Frank Guida (May 26, 1922 – May 19, 2007) was a Sicilian-
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
and
music 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 ...
credited with discovering Gary U.S. Bonds, whose hits, including "
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
" and " Quarter to Three", he produced. He was also a songwriter for Leroy Toombs. Other performers discovered by Guida include
Jimmy Soul
Jimmy Soul (born James Louis McCleese; August 24, 1942 – June 25, 1988) was an American vocalist. He is best remembered for his 1963 number one hit, "If You Wanna Be Happy."
Background
Born in Weldon, North Carolina,Tommy Facenda (who gave Guida his first hit with "High School U.S.A."),Lenis Guess and Pamala Stanley. The distinct sound he helped to create has been credited as influencing such major songwriters and producers as
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
and
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
. Together with musicians like the tenor saxman Gene "Daddy G" Barge, he helped establish what became known as "the Norfolk sound". His songs have been used in such films as ''
Mask
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...
'', ''
Mermaids
In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Mermaids are sometimes asso ...
'' and ''Jaded''.
Biography
Born in
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
, he came to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
with his family as a child. While stationed in
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
during the Second World War, he fell under the influence of calypso. He relocated to
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, where he opened a record store in 1953. That store, Frankie's Got It, was located on Granby Street but has closed. Its motto was Shakespeare's "If music be the food of love, play on!", which later became a song on a Bonds B-side.
Apart from his hits with Bonds, his most famous song is "
If You Wanna Be Happy
"If You Wanna Be Happy" is a 1963 song recorded by Jimmy Soul, written by Rafael de Leon and adapted by Joseph Royster, Carmella Guida and Frank Guida.
Background
"If You Wanna Be Happy" is based on the song "Ugly Woman" by the Trinidadian cal ...
", recorded by
Jimmy Soul
Jimmy Soul (born James Louis McCleese; August 24, 1942 – June 25, 1988) was an American vocalist. He is best remembered for his 1963 number one hit, "If You Wanna Be Happy."
Background
Born in Weldon, North Carolina,Joe Dolce
Joseph Dolce (born October 13, 1947) (, originally ) is an American-Italian singer/songwriter, poet and essayist.
Dolce achieved international recognition with his multi-million-selling song, "Shaddap You Face", released worldwide under the n ...
, recorded a cover version of "
If You Wanna Be Happy
"If You Wanna Be Happy" is a 1963 song recorded by Jimmy Soul, written by Rafael de Leon and adapted by Joseph Royster, Carmella Guida and Frank Guida.
Background
"If You Wanna Be Happy" is based on the song "Ugly Woman" by the Trinidadian cal ...
", in 1981, with a new set of Italian-themed lyrics. Guida wrote Dolce about the new version: '"If You Want to Be Happy" has got to be as good if not just a wee better than '
Shaddap You Face
"Shaddap You Face" is a novelty song written and performed by Joe Dolce (released under the name Joe Dolce Music Theatre) about a rebellious Italian boy. Released in late 1980, it set a number of sales and longevity records.
It was released by ...
'. Frankly I never dreamed anyone could come up with such a great and incredibly different arrangement. Sure, the new lyrics are excellent but the whole Italo-Anglo melodic fusion is absolutely fantastic. As a hard-nosed and proud Italian-American, I do not in anyway find it offensive or demeaning. Would you believe that I am a charter member of the
National Italian American Foundation
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
and not more that two weeks ago, I informed our president in Washington, D.C., Frank Stella, that Joe Dolce's next release would be one I wrote!!' Guida's 'live' 'party-in-the-studio' sound is thought to have influenced
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
.
He owned a number of record labels, including ''LeMonde'' (distributed by Atlantic), then ''Legrand'' (distributed by Rust/Laurie) and finally ''SPQR'' (distributed by London).
Guida died in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2007.