From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Jan 29, 2002  1:21 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Frank Virtuoso
 
FRANK VIRTUOSO

Born 29 January 1927, South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Guitar/bass player, leader of The Virtues

Created by Frank Virtuoso in 1946, nearly a decade before the
official birth of rock and roll, The Virtues waited 13 years for their
first and only hit, "Guitar Boogie Shuffle".
Before enlisting in the Navy in 1945, Virtuoso had studied music
at Temple University. His group was originally billed The Virtuoso
Trio and modeled on Nat "King" Cole's trio. For the next 12 years
the unit stayed close to home. "We didn't want to travel, as we had
plenty of work" said Virtuoso for the liner notes of his Collectables
CD. In 1958 Frank remembered a tune that his former Navy buddy
Arthur Smith had created in 1945 and had chart success with in
1948. "We recorded the song in a private home using a Concertone
two-track" said Virtuoso for the CD liner notes. "I used a tape echo
and produced the sound and later added a shuffle drum part. I was
the engineer, musician, arranger... I played the lead on a Gibson L5
electric through an Ampeg amp."
The record was first issued (in late 1958) on Sure Records, then
reissued on the larger Hunt label in April 1959. "Guitar Boogie Shuffle"
shot to # 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually 2 million copies
were sold. The Virtues could never quite top that number, despite
fine efforts like "Flippin' In", the immediate follow-up. In 1962, the year
the band split up, the Virtues tried to update their boogie with a twist
beat. "Guitar Boogie Shuffle Twist" (# 96) lasted one week on the
charts before vanishing. Virtue's attentions turned to run the Virtue
Recording Studio in South Philly where he produced several hits for
others (Gabriel and the Angels, The Matys Brothers, Eddie Holman).

Available CD's: The Virtues, Guitar In Orbit : Golden Classics (22 tracks,
Collectables COL 0536) ; Frank Virtue and the Virtues, Hop, Skip And
Jump (Hydra BCK 27104).