Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer Frank Maffei Dead at 85

Frank Maffei, a co-founder of the legendary doo-wop and rock ‘n’ roll vocal group Danny and the Juniors, has died.

Maffei “passed away peacefully on July 19th,” according to his online obituary. He was 85.

The revered singer Fabian took to social media to pay tribute to the rock legend.

“With a heavy heart, we lost one of the great soldiers…#RIP Frank Maffei,” the “Turn Me Loose” singer wrote on Facebook.

Maffei, born in 1939 in Southwest Philadelphia, graduated from John Bartram High School in 1957. While still in High School in 1955, he co-founded the doo-wop group Danny and the Juniors with Danny Rapp, Dave White, and Joe Terranova.

In December 1957, the group performed on American Bandstand as a last-minute replacement, which brought their song “At the Hop” to a national audience.

ABC Paramount bought the recording and released it in January 1958, turning it into a nationwide hit. They appeared on shows like The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and recorded hits like “Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay” and “Dottie.”

Their song “At the Hop” hit number one on the Billboard pop and R&B charts in 1958 and reached number three in the U.K. It returned to the UK Top 40 in 1976. That same year, the group performed “At the Hop” in the jukebox musical Let’s Rock.

Frank Maffei Continued to Perform With Danny and the Juniors Well Into the 2000s

Danny & the Juniors, featuring Joe “Terry” Terranova, continued to tour well into the 21st century, with Terranova singing lead alongside Frank Maffei and his brother, Bobby Maffei. They performed at music festivals in England following the release of their Swan recordings, which were reissued by Rollercoaster Records after acquiring the original master tapes. Starting in September 2011, Frank Maffei and Terranova also hosted an hour-long rock ‘n’ roll radio special for London’s Covent Garden Radio in the U.K.

Meanwhile, Bobby Maffei is currently the only surviving member of the group. Dave White passed away on March 16, 2019, at the age of 79, and Joe Terranova followed shortly after, passing on April 15, 2019, at the age of 78. Earlier, Danny Rapp was found dead in a hotel in Arizona on April 5, 1983, in what appeared to be a suicide.

Frank Maffei was predeceased by his wife, Jessica (Mimm) Maffei, his parents, Frank and Anna (Pignuolo), and his siblings, Vincent, Marie, Agnes, and Anna. He is survived by his brother, Robert “Bobby” Maffei, and his three children: Michelle Gantz (Eric), Frank Maffei Jr., and Danielle Ward (Rick).