Frank Conley Slay Jr. (July 8, 1930 – September 30, 2017) was an American songwriter, A&R director,

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, and

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

owner. He wrote with

Bob Crewe Robert Stanley Crewe (November 12, 1930 – September 11, 2014) was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. He was known for producing, and co-writing with Bob Gaudio, a string of Top 10 singles for the Four Season ...

in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the partnership's most successful songs including "

Silhouettes A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

", a hit for several artists including

The Rays The Rays were an American group formed in New York City in 1955, and active into the early 1960s. They first recorded for Chess Records. Their biggest hit single was " Silhouettes", a moderately-slow doo-wop piece of pop music that reached num ...

and

Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK ...

, " Daddy Cool", and "

Tallahassee Lassie "Tallahassee Lassie" is a song written by Bob Crewe, Frank Slay, and Frederick Picariello and performed by Freddy Cannon (Picariello's stage name). The song was featured on his 1960 album '' The Explosive! Freddy Cannon''. The song was produ ...

". As a producer, his biggest hit was "

Incense and Peppermints ''Incense and Peppermints'' is the debut album by psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. Released in October 1967, it reached No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album charts during a 24 week run

" by the

Strawberry Alarm Clock Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band formed in 1967 with origins in Glendale, California, a city about ten miles north of downtown Los Angeles. They are best known for their 1967 hit single " Incense and Peppermints". Categorized a ...

Career

He was born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

, and moved 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 U ...

in 1951, attempting to find work as a songwriter. In 1957 he and Crewe wrote "Silhouettes" and "Daddy Cool" for the Rays.Seamus McGarvey, "Frank Slay: From Texas to Tallahassee", 2011
/ref> 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 The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 ''Billboard'' hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (bas ...

(#10), and was re-recorded successfully by Herman's Hermits in 1965 (#5 US, #3 UK), and

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

in 1990 (#10 UK). The song "Daddy Cool" – originally on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of the Rays' single – became a #6 hit in the UK in 1977 for

Darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard. Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the ...

.Songs written by Bob Crewe, ''MusicVF.com''
Retrieved 12 September 2014 Slay and Crewe also wrote hits for

Billy & Lillie Billy & Lillie were an American pop vocal duo, composed of Billy Ford (William T. Ford, March 9, 1919 or 1925 – March 1983) and Lillie Bryant (born February 14, 1940, Newburgh, New York).Joel Whitburn, ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits''. 7th ...

, including "La Dee Dah" (covered in the UK by

Jackie Dennis Jackie Dennis (8 October 1942 – 28 September 2020) was a Scottish singer. He was discovered by the comedians Mike and Bernie Winters in 1958. The brothers brought him to the attention of the show business agent Eve Taylor, and he appeared o ...

), and

Freddy Cannon Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. (born December 4, 1936), better known by his stage name Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singer, whose biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", " Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", and " ...

, for whom "

" became a top ten hit in 1959. In 1961, Slay moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

to become A&R Director for

Swan Records Swan Records was a mid-20th century United States-based record label, founded in 1957 and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It had a subsidiary label called Lawn Records. History Swan Records had enjoyed chart success with several U.S. arti ...

, Cannon's

. 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 Hava Nagila ( he, הָבָה נָגִילָה, ''Hāvā Nāgīlā'', "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings. Written in 1918, it quickly spread through the Jewish diaspora. History ...

", which reached #45 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

credited to Frank Slay and his Orchestra. Slay moved back to New York around 1963, and then to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. He worked as an independent producer, and in 1967 produced "Incense and Peppermints", a US #1 hit for

."Incense And Peppermints", ''Songfacts.com''
Retrieved 12 September 2014 He also set up

Claridge Records Claridge Records was an American independent record label, owned by Frank Slay. History Claridge Records was started in 1965 by Frank Slay and Dennis Ganim as a division of River Bottom Enterprises. At that time, it was based in New York. The Roc ...

in 1965. In 1974 the label had a US hit with "

Don't Call Us, We'll Call You "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" is a hit song by the American rock band Sugarloaf. Co-written by lead vocalist Jerry Corbetta, the song was featured as the title track of the band's fourth and final album. It was their fourth single and was recorde ...

" by

Sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, a ...

, a record described by Slay as "probably ... the last top ten record on ''Billboard'' by a truly independent record company ..." Slay remained active in the music industry and last lived in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slay, Frank 1930 births 2017 deaths A&R people American music industry executives People from Dallas Record producers from Texas Songwriters from Texas