[1] He is best known for his 1959 single "High School U.S.A."[1] Born Eugene Thomas Facenda in Portsmouth, Virginia, on November 10, 1939, he joined Gene Vincent's Blue Caps in 1957,[1] where he performed as a backup vocalist and was given the nickname "Bubba".
[2] Facenda and Paul Peek became known as "The Clapper Boys" of Vincent's band, because of their trademark handclap style during live shows.
Facenda wrote and recorded a 1960 followup single, "Bubba Ditty", which failed to chart.
[1] He toured again with the Blue Caps beginning in 1982, and did some stage acting, performing in a play entitled Just Us.
[citation needed] In 2012, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Facenda as a member of the Blue Caps by a special committee, aiming to correct the previous wrong of not including the Blue Caps with Gene Vincent.