“Frankie Avalon” and “Coppola’s Godfather,” - This Day in History – Mar 15th

Philly’s Frankie Avalon’s “Venus” Soars to #1

Back in 1959, a teen idol from Philadelphia, PA named Frankie Avalon scored a commercial success with the song “Venus.”  The lyrics of this song describes a man asking the Mythological Goddess of Love, Venus to send him his love. 

Lyrics of the song stated:

"Venus, if you do
I promise that I always will be true
I'll give her all the love I have to give
As long as we both shall live"

History.com stated that, “Frankie Avalon wasn't the only made-in-Philadelphia idol to prove the success of this machinery—Fabian and Danny and the Juniors took the same route to stardom—but he was the most successful. Transformed from a trumpet player into a crooner by Bob Marucci, head of Chancellor Records, Avalon scored two minor hits in 1958 before shooting to the top of the pop charts with "Venus," which reached #1 on this day in 1959.”

This song stayed on the the Billboard Hot 100 Chart for a total of five weeks. 

Francis Ford Coppola’s Masterpiece, “The Godfather”

Back in 1972, director, Francis Ford Coppola debut a three-hour movie that showcased the Italian-American crime family, the Corleones in the film, “The Godfather,” which starred Marlon Brando as the main character, Vito Corleone.

History.com stated that, “the Godfather was adapted from the best-selling book of the same name by Mario Puzo, a novelist who grew up in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen and got his start writing pulp stories for men’s magazines. Controversy surrounded the film from the beginning: Soon after Paramount Pictures announced its production, the Italian-American Civil Rights League held a rally in Madison Square Garden, claiming the film would amount to a slur against Italian Americans. The uproar only increased publicity for the movie, which Paramount was counting to become a big-money hit after the success of Puzo’s novel.” 

The Godfather movie was so popular that two sequels were developed, History.com stated that, “Its sequel, The Godfather: Part II, was released in 1974 and won six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. A third installment, The Godfather: Part III (1990), received some positive reviews but was generally considered to be the weakest of the three films.

All History facts provided from the link below:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bobby-orr-scores-100-points-in-one-season?catId=10