Frank Fafara (a.k.a. Frank Fara) was a teen rocker in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Phoenix, Arizona where he achieved regional fame. As an adult he changed his last name to "Fara" and toured across North America with his Country music road show, The Frank Fara Show featuring Patty Parker. After touring for five years, he and Parker married and founded Comstock Records, an independent American record label.
Teen Idol
editIn the late 1950s, Frank and his school friend and lead guitarist, Richard Meyer, started out playing for high school rallies. Their popularity soon came to the attention of Arizona Republic music columnist Jack Curtis, who set up their first recording session. The original recording included Richard Meyer on lead guitar, Jim Schultz on drums, Frank on rhythm guitar, and Al Casey on bass.
Fafara had a string of successful Rock ‘n Roll releases in Arizona from 1959 to 1964. His first recording, “Only in My Dreams”[1] went to #5 on the Phoenix Top Ten radio charts.[2][3][4] A series of releases followed including “Miss You Dee”, “Lovemaker, Lovebreaker”[5] and “Golden One”.[6] Frank Fafara recorded at the same studio as Duane Eddy, Waylon Jennings, Sanford Clark, and Wayne Newton.[4] Cashbox’s national review noted that “Fafara has something of the late Buddy Holly in his light beat delivery”. Billboard Magazine gave him their highest 3 star rating.
Frank Fafara performed shows across Arizona with other top rockers of his day including the Everly Brothers, Conway Twitty, Brenda Lee and Del Shannon. He also appeared regularly at Stage 7, a popular Phoenix teen club.[4] Frank appeared as a regular on KPHO’s Saturday night TV show Teen Beat, as well as performing on The Wallace and Ladmo Show. On television, Frank was usually backed up by lead guitarist Mike Condello & the Stage 7 combo, while other shows normally featured Bob Knisley or Fred Allard on lead guitar.
The Frank Fara Show featuring Patty Parker
editAs an adult, Fafara changed his last name to "Fara"[4] and moved to California, where he put together a country music road show. The band was originally named The Frank Fara Show, but due to his drummer's (Patty Parker) popularity and charismatic stage presence, they changed the name to The Frank Fara Show featuring Patty Parker. For five years, Fara and Parker toured the Nevada casino circuit and major venues across North America. They eventually married, stopped touring, and began working behind the scenes in the studio.[7]
Co-Founder of Comstock Records
editIn 1978, Fara and Parker founded Comstock Records, an independent American record label. Fara was responsible for marketing and promotions, and Parker was the producer. Their office was originally located in Shawnee, Kansas, but they used Nashville studios and Nashville musicians to record and produce their songs. Parker was one of the first female independent Country music producers in the nation. Comstock found their niche in the music business by producing Country music albums for international artists. In 1988, Comstock Records moved their office to Scottsdale, Arizona, but continued to produce and record in Nashville. In the 1980s and 1990s, Comstock's success caught the attention of Billboard, The Wall Street Journal, and many local newspapers across North America. In 1998, after two decades of achieving charting success and international music awards, the ECMA awarded Comstock Records "Indie Label of the Year."[7]
In 1986, Fara wrote the book, How to Open Doors in the Music Industry the Independent Way.
Legacy
editIn the 2000s, Fafara's masters were found at Audio Recorders, the studio which made Phoenix a major recording hub during the fifties & sixties. Frank wrote all of his own songs and they were put out on MCI Records and Mascot Records. The songs were leased to Del-Fi Records, the same label as Richie Valens, but were never released nationally. In 2006, all the original Phoenix recordings from 1959 - 1964 of Fafara were completely digitized and released by Comstock Records on a CD titled Only In My Dreams.
Much of Fara's and Comstock's catalog resides with independent record label, Fervor Records, which has placed many of his songs in TV and film.
Discography
edit| Artist | Album | Format | Record Label | Cat # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Fafara | Only In My Dreams | 7", Single | MCI Records | 1022 | 1959 |
| Only In My Dreams | CD, Remastered | Comstock Records | 2006 | ||
| Mascot Records Retrospective, Vol. 2 | Fervor Records | 2013 | |||
| Various | Deep Cuts & B Sides: Teen Idols, Vol. 1 | Fervor Records | 2015 | ||
| Deep Cuts & B Sides: Teen Idols, Vol. 2 | Fervor Records | ||||
| Various | Grand Theft Auto Vice City Official Soundtrack Box Set | 7xCD, Compilation | Epic, Rockstar Games | 5100642000 | 2002 |
| 7xCD, Compilation, Enh+Box | EXK-87009 | 2002 | |||
| Frank Fara | Ride With Pancho Villa | Single | Comstock Records | 2014 | |
| Songs of the Untamed West | CD | Comstock Records | 2008 | ||
| Charming Billy, Billy the Kid | Single | Comstock Records | 2006 | ||
| Custer's Last Command | Single | Comstock Records | 2010 | ||
| Tombstone Legacy | Single | How the West Was Sung BMI | 2014 |
TV and Film Placements
edit| Composer | Performing Artist | Song Title | Program | Format | Network | Episode | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Fafara | Frank Fafara | 'Only in My Dreams" | 11-22-63 | SVOD | Hulu | 104 | 2/29/16 |
| Durham County | TV | Global Television Network/ Ion Television | 4/1/2010 | ||||
| The Good Wife | TV | CBS | 514 | 3/16/2014 | |||
| The Pretty One | Film | Provenance Pictures | na | 4/20/2013 | |||
| Bates Motel | TV | A&E | 501 | 2/20/2017 | |||
| "Lovemaker/Lovebreaker" | American Horror Story | TV | FX | 201 | 2/29/2016 | ||
| iZombie | TV | CW | 313 | 6/20/2017 | |||
| "A Tear Has Taken Your Place" | Girls | TV | HBO | 503 | 3/6/2016 | ||
| Jim Boyd | "You Only Want Me When You're Lonely" | 11-22-63 | Hulu | 107 | 3/21/2016 | ||
| "Don't Ask For More' | Homeland | TV | Showtime | 302 | 10/6/2013 | ||
| Van Helsing | TV | SyFy | 201 | 10/5/2017 | |||
| Nancy Barry | "Don't Take Me For Granted" | Staten Island Summer | Film | Paramount Pictures | na | 6/30/2015 | |
| Whatever Linda | SVOD | 101 | 10/1/2014 | ||||
| Preacher | TV | AMC | Pilot | 5/22/2106 | |||
| Leatherface | Film | Lionsgate | na | 10/20/2017 | |||
| Patty Parker | "Help You Find a Way" | Preacher | TV | AMC | 105 | 6/26/2016 |
References
edit- ^ Good Sales Potential, Billboard (magazine), March 28, 1960, p.61 (listing "Only In My Dreams" and "Gotta Get To You" by Fafara under the "Good Sales Potential" section of the singles review section)
- ^ KRIZ Official Survey Songs of the Week, April 16, 1960(listing "Only In My Dreams" at #5, document hosted on comstockrecords.com)
- ^ Curtis, Jack. Fafara realizes a 'dream' with 60's hit, Jack Curtis Presents Let The Good Times Roll, December 2009
- ^ a b c d COUNTRY FROM THE OLD COUNTRY, Phoenix New Times, February 10, 1993
- ^ Good Sales Potential, Billboard (magazine), August 15, 1960, p.37 (listing "Miss You, Dee" and "Lovemaker, Lovemaker" by Fafara under the "Good Sales Potential" section of the singles review section)
- ^ Moderate Sales Potential, Billboard (magazine), December 4, 1961, p.28 (listing "Golden One" by Fafara under the "Moderate Sales Potential" section of the singles review section)
- ^ a b "Comstock Records". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- ^ "Music by Frank Fafara". Tunefind. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- ^ "Music by Jim Boyd". Tunefind. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- ^ "Music by Nancy Barry". Tunefind. Retrieved 2018-01-18.