Frank Stallone

Seldom has a performer been strongly considered for an Academy Award in both acting and music, yet Frank Stallone has managed to pull it off. His fiery portrayal of a brutish bartender Eddie in the film Barflyhad Hollywood insiders abuzz at Oscar time, and his #1 hit Far From Over, from the film Staying Alive, was likewise touted for a 'Best Song' nomination. It’s all in a day’s work for Frank a gifted artist who is equally comfortable on screen or on the concert stage.

This Grammy and Golden Globe nominated artist has been everything from a street singer, a rock singer, to a big band singer. Frank was also nominated for a Grammy for best soundtrack and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song from the film Staying Alive. Frank has written songs for 11 films, and still plays to SRO crowds in arenas and concert halls from Los Angeles to London.

From the age of five, Frank knew that music would play a dominant role in his life. “I wanted to be a musician and singer from the very first time I opened my mouth,” remembers Frank. “I have never for a moment been derailed from that ambition.”

Frank was the first male singer of his generation to switch from pop music to the American Songbook, in the tradition of Sinatra, Darin and Bennett, leading the way for other singers such as Harry Connick, Jr., Rod Stewart, Brian Setzer and Michael Buble. Frank has been touted for his music by such legends as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and four-time Oscar winner -songwriter Sammy Cahn.

Frank records and performs around the country, and has sung to millions of people over the years performing his own compositions, and keeping alive the classic works great American songwriters.

At a young age, the Maryland-born, Philadelphia-raised native pursued his musical ambitions, forming a series of bands, and finally turning professional at the tender age of 15 (“I had to lie about my age,” admits Frank). Frank performed in clubs with such acts as Bonnie Raitt, Ten Years After, and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Frank’s longest-lasting band, Valentine, included lead guitarist John Oates, of Hall & Oates. As a young man, he left home, and hit the road to seek his musical quest. He worked as a street musician in NYC singing in the Greenwich Village coffee house scene, sometimes making five dollars a night or nothing at all. Frank says: “It was so cold some nights, singing on the street, that my fingers would stick to the strings. All I owned then was my guitar, a collapsible suitcase, and a train ticket to the next town.”

Frank’s group, Valentine, was signed to RCA Records in 1975, and recorded their first debut album. Frank made his on-screen singing debut, performing the self-penned song, sung acapella , 'Take You Back', in the opening scene of the film ROCKY. “The only reason I got the part was that I the only musician my brother, Sylvester, knew (and I worked cheap).”

A dream came true for Frank when he teamed up with his lifelong idol, two time Grammy winner Harry Nilsson, on a remake of Joni Mitchell’s classic, A Case Of You. The two remained close friends until Nilsson’s untimely death in 1994. To add to Frank’s musical diversity, he has written and published over 200 songs.

He has recorded a number of American Songbook albums titled In Love In Vain, Frankie And Billy, and Soft And Low, with legendary arrangers Sammy Nestico and Billy May. He also recorded albums of his own music, such as Frank Stallone, Full Circle and Songs From The Saddle.

Frank has also written and recorded compositions for seven films, including Rocky I, II and III, Rambo II, Paradise Alley and Over The Top. Frank also wrote and recorded 11 songs for the soundtrack and film Staying Alive, which gained the respect from his industry peers and critics alike when he received a Golden Globe nomination for 'Best Soundtrack' and Grammy nomination for Best Original Song, with his single, Far From Over. Frank will be releasing Stallone On Stallone By Request, a greatest hits collection of all the songs Frank has written for his brother Sylvester’s films.

On the film front, since that auspicious debut in Rocky, Frank has appeared in over 50 movies, including Barfly, Tombstone, Hudson Hawk, Staying Alive, and many others. One of his most memorable on-screen appearances was his role as Ed Bailey, a dangerous gunslinger in Tombstone, and as Eddie the bartender in Barfly, which gave rise to serious consideration for Frank for an Academy Award nomination, and won the acclaim of renowned film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times. “Barfly is a terrific film that features an outstanding performance by Frank Stallone…he’s both captivating and terrifying at the same time!”

On stage Frank is a natural performer. His singing, guitar playing and broad experience of playing in concert halls all over the world has given him an edge as a performer. “I can’t wait to get out there and sing,” notes Frank. That same kind of upbeat anticipation colors every creative endeavor he undertakes. Frank’s lifelong musical journey continues, and his enthusiasm for entertaining remains unshaken.