Frankie Valens - Print Bio

In 1967, while living in New Jersey and working in accounting at a local firm as well as working part-time in a sporting goods department store, I met a man there who was the manager of a band. His son was the drummer. He had heard me humming and singing to music being played on a radio in the store and asked if I would be interested in auditioning for the band he was managing. The band, Eminent Domain, had been looking for a new lead-singer, so I quickly agreed and went with him to visit the band while they were in rehearsal. I auditioned with them the following weekend with the song "Unchained Melody," and I immediately began my pop-singing career.

While maintaining both my full-time job and a part-time job, I performed with the Eminent Domain band on week-ends. Within a week we started singing professionally and began singing in schools, nightclubs, radio guest spots, and Battle-Of-The-Bands, many of which we won. The audiences loved my style, especially when I belted out renditions of "This Magic Moment," "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," "Donna" and other songs that had been made popular by other top singers in the '50s and early '60s.

It was at this time that an agent came on the scene who advised me to take the stage name of Frankie Valens instead of using my family name of Piper. I had been performing a tribute to Richie Valens (no relation), and since he had died in a plane crash in 1959, the agent suggested I use the name Valens, which was also a stage name for Richie. I took his advice and began using the name Frankie Valens. However, the name Piper was still very important to me, not only for family value, but because of its connection with the Piper cub airplane and the Mallory coil (now Duracell) that an uncle had invented.

My popularity began to rise and my band was in demand in nightclubs around the U.S. and Canada and it was during this time I cut several records. My first attempt did not make the grade. Then in 1968 I did a remake of "This Magic Moment," originally recorded by The Drifters, which became my signature song, and in 1969 "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," a Platters original. My last recording was "She Cried."

In 1971 after some shocking mistreatment by the very agent who discovered our band and made the Frankie Valens name, my career began a downward spiral. I fired the agent and he retaliated by pulling my records from the radio stations and canceling concerts before we could fulfill our obligations. By 1972 the Frankie Valens era had come to an end. I went back into the accounting field and immersed myself in my work, later in my career finding the time to be an extra in the movies Ice Castles and Every Which Way But Loose.

Some years ago I had the opportunity of singing in front of 35,000 enthusiastic Amway folk, where on the same ticket were former President Ronald Regan and country singer Crystal Gayle. Singing for the inauguration of the former mayor of San Diego as well as for former California Governor Pete Wilson's 60th birthday party at Sea World in San Diego, California are events I consider an honor to have performed. The Byrds, the Platters and the Boxtops are '60s groups with whom I have more recently shared the spotlight.

A friend recently introduced me to a co-worker of hers, and after I left, the co-worker quipped, "Isn't it interesting that he had the same name as a famous singer?!"