I approached this with considerable reluctance. As it turned out, I only lasted 59 seconds of it, but I only disliked it, as opposed to actively loathing it. It's manufactured pop, calculated to sell to a specific target market.
By 1973, the Jackson 5 and the Osmonds had been occupying the pop charts for a number of years. The DeFranco Family were from Port Colborne, Ontario; they occupied the same musical niche while satisfying Canadian content regulations. They were five siblings; the youngest, Tony, was the lead singer, and was 14 when the family became famous.
"Heartbeat - It's A Lovebeat" reached #3 on the pop charts in both Canada and the U.S. Their followup, "Save The Last Dance For Me", reached #18 but did not get airplay in Toronto.
The group fell out of favour when disco became popular and when Tony DeFranco's voice changed. They performed in Las Vegas for awhile before retiring from the music business in 1978 except for reunion concerts in 1999 and 2000. They apparently now all live in California within an hour's drive from one another and all get along well, so things could be worse.
Created September 10, 2026.