Frankie Sabath

Frankie Sabath (born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, 1951) began his musical career as a professional entertainer at age sixteen performing for The Kids From Ponce, a Puerto Rican singing group from the 1960s whose popularity soared through their many television and live appearances at home and abroad.

After three years performing with such producers as Luis Vigoreaux, Tommy Muniz and Paquito Cordero, the group disbanded but three of its members went on as soloists: singer and later photographer, Jose Manuel, the well-known Puerto Rican female vocalist Ednita Nazario, and Sabath himself.

Sabath had a very successful career as a headliner with numerous TV appearances and the release of two hit songs: "Se Te Hizo Tarde" (You're Late) and "Cuando Me Pidas Perdon" (When You Ask For Forgiveness). He decided to move to the United States and made his American debut in 1985, performing at the behest of his friend Ernesto Tarre for the Hispanic-American Queen of the Flowers pageant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Surrounded by his bodyguards and other security staff members, he performed riveting musical interpretations. The audience's response, with over twelve hundred people, spoke for itself. They knew he was more than a singer: he was a performer.

His demure style, so suave and romantic, made him a sensation, enormously popular with Chicago television audiences. In 1986, he founded The Milwaukee Sound: a consortium of selected local musicians, some of them from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and including the well-known musician and conductor Carol Klose.

Sabath headlined at Fiesta Mexicana in 1986 with Johnny Rodriguez and in 1987 with Freddy Fender. Now nicknamed Milwaukee's Frank Sinatra, Sabath also appeared at the Rainbow Summer festival sponsored by the Milwaukee Journal and held at the Performing Arts Center.

In 1988, he was working in his first record release in the U.S. and had made his acting debut in Stud Terkel's musical Working—playing the character of Emilio Hernandez—when his father died. Overcome by grief, it took Sabath two years before he could return to the entertainment world.

In 1991, he was profiled for an article about his career and comeback in the Milwaukee Sentinel but tragedy struck again: his mother, who resided in Milwaukee at the time, also died unexpectedly. It took him another fifteen years before he accepted an invitation to perform at a concert. He performed accompanied by a hand-picked orchestra under the direction of Sergio "Veneno" Poventud at Milwaukee's United Community Center for Latino Arts.

On 2004 he headlined at Fiesta Boricua along with Alex D'Castro and Wichy Camacho. He returned to Fiesta Boricua in 2005, headlining this time along with La India.

In 2006, he became the top Latino artist in the area, after headlining with Olga Tañon at Fiesta Boricua with a stellar appearance that earned him the praise and admiration of Milwaukee's artistic community.

In 2007 Frankie Sabath headlined once again at Fiesta Boricua alongside Gilberto Santa Rosa. After this performance, Frankie Sabath join forces with Christine Almeida in a duo that immediately attracted the attention of the community. On 10 April 2010 Frankie Sabath made history along with his longtime friend, Christine Almeida, who wrote and produced a musical based on Sabath's life and his friendship with Almeida entitled Isla y Tierra. Directed by David M. Molthen, the musical became the first Latino production to be performed at the Waukesha Civic Theater in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in the 52-year history of the theater.