Frank Slay




Frank Conley Slay Jr. (July 8, 1930 - September 30, 2017) was an American songwriter, A&R director, record producer, and record label owner. He wrote with Bob Crewe in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the partnership's most successful songs including "Silhouettes", a hit for several artists including The Rays and Herman's Hermits, "Daddy Cool", and "Tallahassee Lassie". As a producer, his biggest hit was "Incense and Peppermints" by the Strawberry Alarm Clock.[1]



Career


He was born in Dallas, Texas, and moved to New York City in 1951, attempting to find work as a songwriter. In 1957 he and Crewe wrote "Silhouettes" and "Daddy Cool" for the Rays.[2] Initially released on the XYZ label set up by Slay and Crewe, "Silhouettes" became a top ten pop hit in the US for both the Rays (#3) and the Diamonds (#10), and was re-recorded successfully by Herman's Hermits in 1965 (#5 US, #3 UK). and Cliff Richard in 1990 (#10 UK). The song "Daddy Cool" – originally on the B-side of the Rays' single – became a #6 hit in the UK in 1977 for Darts.[3] Slay and Crewe also wrote hits for Billy & Lillie, including "La Dee Dah" (covered in the UK by Jackie Dennis), and Freddy Cannon, for whom "Tallahassee Lassie" became a top ten hit in 1959.[3]


In 1961, Slay moved to Philadelphia to become A&R Director for Swan Records, Cannon's record label.[2] As well as producing many of Freddy Cannon's records, he also had a minor hit under his own name in late 1961, "Flying Circle", an instrumental adaptation of the traditional song "Hava Nagila", which reached #45 on the Billboard pop chart credited to Frank Slay and his Orchestra.[4] Slay moved back to New York around 1963, and then to Los Angeles. He worked as an independent producer, and in 1967 produced "Incense and Peppermints", a US #1 hit for Strawberry Alarm Clock.[5] He also set up Claridge Records.in 1965, and in 1974 the label had a US hit with "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" by Sugarloaf, a record described by Slay as "probably.. the last top ten record on Billboard by a truly independent record company.."[2]


Slay remained active in the music industry and last lived in San Diego, California.[2]



References





  1. ^ "FRANK CONLEY SLAY". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 February 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ abcd Seamus McGarvey, "Frank Slay: From Texas to Tallahassee", 2011


  3. ^ ab Songs written by Bob Crewe, MusicVF.com. Retrieved 12 September 2014


  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 649. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.


  5. ^ "Incense And Peppermints", Songfacts.com. Retrieved 12 September 2014




External links



  • Quotations related to Frank Slay at Wikiquote



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