Eugene Thomas Facenda (November 10, 1939 – November 18, 2022), better known as Tommy Facenda, was an American

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

singer and guitarist. He is best known for his 1959 single "High School U.S.A."

Life and career

Born Eugene Thomas Facenda in Portsmouth, Virginia, on November 10, 1939, he joined

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...

's Blue Caps in 1957, where he performed as a backup vocalist and was given the nickname "Bubba".Tommy Facenda
at the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...

Facenda and Paul Peek became known as "The Clapper Boys" of Vincent's band, because of their trademark

handclap A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), ...

style during live shows. Facenda toured with Vincent and appeared in films with him, but by 1958 had left Vincent to seek a solo career. Facenda signed with Nasco Records and released his first single, "Little Baby" b/w "You Are My Everything". The single received no attention and he headed to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he met Frank Guida, the head of Legrand Records. Guida asked him to record a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

entitled "High School U.S.A.", in which Facenda listed names of high schools in his home state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Atlantic Records picked up the song for national distribution and had him record 28 different versions of the tune, using regional high school names across the country. The song became a nationwide hit, reaching No. 30 on the Rhythm and Blues chart and No. 28 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1959. All 28 regional versions were combined into one chart listing. Facenda wrote and recorded a 1960 followup single, "Bubba Ditty", which failed to chart. He served in the military through 1962 and then worked as a firefighter in his hometown of Portsmouth. He toured again with the Blue Caps beginning in 1982, and did some stage acting, performing in a play entitled ''Just Us''. In 2012,

the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...

inducted Facenda as a member of the Blue Caps by a special committee, aiming to correct the previous wrong of not including the Blue Caps with Gene Vincent. Facenda died in Portsmouth, Virginia, on November 18, 2022, at the age of 83.

Discography

Singles

*"Little Baby" / "You're My Everything" – Nasco 6018 – 1958 *"High School U.S.A." (National version) / "Give Me Another Chance" – Legrand 1001 – 1959 *"High School U.S.A." (Regional versions, see below) / "Plea Of Love" – Atlantic 51–78 – 1959 *"Bubba Ditty" / "I Don't Know" – Atlantic 2057 – 1960 *"High School U.S.A." (National version) / "High School U.S.A." (Los Angeles Version) – Legrand 1001 (reissue)

Regional Atlantic Records releases of "High School U.S.A."

*Virginia—45–51 *New York City—45–52 *North & South Carolina—45–53 *Washington D.C. / Baltimore—45–54 *Philadelphia—45–55 *Detroit—45–56 *Pittsburgh—45–57 *Minneapolis/St. Paul—45–58 *Florida—45–59 *Newark, New Jersey—45–60 *Boston—45–61 *Cleveland—45–62 *Buffalo—45–63 *Hartford, Connecticut—45–64 *Nashville—45–65 *Indianapolis—45–66 *Chicago—45–67 *New Orleans—45–68 *St. Louis & Kansas City—45–69 *Georgia & Alabama—45–70 *Cincinnati—45–71 *Memphis—45–72 *Los Angeles—45–73 *San Francisco—45–74 *Texas—45–75 *Seattle, WA & Portland, OR—45–76 *Denver—45–77 *Oklahoma—45–78

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Facenda, Tommy 1939 births 2022 deaths Musicians from Portsmouth, Virginia American male singers American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers Atlantic Records artists Singers from Virginia Guitarists from Virginia 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians