Fabian

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Fabiano Anthony Forte (born February 6, 1943), professionally known as Fabian, is an American singer and actor.

Forte rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. He became a teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Eleven of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 listing.

Fabian Forte is the son of Josephine and Dominic Forte; his father was a Philadelphia police officer. He is the oldest of three brothers.

Forte was discovered in 1957 by Bob Marcucci and Peter DeAngelis, owners of Chancellor Records. At the time, record producers were looking to the South Philadelphia neighborhoods in search of teenage talents with good looks.

Marcucci was a friend of Fabian's next door neighbor. One day, Fabian's father had a heart attack, and, while he was being taken away in an ambulance, Marcucci spotted Fabian. Fabian later recalled, "He kept staring at me and looking at me. I had a crew cut, but this was the day of Rick Nelson and Elvis. He comes up and says to me, 'So if you're ever interested in the rock and roll business... and hands me his card. I looked at the guy like he was out of his mind. I told him, "leave me alone. I'm worried about my dad'."

When Fabian's father returned from hospital he was unable to work, so when Marcucci persisted, Fabian and his family were amenable and he agreed to record a single. Frankie Avalon, also of South Philadelphia, suggested Forte as a possibility. "They gave me a pompadour and some clothes and those goddamned white bucks", recalled Fabian, "and out I went."  "He was the right look and right for what we were going for", wrote Marcucci later.

Fabian was given an allowance from the record company of $30 a week. He also kept working part-time at a pharmacy as well as studying at South Philadelphia High School, while practicing his singing. Fabian later said "I didn't know what I was doing, but I knew my goal, to try to make extra money. That meant a lot to our family. I rehearsed and rehearsed, and I really felt like a fish out of water. And we made a record. And it was horrible. Yet it got on [the legendary Philadelphia rhythm and blues radio program] Georgie Woods. For some reason, Georgie Woods played it."

The song was "Shivers", which was a local hit in Chicago. This helped Fabian meet Dick Clark, who eventually put the young singer on American Bandstand where he sang "I'm in Love". Fabian later admitted this song "was not very good either" but "the response – they told me – was overwhelming. I had no idea. All during that period, I was doing record hops. Not getting paid for it, but for the record company promotions. Just lip synching to my records. The response was really good.

Marcucci then gave Fabian a song written by Mort Shuman and Doc Pomus, "I'm a Man", which Fabian later said he "liked a lot and was very comfortable with, was giving me more experience, but I still felt like a fish out of water." The song made the top 40.

Marcucci heavily promoted Fabian's next single, "Turn Me Loose", using a series of advertisements saying "Fabian Is Coming", then "Who is Fabian?" then finally "Fabian is Here". It worked and "Turn Me Loose" went into the Top Ten, peaking at number 9. This was later followed by "Hound Dog Man", (US #9; UK #46),[8] and his biggest hit, "Tiger", which reached #3 on the US charts. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.[10] Other singles that charted included "String Along", "About This Thing Called Love" and "This Friendly World", which reached #12 on the US charts. At 15, he won the Silver Award as "The Promising Male Vocalist of 1958." His first album, Hold That Tiger reached the top 15 within two weeks.

In 1959, Forte told a judge he was earning $250,000 a year. He kept up his studies and graduated high school in June 1960.

During the payola scandal of the 1960s,[14] Forte testified before Congress that his recordings had been doctored electronically to "significantly improve his voice."

His career in music basically ended when he was 18 after he bought out of his contract with Marcucci for a reported $65,000. "I felt controlled. I felt like a puppet", he said in 1974. "It was frightening, like a three-year nightmare."

Marcucci later admitted to punching Fabian on one occasion when the singer sat in the aisle of a movie theatre, not in the middle of the row like Marcucci had asked; Fabian was spotted by a teenage fan who screamed. Marcucci was angry that he did not see the film and hit the singer. In 1963 he signed a contract with Dot Records. He spent the next thirteen years concentrating on acting.

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"Tiger" is a 1959 song by Fabian Forte. It was his most successful single, reaching number 3 on the US charts.

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