jersey), the Rays' classic doo-wop hit "Silhouettes"
(# 3 in 1957), and also its up-tempo flip, "Daddy Cool", which has
become a classic in its own right.
Though Slay and Crewe were independent producers, they became
heavily involved with Swan Records, a label founded in 1957 by Dick
Clark, Bernie Binnick and Tony Mammarella. The Slay-Crewe team
wrote and produced hits for Billy & Lillie ("La Dee Dah" etc.), Danny
and the Juniors (from 1960 onwards), and especially Swan's biggest
star, Freddy Cannon. The Slay-Crewe sound was early rock & roll,
diluted through a pop filter for a white teenage market, but with Cannon's
hits especially retaining some raucousness. Hits like "Tallahassee
Lassie" demonstrated Slay's talents at getting tracks with stomping
rhythms and handclaps.

Swan Records' office was right next door to Cameo, located in the same
suite of offices on the sixth floor of a downtown Philadelphia office building,
and the two companies, though separate entities, used some of the same
musicians and producers, Slay and Crewe among them. Of course, with
Dick Clark owning 50% of the Swan shares, the label's releases got maximum
exposure on "American Bandstand". After the start of the payola investigations
in 1959, Clark sold his interests in several record and publishing companies,
including Swan, in order to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Slay also recorded some instrumentals for Swan, credited to "Frank Slay
and his Orchestra". One of these, "Flying Circle" (an adaptation of "Hava
Nagila"), went to # 45 pop in 1961.
In the nineties, the Swan catalogue was bought by Rollercoasters Records
in the UK, who have been reissuing a series of high-quality CDs over the
past few years.
(With thanks to Tony Wilikinson.)

Swan discography: http://members.tripod.com/hoppula/swan.htm