Genre Dance-rock | Years active 1983–late 1980s Members Ish Ledesma | |
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Origin Los Angeles, California, United States (1983) Albums Oxo, Disorder, These Streets Similar | ||
OXO was an American dance-rock band with the palindromic name formed in 1983 by Ish 'Angel' Ledesma, the former lead singer of Foxy. He formed the band with guitarist Orlando Nuñez, bass player Frank Garcia, and drummer Freddy Alwag. The band's only Top 40 hit was "Whirly Girl", a new wave style song about Ish's wife, which, according to Ledesma, was originally titled "Worldly Girl". Despite its one-hit wonder, OXO's success was not to last, and the band broke up a few years later.
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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.
Episode 104 (12 April 2007) of the Showtime series This American Life, based on the long-running PRI radio show, focuses on Frank Garcia and OXO.
Album
Single
The single "Whirly Girl" gained notoriety in the popular unreleased film, "Flim Flam", starring Dave The Star. Whirly Girl is the inspiration for the cultural phenomenon called "Knacking". Knacking involves extending one's arm out, open-palmed, in fast motions synchronized with a beat or a random percussive sound in a song, while in close proximity to an observer, preferably without inadvertently hitting the observer.
Compilations
Songs
Whirly GirlOxo · 2013
You Make It Sound So EasyOxo · 2013
Dance All NightOxo · 2013