Frank Stallone at Bellini: a love for music that is ‘far from over’

Frank Stallone

American singer and songwriter Frank Stallone knew from an early age that music would be his thing. It’s really a love that is “far from over,” as the song he wrote with Vince DiCola for the 1983 film “Staying Alive” goes. With a career spanning over 30 years, the 64-year-old singer is set to entertain Macau crowds every night between today and Saturday.
The public can expect what he and his band are known for: diverse gigs, with all the old hits like “Far from Over” or “Take you Back,” and playing different genres while making a whole lot of noise. “You can expect what we do. Big band, different genres, blues… I just have a lot of different albums out. I like everything, so I’ll do some of my albums, blues, and movie [soundtracks],” he told reporters yesterday.
Songs he composed for a recent film titled “Reach Me” will also be heard throughout the gigs, he said.
The younger brother of American actor Sylvester Stallone realized what he wanted to do in life when he was just a kid. “It was something natural. I just opened my mouth and started singing; that was it,” he recalled.
When he was about six years old, on a Sunday afternoon during a family gathering at their house, an Italian song kept playing on the radio and he sang, even though he says he didn’t really know how to sing back then.
When big music stars like Elvis Presley or The Beatles came to prominence, Frank was reassured: music was really his thing.
“I was still a kid, but when The Beatles came out, that was it. I was done. I knew I wanted to be a singer, rock star, when I was seven. But when all these influences came, like Elvis or Sinatra, then it was cemented.”
Back in the days when he and his brother were trying to make it in New York City, Frank started playing on street corners to make a living.
His brother would later become a famous Hollywood actor, playing several well-known characters such as Rocky Balboa and Rambo.
Frank had been playing guitar and singing for 18 years when he got the chance to compose for the film his brother was directing, “Staying Alive,” which starred John Travolta and Cynthia Rhodes. “The Bee Gees quit and my brother was the director, but I guarantee it, it was not because my brother was the director. The only thing I did was have access to play him songs that I was writing (…),” he recalled.
He recorded nine solo albums, and wrote songs for thirteen feature films, including “Staying Alive,” “Rocky Balboa,” “Over the Top,” and “The Expendables II.”
Frank Stallone has previously come to Macau to see a Manny Pacquiao fight alongside his brother and other movie stars. But it wasn’t until his brother came over for “The Expendables” film release that Edward Tracy, Sands China CEO, mentioned to Sylvester Stallone that he knew his brother and wanted him to play in Macau.
“I had worked with Ed Tracy back in Atlantic City and I hadn’t heard from him in 25 years. So my brother comes here to do ‘The Expendables’ and he says: ‘You know a guy named Ed Tracy? He would like you to go to Macau.’ So Ed came later to LA and we chatted, and cemented the idea,” Frank recalled.
The younger Stallone said he did not know what to expect from Macau, but when he got here, “It blew my mind,” he said. “It’s a massive place, it’s really clean and nice, and that’s why I like it,” he said; as opposed to Las Vegas, a city he liked back in the good old days, but which has lost its “glamour.” “It was cooler before, when Sinatra played there. It had a feel, but it doesn’t have the glamour anymore.”
Frank Stallone and his band will be playing a gig every night until Saturday, between 10 and 11.30 p.m., at the Venetian Macao’s Bellini Lounge.