OXO (band)

OXO was an American dance-rock band with the palindromic name formed in 1983 by Ish 'Angel' Ledesma, the former lead singer of Foxy.[1] He formed the band with guitarist Orlando Nuñez, bass player Frank Garcia, and drummer Freddy Alwag.[1] They released only their self-titled debut in 1983, which scored a Top 40 hit with "Whirly Girl",[2][3] a new wave style song[4] about Ish's wife Lori. The track was originally titled "Worldly Girl", "but adding that 'd' to the mix made the chorus too chunky and difficult to sing. So they abbreviated it to 'Whirly Girl' and pop music history was made with the only song to ever use the phrase 'Whirly Girl'."[5] OXO's success was not to last, and the band broke up a few years later. According to Ken Mansfield and Marshall Terrill, on OXO's "debut record on Geffen Records was a Top 30 hit called 'Whirly Girl' that died a painful death. The moment the record charted, the group began breaking up. Politics and power struggles erupted between management and Geffen".[6] In 1986, after the breakup of OXO, Ledesma formed the dance-pop group Company B, which at first was a trio with his wife among the members, and also had a sole Billboard Hot 100 hit (1987's "Fascinated")[7] penned by Ledesma.[8]

OXO
OriginFlorida, United States
GenresDance-rock
Years active1983–late 1980s
LabelsGeffen/Warner Bros. Records
Associated acts
Members
  • Ish 'Angel' Ledesma
  • (lead singer)
  • Orlando Nuñez
  • (guitarist)
  • Frank Garcia
  • (bassist)
  • Freddy Alwag
  • (drummer)

Frank Garcia's stepson, G.J. Echternkamp, has directed two films about the relationship between his stepfather and his mother: the documentary Frank and Cindy in 2007 and the comedy of the same name in 2015, which includes a rearranged version of "Whirly Girl" and some excerpts from its video clip.[9]

Episode 104 (April 12, 2007) of the Showtime series This American Life, based on the long-running PRI radio show, focuses on Frank Garcia and OXO.[10]

Discography

Album

Single

Compilations
  • Summer Fun Vol. 2 – "Whirly Girl", side 1/track 3 -(GSA) – (1983)
gollark: No, I mean it will literally kill/hypnodrone everyone.
gollark: Fortunately, we currently lack the sufficiently competent AI part.
gollark: If you have a competent AI programmed to "maximize [some societal parameter]", it will immediately remove all power from humans which might otherwise stop it.
gollark: At least use an actual fridge thing and not thermoelectric cooling!
gollark: It would do that anyway, something something convergent instrumental goals.

References
  1. Demalon, Tom. "Oxo | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  2. "Oxo | Chart History. Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Eldridge Industries. April 23, 1983. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  3. "Oxo | Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  4. "Whirly Girl | Styles". AllMusic. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  5. Waterman, Michael (October 9, 2010). "Whirly Girl – OXO". toponehitwonders.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  6. Mansfield, Ken; Terrill, Marshall (2015). Rock and a Heart Place. A Rock 'n' Roller-coaster Ride from Rebellion to Sweet Salvation. BroadStreet Publishing Group LLC. p. 147. ISBN 1-4245-5020-3.
  7. "Company B | Chart History. Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Eldridge Industries. June 13, 1987. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  8. Demalon, Tom. "Company B | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  9. Harvey, Dennis (February 24, 2016). "Film Review: 'Frank and Cindy'". Variety. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  10. Detailed This American Life episode info.
  11. "Oxo | Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  12. "Oxo | Chart History . Billboard 200". Billboard. Eldridge Industries. April 23, 1983. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.