Frankie Sanchez,

a young Guamanian of many parts

A young Guamanian of parts is 27-year-old Frankie Sanchez.

Singer, instrumentalist, inven tor of his own self-defence art form (san jitsu) on which he has already published a book, an active public figure in many charitable organisations on

Guam the list is far from

exhausting the many sides of Frankie’s active life. Jose Cruz,

writing from Guam, profiles

Frankie Sanchez.

Talented young Frankie Sanchez is the top singing tal mt on Guam and in all

Micronesia. Soft-spoken and

hy, it is hard to imagine this juiet young man on stage sing ng. But sing he does, with the >resence and vocal style of a

eal professional.

Unlike his Island contem >oraries, he does not sing in rhamaroo, but in English. But

ic is thoroughly accepted as

•ne of Guam’s own, and has ven been appointed an honor ry ambassador-at-large for

}uam by Guam’s governor,

Licardo J. Bordallo, for his

inging exploits.

Bom on Guam in April 1951, Tankie’s family moved to the tates when he was three and was there that he developed n interest in music: first, as jad singer of a country western band called the ‘Velva )nes’, and later as lead singer f the ‘Coming Generation’, a

)p nightclub group which

layed the Santa Clara,

'alifomia, circuit during the

ite 19605. It was during this me that Frankie developed is own distinctive style of nging which can be described s a cross between Englebert lumperdinck and his own

eautiful singing style.

In July 1971, the handsome Dung singer returned to Guam ) see his homeland. He fell so mch in love with it that he has ayed ever since.

Frankie fast became a cel brity on the Island with a over’ (re-make) recording of guess the Lord must be in New

York City’, which he had re leased before coming to Guam on his own ‘Guamanian Am bassador’ label. It received some attention on Californian radio stations. The fact that he was the first Guamanian to get air-play on his recordings out side Micronesia readily established him as one of Guam’s top recording artists.

It wasn’t long after that Frankie took part in the mak ing of Guam’s first locally pro duced album, in which he featured along with other Island entertainers on Hafa Adai Records, a company

owned by another popular

Island entertainer, Jose Sablan.

Do you remember Guam?, the song sung by Frankie on the album, was a favourite of Guamanians leaving for the States. Several months later, after the release of this album, Sablan moved to the States and Frankie took over the studio at the request of building owner, Elenor Lucero, who wanted to continue in the recording business. The studio then was re-named Guamia Studios, after the name of a tree found on Guam. Under Frankie’s direction, it released its first album, the Charfauros Brothers, which sold out in three weeks.

A little weary with the

recording end of things,

Frankie took a brief vacation from it all, by serving on vari ous charitable organisations.

Among the most notable were: the Muscular Dystrophy As sociation, Guam Chapter, as special events and entertain ment chairman; the Hawaii Heart Association, as director of its Guam Heart Unit; and the American Lung associ ation, Guam Chapter, in which he is still active, as one of its board members.

It was also during this time that Frankie worked on and developed a self-defence art form called san-jitsu (based on his past martial arts experi ence) which he later put into

book form and which can now be found in Guam’s Pacific Studies collection and in Guam’s libraries.

Although Frankie is best known for his singing prowess, unlike most performers who

just sing, Frankie also plays

guitar, a little bass and writes his own songs, as well as his own arrangements for four piece musical back-up. He is also a member of ASCAP (American Society of Com posers, Authors and Pub lishers), one of only two Guamanians ever to be admit ted to this prestigious organis ation, and of AFTRA (American Federation of TV and Radio Artists) in which he is privileged to be Guam’s only member. He is also, interes tingly enough, a licensed disc

jockey, though he isn’t greatly

interested in carrying through

on this particular side of his tal ents.

Among his more recent accomplishments were his par

ticipation in the 1976 Jerry Lewis Telethon in Hawaii as Guam’s official representative, in which he not only took part, but also opened up entertain ment and was co-master of cer emonies for the first segment of the show with Hawaii’s own first lady of song. Loyal Gar ner. He recently released a tune entitled. Love. . . Love me to night, which he co-wrote with composer, Jim Wilder. The song was placed number 11 on a Nashville tabloid’s survey of DJs’ pop picks in January, representing another first for the young singer and for Guam.

What does the future hold for Frankie? Well, it can only mean more goals to accomplish and more successes to follow.

We can only wish Guam’s first real international recording star all the luck in the world, because despite all he’s done, he remains one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet!

Frankie Sanchez . . . one of the nicest guys