Billy Vaughn

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Billy Vaughn [vɔ: n] (born April 12, 1919 in Glasgow , Kentucky as Richard Smith Vaughn , † September 26, 1991 in Escondido , California ) was an American musician and orchestra conductor.

Life

In 1952, Vaughn joined the University of Bowling Green , Kentucky, as a pianist and singer with the vocal trio The Hilltoppers . Their first self-written single, Trying , was an instant chart hit and over the years they were able to rank one top 20 hit after the other. Her biggest success was the million seller PS I Love You , a remake of a 1930s hit.

In 1954 Vaughn moved to her music publisher Dot Records as musical director. With his own orchestra he accompanied the Fontane Sisters on their number one hit Hearts of Stone . In the same year he landed his own million seller with his orchestral version of Melody of Love and reached number 2 in the USA. In the following years he was extremely successful, both himself and as a companion to other stars. In 1957 he and Pat Boone alone had four million-seller, including three number one hits. Vaughn was not only a master at reprocessing old classics with his own style, but he also implemented the R&B music and rock 'n' roll of black musicians in his own way and arranged them in such a way that they can be used in this Form, unlike the originals, also found a large audience among the white population.

In 1958 he had his biggest and most famous hit with his orchestral version of Sail Along Silv'ry Moon . The US million seller was the beginning of its international breakthrough, especially in Germany and Japan. This year he had two number one hits in a row with this song and with La Paloma and with Blue Hawaii , Morgen and Wheels he had other super hits in Germany, all of which were awarded gold and platinum respectively. With his four awards he was only surpassed by Freddy Quinn .

Until the early 1960s it was repeatedly represented in the charts, then, like all orchestral music, it was increasingly displaced by the beat wave and so it gradually withdrew from the music business. Nevertheless, he remains one of the most successful orchestra directors ever. From 1958 to 1970 he was represented with 36 albums in the US album charts.

Billy Vaughn died in September 1991 at the age of 72 years to cancer . His grave (Section 11, Lot 437, Grave 3) is located in Oak Hill Memorial Park in Escondido , San Diego County . His wife Marion, who died in 2009, was put in bed with him.

Discography

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks / months, awardChart placementsChart placementsTemplate: chart table / maintenance / monthly data
(Year, title, rankings, weeks / months, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE AT AT US US
1958 Sail Along, Silv'ry Moon - - US5
gold
gold

(68 weeks)US
Billy Vaughn Plays the Million Sellers - - US15 (47 weeks)
US
1959 Billy Vaughn Plays - - US20 (3 weeks)
US
Blue Hawaii - - US7th
gold
gold

(108 weeks)US
1960 Golden saxophones - - US36 (1 week)
US
Theme from 'A Summer Place' - - US1
gold
gold

(62 weeks)US
Look for a star - - US5 (33 weeks)
US
Theme from 'The Sundowners' - - US5 (23 weeks)
US
1961 Orange Blossom Special and Wheels - - US11 (43 weeks)
US
Golden Waltzes - - US17 (25 weeks)
US
Berlin Melody - - US20 (18 weeks)
US
1962 Greatest String Band Hits - - US18 (12 weeks)
US
Chapel by the Sea - - US14 (16 weeks)
US
A swingin 'safari - - US10 (27 weeks)
US
1963 1962's greatest hits - - US17 (32 weeks)
US
Sukiyaki and 11 Hawaiian Hits - - US15 (16 weeks)
US
Number 1 Hits, Vol. # 1 - - US94 (8 weeks)
US
1964 Blue Velvet & 1963's Great Hits - - US51 (17 weeks)
US
1965 Pearly shells - - US18 (29 weeks)
US
Mexican pearls - - US45 (15 weeks)
US
1966 Michelle - - US56 (14 weeks)
US
Alfie - - US44 (35 weeks)
US
1969 The Windmills of Your Mind - - US95 (16 weeks)
US
1978 Moonlight Melodies DE1 (15 weeks)
DE 		AT4 (3 months)
AT 		-
1979 Magic moment DE21 (9 weeks)
DE 		- -
1981 Italian Memories DE11 (8 weeks)
DE 		- -

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More albums

  • 1969: Golden Instrumentals (US:goldgold)

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks / months, awardChart placementsChart placementsTemplate: chart table / maintenance / monthly data
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks / months, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE UK UK US US
1954 Melody of Love - - US2 BS (27 weeks)
US
Original: 1903
1955 The Shifting Whispering Sands (Parts 1 & 2) - UK20 (1 week)
UK 		US5 BS (15 weeks)
US
with Ken Nordine (narrator)
1956 A Theme from the Three Penny Opera ("Moritat") - UK12 (7 weeks)
UK 		US37 (13 weeks)
US
Original: 1928; also known as " The Mackie Messer Moritat "
Little Boy Blue - - US76 (1 week)
US
with Ken Nordine (recites the poem of the same name by Eugene Field from 1891)
When the White Lilacs Bloom Again - - US22 (10 weeks)
US
Original: 1928
Petticoats of Portugal - - US83 (3 weeks)
US
Original: 1956
1957 The Ship That Never Sailed - - US95 (1 week)
US
with Ken Nordine (narrator)
Raunchy
Sail Along, Silv'ry Moon 		DE12 (3 months)
DE 		- US33 (21 weeks)
US
Original: 1957 ( Bill Justis )
Sail Along, Silv'ry Moon
Sail Along, Silv'ry Moon 		DE1
gold
gold

(8 months)DE 		- US5 (26 weeks)
US
Original: 1937 ( Bing Crosby )
1958 Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Sail Along, Silv'ry Moon 		- - US35 (11 weeks)
US
Original: 1934 ( Sons of the Pioneers )
Trying - - US77 (4 weeks)
US
Original: 1952 ( The Hilltoppers , with Billy Vaughn)
Singing Hills - - US56 (5 weeks)
US
Original: 1940 (Bing Crosby)
La Paloma DE1
platinum
platinum

(8 months)DE 		- US26 (10 weeks)
US
Original: 1864, Spain
Cimarron (Roll On)
Billy Vaughn Plays 		DE13 (5 months)
DE 		- US44 (10 weeks)
US
Original: 1942 (soundtrack)
Blue Hawaii
Blue Hawaii 		DE5
gold
gold

(6 months)DE 		- US37 (10 weeks)
US
Original: 1937 (Bing Crosby)
1959 Hawaiian War Chant
Blue Hawaii 		- - US89 (1 week)
US
Original: 1936, Hawaii
Your Cheatin 'Heart - - US82 (5 weeks)
US
Original: 1953 ( Hank Williams )
Aloha-Oe
Blue Hawaii 		DE8 (6 months)
DE 		- -
Original: 1877, Hawaii
tomorrow DE2
platinum
platinum

(7 months)DE 		- -
Original: 1959 ( Ivo Robić )
Below the two-headed eagle DE17 (5 months)
DE 		- -
Original: 1902 (composer Josef Wagner )
1960 Look for a Star (trust your star)
Look for a Star 		DE35 (2 months)
DE 		- US19 (12 weeks)
US
Movie: The Red Shadow ( Circus of Horrors )
Moonlight and Roses
Billy Vaughn Plays 		DE28 (5 months)
DE 		- -
Original: 1925
The Sundowners
Theme from 'The Sundowners' 		- - US51 (10 weeks)
US
Movie: The Endless Horizon ( The Sundowners )
1961 Blueberry Hill
Billy Vaughn Plays 		DE25 (2 months)
DE 		- -
Original: 1940 ( Sammy Kaye et al.)
Wheels
Orange Blossom Special and Wheels 		DE1
gold
gold

(6 months)DE 		- US28 (8 weeks)
US
A-side to Orange Blossom Special
Orange Blossom Special
Orange Blossom Special and Wheels 		- - US63 (6 weeks)
US
Original: 1938; B-side of Wheels
Blue Tomorrow
Berlin Melody 		DE30 (1 month)
DE 		- US84 (5 weeks)
US
Berlin Melody
Berlin Melody 		DE16 (3 months)
DE 		- US61 (7 weeks)
US
A-side to Come September
Come September
Berlin Melody 		- - US73 (6 weeks)
US
Film: Happy End in September ( Come September ); B-side from Berlin Melody
Two guitars by the sea DE14 (4 months)
DE 		- -
Original: 1962 ( The Missouris )
1962 Lili Marleen DE9 (5 months)
DE 		- -
Original: 1937 ( Lale Andersen )
Chapel by the Sea
Chapel by the Sea 		- - US69 (9 weeks)
US
Together
Berlin Melody 		DE47 (1 month)
DE 		- -
A Swingin 'Safari
A Swingin' Safari 		DE24 (4 months)
DE 		- US13 (12 weeks)
US
Original: 1962 ( Bert Kaempfert ); Music from the US quiz show Match Game
Someone DE50 (1 month)
DE 		- -
1963 Happy cowboy DE34 (1 month)
DE 		- -
Original from 1963: Instrumental version of The Blizzards (pseudonym of Wolfgang Roloff and Werner Last ), sung by Ria Valk
1965 Mexican Pearls
Mexican Pearls 		- - US94 (2 weeks)
US
1966 Michelle
Michelle 		- - US77 (6 weeks)
US
Original: 1965 ( Beatles )
BSPlacement in the best sellers in stores charts (one of the forerunners of the Hot 100 )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Billy Vaughn in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  2. ↑ knerger.de: The grave of Billy Vaughn
  3. ↑ a b Chart sources: DE AT UK US
  4. ↑ Chart source US albums: The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
  5. ↑ Chart source DE-Singles up to 1958: Hit balance sheet German Chart Singles 1956–1980, Günter Ehnert (Ed.), Taurus Press 1987, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 .
  6. ↑ Chart source US Singles 1955: Top Pop Singles 1955–2006 by Joel Whitburn , Record Research 2007, ISBN 978-0-89820-172-7 .
personal data
SURNAME Vaughn, Billy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vaughn, Richard Smith (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician and orchestra conductor
DATE OF BIRTH April 12, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Glasgow , Kentucky , USA
DATE OF DEATH September 26, 1991
Place of death Escondido , California , USA