From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sun Nov 10, 2002  7:24 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Tommy Facenda
 
TOMMY "BUBBA" FACENDA (By Shaun Mather)

Born 10 November 1939, Norfolk, Virginia

You haven't lived until you've seen the current Blue Caps live with Bubba
waving his shirt around as he's stripped to the waist singing Dance In The
Street. Along with Paul Peek, Bubba Facenda was one of Gene Vincent's
clapper boys during the heyday of Gene's all too brief moment in the
spotlight.
Portsmouth, Virginia is next door town to Gene Vincent's hometown Norfolk
so Bubba was already aware of him through their mutual friend, drummer
Dickie Harrell. Therefore, when Gene's original Blue Caps broke up at the
end of 1956, Bubba got the call to join as clapper boy, singer and dancer.
The next couple of years were real eye openers for the youngster. His first
session with Gene saw them cut classics like "Lotta Lovin'," "Rollin' Danny"
and "I Got It", with "Dance To The Bop," being cut the following day.

On stage, Gene, Paul and Bubba had a wild routine and the band was one
of the nation's top touring attractions. A highlight would come during "Baby
Blue" when during the Johnny Meeks solo, Gene would crouch down low,
staring upwards into space whilst Bubba did his infamous "freeze", where
he stood, legs slightly apart and arms raised out front as if sleep-walking,
shaking his whole body as if in a trance.

Early in '58, Paul, Dickie and Bubba had left the band but returned briefly
to appear on film (Hot Rod Gang) and record, cutting, "Git It", "Dance In
The Street," "Rocky Road Blues" and "Peace Of Mind".

Bubba decided to launch a solo career and was signed by Nasco Records
in Nashville. His debut, "Little Baby" b/w "You Are My Everything" (Nasco
45-6018) was a flop. Next he went to New York City where he hooked up
with Frank Guida who had formed the Legrand Record label and was looking
for someone to record a novelty song "High School U.S.A.". Bubba cut "High
School USA" for Legrand Records before recutting it for Atlantic Records in
28 different versions, the idea being that as many high schools as possible
would be mentioned and released in that region. Each regional version was
issued with its own individual record number by Atlantic from Virginia (51)
to Oklahoma (78). Luckily there was only one version of the flip-side,
"Plea Of Love". The record hit the pop charts (peaking at # 28) and landed
him show spots alongside the likes of Jackie Wilson, Connie Francis,
Annette, Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon and Fabian.

The follow-up was a self-written number entitled "Bubba Ditty" (Atlantic
2057) but it failed to click. Following a spell in the U.S. Army he returned
to Portsmouth and committed the rest of his working career to the Fire
Department. He went back on tour with The Blue Caps in 1982 and has
continued to work with them, although alas, it's only been sporadic.

RABHAF page: http://www.rockabillyhall.com/gvtommy.html