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Impressed by what she heard, Lee arranged for
Charles Laufer to fly the group to Los Angeles for an audition. Laufer signed the group to an exclusive deal with his company, Laufer Entertainment, financed a three-song demo, and helped them to secure a contract with 20th Century Records.
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began ascending (the
Osmonds similarly saw a drop in popularity at the same time, while the Jackson 5 quickly adapted to disco), which coincided with Tony's voice changing because of puberty. A
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regulations that encouraged
Canadian radio stations to broadcast songs by artists from their home country, and the early 1970s popularity of two other family quintets often led by preteens,
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in
November 1973. The song's writer, Purdue alumnus Michael T. Kennedy, was a long-time executive at Boeing/McDonnell Douglas. Their second single, "Abra-Ca-Dabra," which reached the
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With their lighthearted approach to music, the DeFranco Family became a successful pop music act in the mid-1970s. They benefited from two major factors: the imposition of
198:, Ontario. Initially performing as the DeFranco Quintet, the group found success after a demo tape of their songs was heard by Sharon Lee, editor of teen magazine
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The siblings took up residences in
California within an hour's drive from each other and remain close. Although the family gave up its involvement in the
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band, they resisted and severed their relationship with their publisher and manager, Charles Laufer and Laufer
Entertainment, and 20th Century Records.
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329:"Write Me a Letter" failed to generate much attention and reached no higher than the 104th slot on the charts. Although their earlier hits had been
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The DeFranco Family's active career reached a roadblock after that point. Family quintets were beginning to fall out of favor in the mid-1970s as
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310:," which reached number 18 on the charts in May 1974. Much of their success in 1973 came at the expense of the Osmonds, who (themselves
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349:, who had previously worked with The Osmonds. But the collaboration proved disastrous. When Curb attempted to recast the group as a
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270:, "Heartbeat - It's a Lovebeat," featuring the lead vocals of then 13-year-old Tony DeFranco, reached number one on
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for five straight weeks (and was number two there for the entire year 1973), number three in the U.S. on the
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The five siblings who comprised the DeFranco Family were born to
Italian immigrant parents and raised in
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national Top
Singles chart, selling more than two million copies in the process. It was awarded a
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with their music that year) declined in popularity, though they would recover in 1974.
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Unable to attract interest from another label, they continued to tour and perform in
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364:' Retro Fest in August 1999 was followed by the family's final performance at
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singles chart, as well as hitting number three in their native Canada on the
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715:"Heartbeats, Lovebeats and Tiger Beats: A Conversation with Tony DeFranco"
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between 1973 and 1977, including "Abra-Ca-Dabra" and their biggest hit, "
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182:. By the late 1970s, the group had faded from the pop scene.
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until they ceased performing in 1978. A reunion concert at
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642:(2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp.
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690:"Lost Factor 1971: Some Songs Are Like a Broken Yo-Yo"
137:. The group, all siblings, consisted of guitarist
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614:"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada"
379:, Tony and Marisa perform on occasion. Tony is a
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768:Tony DeFranco at Sotheby's International Realty
503:January 24, 1974 (taped: December 15–16, 1973)
116:The DeFranco Family, featuring Tony DeFranco,
668:"2000 AAE Distinguished Engineering Alumnus"
213:studios in Hollywood with accompaniment by
345:, to fire Meskell and team the group with
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717:. Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict
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153:(born 20 July 1957); and lead singer
763:Tony & DeFranco Family @ YouTube
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306:, was followed by their final hit, "
266:. The DeFranco Family's debut 1973
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798:Canadian people of Italian descent
312:making an attempt at proselytizing
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688:Ross, Sean (September 21, 2020).
141:(born 11 July 1953); keyboardist
510:The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
209:The DeFranco Family recorded at
149:(born 19 October 1955); drummer
145:(born 23 July 1954); guitarist
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372:in Los Angeles in April 2000.
27:Canadian 1970s pop music group
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440:1975 "We Belong Together"
422:Heartbeat - It's a Lovebeat
402:Heartbeat - It's a Lovebeat
166:Heartbeat - It's a Lovebeat
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499:'s Second Farewell Special
437:1974 "Write Me a Letter"
432:Save the Last Dance for Me
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408:Save the Last Dance for Me
308:Save the Last Dance for Me
160:The group had a number of
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634:Murrells, Joseph (1978).
616:. Collectionscanada.gc.ca
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740:Retrieved July 29, 2023
670:. Engineering.purdue.edu
638:The Book of Golden Discs
284:and the top slot on the
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172:of this period, such as
76:20th Century Fox Records
385:Sotheby's International
157:(born 31 August 1959).
448:Television appearances
427:1973 "Abra-ca-dabra"
44:Port Colborne, Ontario
803:Family musical groups
590:"The DeFranco Family"
479:The Mike Douglas Show
808:Bubblegum pop groups
563:The Brady Bunch Hour
343:20th Century Records
754:The DeFranco Family
241:. They appeared on
34:The DeFranco Family
738:sothebysrealty.com
536:September 21, 1974
522:American Bandstand
248:American Bandstand
515:February 13, 1974
381:real estate agent
325:version of their
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719:. Retrieved
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118:was a 1970s
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87:Past members
63:Years active
391:Discography
260:The Osmonds
235:Max Bennett
777:Categories
721:2013-01-24
674:2013-11-02
620:2012-11-11
599:2019-11-26
575:References
552:Action '74
542:Action '73
497:Jack Benny
243:Dick Clark
219:Hal Blaine
201:Tiger Beat
175:Tiger Beat
370:Nightclub
366:B.B. King
358:Las Vegas
347:Mike Curb
296:gold disc
277:Billboard
217:veterans
186:Biography
120:pop music
758:AllMusic
594:AllMusic
410:(1974)
331:produced
430:1974 "
420:1973 "
415:Singles
404:(1973)
300:R.I.A.A
298:by the
291:RPM 100
286:Cashbox
279:Hot 100
196:Welland
131:Ontario
650:
455:Dinah!
396:Albums
304:Top 40
268:single
233:, and
231:guitar
135:Canada
72:Labels
52:Genres
47:Canada
40:Origin
644:326/7
383:with
351:cover
319:disco
282:chart
223:drums
123:group
701:2020
648:ISBN
327:tune
323:rock
262:and
239:bass
194:and
180:Flip
178:and
162:hits
756:at
387:.
368:'s
333:by
272:WLS
245:'s
237:on
229:on
221:on
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