Vic Damone

Vic Damone (1959)

Vic Damone (born June 12, 1928 in Brooklyn , New York , † February 11, 2018 in Miami Beach , Florida ; actually Vito Rocco Farinola ) was an American singer and actor ; he was one of the most successful crooners in the United States between 1947 and the early 1960s . His 40 chart hits included two number one hits: You're Breaking My Heart (# 1 in the US, 1949) and On the Street Where You Live ( # 1 in the UK , 1958).

Life

From usher to record deal

Vito Farinola learned his interest in music from his parents: his father, an electrician by profession, sang and played the guitar; his mother was a piano teacher. Vito began to imitate his favorite singer Frank Sinatra at a young age . Soon he was also taking singing lessons. After his father had an accident at work, Vito had to earn money himself and worked as an usher and lift boy in the Paramount Theater in Manhattan.

One day Perry Como was performing at Paramount , and Vito took the opportunity to audition for him. The star took him under his wing and placed him as a singer in a big band in New York City. At this time, Vito changed his name to Vic Damone ( Damone was his mother's maiden name). In April 1947 he took part in the talent competition in Arthur Godfrey's Show Talent Scouts , which he also won. Like many of the competition winners, he sang on Godfrey's show regularly. Shortly thereafter, Milton Berle helped him to appear in the hip nightclub La Martinique , and within a few months he was back in Paramount - this time as a singer with Stan Kenton and his band. In mid-1947 Damone signed a recording deal with Mercury Records .

Success on shellac and canvas

Vic Damone's first record, I Have but One Heart (O Marinariello) , he sang partly in English and partly in Italian . It was released in August 1947 and also became a top ten chart success. The follow-up single, You Do , also reached number seven in the charts. More successful records followed. As early as 1948 Damone received his own radio show, Saturday Night Serenade . In 1949 he received his first gold record for his number six hit Again , and in the same year he was also awarded this award for number one You're Breaking My Heart .

In 1951 he was seen for the first time on the screen; he starred in the films Deadly Plaster Sunset Strip and Pretty, Young and In Love . From 1951 to 1953 he did his military service in the United States Army , but previously he had recorded some songs that were released during that time, so his career continued. After serving in the army, he married the actress Pier Angeli in 1954 . In the same year he made two more films, Deep In My Heart and Athena . He also appeared several times as a guest on Milton Berle's television show.

In 1955 it looked like Damone's star was about to decline; only one of his songs came into the charts (Por favor) , and that only at number 73; he also had a role in the music film Kismet .

Second career summit

In 1956 he moved to Columbia Records and some of his records went back to the Top Twenty, including An Affair to Remember , the theme song of the film The Great Love of My Life , and his interpretation of the song On the Street Where You Live ("In der Straße, my darling, where do you live ”). The song comes from the Loewe / Lerner musical My Fair Lady , which premiered in New York. Damone's version was produced by Mitch Miller and also received a gold record.

Those in charge of the Broadway show made sure that the music of the musical did not get outside the United States so that audiences in other countries could also enjoy the productions of My Fair Lady as "world premieres". So it happened that Damone's song only became a hit in Great Britain after its first performance in London in 1958; there it climbed to the top of the charts on June 27th. A British cover version by David Whitfield only reached number 16. In the meantime, Damone had already recorded a version of the title track of Lerner / Loewe's next Broadway musical, Gigi .

In 1960 he played a leading role in his last movie, Shock Troop Saipan . During the 1960s, however, he still had various television shows of his own and appeared as a guest in various other shows and series. In 1961 he moved from Columbia to Capitol Records , where he was supposed to fill the void created by Frank Sinatra's move to the Reprise label, which he co- founded. Damone remained until 1965 when Capitol and recorded some highly acclaimed albums, two of those in the lower regions of the Billboard charts came Linger Awhile with Vic Damone (1962) and that of Billy May arranged The Lively Ones . After another change of record company, he had another US chart hit on Warner Brothers Records in 1965 , You Were Only Fooling (While I Was Falling in Love) .

Las Vegas and retreat

From 1971 Damone shifted to appearances in the casinos of Las Vegas . With his fees from these shows, he was able to keep the consequences of bankruptcy (due to tax back payments) within limits. After a brief interlude as a realtor, he toured the United States again and especially in Great Britain, where he made a remarkable comeback in the early 1980s (BBC DJ David Jacobs was playing songs by Damone at the time) and even two Brought albums to the charts. In 1997 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame . A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is also dedicated to him.

In 1998 Vic Damone married his fifth wife, Jones New York fashion designer and entrepreneur Rena Rowan . In 2000 he suffered a stroke. In February 2001 he gave his last concert in front of family, friends and fans in West Palm Beach , Florida . His very last song on stage was his big hit An Affair to Remember . He withdrew from show business and took care of his family, children and grandchildren. He also supported his wife in her work for various charities.

Quotes

Frank Sinatra described Damone's ballad voice as “the best set of pipes in the business”.

Private

Damone was married five times. From his first marriage to the Italian actress Pier Angeli (1954 to 1958) he had a son, Perry. Three daughters (Victoria, Andrea and Daniella) came from the second marriage with Judith Rawlins (1963 to 1971). The third marriage to Becky Ann Jones (1974 to 1982), the fourth to the actress and singer Diahann Carroll (1987 to 1996), known in Europe primarily for her role in the Denver clan, and the fifth to the dress designer Rena Rowan ( 1998 until her death in 2016).

Damone was a close friend of US President Donald Trump .

His cousin Doretta Morrow was a well-known Broadway actress.

In the late 1950s, Damone was introduced to the Baha'i religion by a drummer in his band . According to his interpretation of On the Street Where You Live , it should express a vital vitality for Abdu'l Baha , the scribe of the Baha'i religion. He officially joined the religion in the early 1960s.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		UK	US
1956	That Towering Feeling!	-	US14 (8 weeks) US	First published: September 1956
1962	Linger Awhile with Vic Damone	-	US64 (17 weeks) US	First published: February 1962
	The Lively Ones	-	US57 (10 weeks) US	First published: September 1962
1965	You were only fooling	-	US86 (10 weeks) US	First published: June 1965
1981	Now	UK28 (7 weeks) UK	-	First published: April 1981

More albums

1950: Vic Damone 1952: April in Paris 1952: Vocals by Vic 1952: Take Me in Your Arms 1956: The Voice of Vic Damone 1957: An Affair to Remember 1957: Yours for a Song 1959: This Game of Love 1959: Closer than a Kiss 1959: Angela Mia 1961: On the Swingin 'Side 1962: Strange Enchantment 1963: My Baby Loves to Swing 1963: The Liveliest at Basin Street East 1964: On the Street Where You Live

1968: Why Can't I Walk Away 1976: Stay with Me 1980: Young and Lively 1981: Make Someone Happy 1983: Sings the Great Songs 1984: Christmas with Vic Damone 1984: On the South Side of Chicago 1989: Eternally 1991: Let's Face the Music and Sing 1992: Glory of Love 1993: Feelings 1995: On the Street

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		UK	US
1950	Vagabond Shoes	-	US18 (13 weeks) US	First published: June 1950 Authors: David Saxon, Sammy Gallop
	Tzena, Tzena, Tzena	-	US8 (9 weeks) US	First published: July 1950 Authors: Gordon Jenkins , Spencer Ross based on an Israeli folk song
	Just Say I Love Her	-	US26 (1 week) US	First publication: August 1950 engl. Text: Martin Kalmanoff, Sam Ward Authors: Rodolfo Falvo, Enzo Fusco Original: Vittorio Parisi - Dicitencello vuje , 1930
	My Heart Cries for You	-	US12 (11 weeks) US	First published: December 1950 with George Siravo and His Orchestra Authors: Carl Sigman , Percy Faith Original: Guy Mitchell , 1950 based on Chanson de Marie Antoinette , 18th century
1951	My Truly, Truly Fair	-	US13 (9 weeks) US	First published: May 1951 with George Bassman's Orchestra Author: Bob Merrill Original: Guy Mitchell , 1951
	Longing for you	-	US19 (2 weeks) US	First published: July 1951 with George Bassman's Orchestra Authors: Walter Dana, Bernard Jansen based on Oscar Straus' Waltz Dream
	Calla Calla (The Bride)	-	US24 (3 weeks) US	First published: September 1951 with George Bassman's Orchestra Authors: Eddy Samuels, Lenny Adelson, Margarite Almeda
1952	Sugar	-	US25 (2 weeks) US	First published: February 1952 Authors: Maceo Pinkard , Edna Alexander Original: James P. Johnson , 1926
1953	April in Portugal	-	US14 (6 weeks) US	First publication: May 1953 with David Carroll and Orchestra engl. Text: Jimmy Kennedy Authors: Raul Ferrão , José Galhardo Original: Alberto Ribeiro, 1946
	Eternally	-	US21 (10 weeks) US	First published: July 1953 with Richard Hayman and His Orchestra Authors: Charlie Chaplin , Geoff Parsons
	Ebb tide	-	US21 (11 weeks) US	First publication: October 1953 with Richard Heyman and His Orchestra engl. Text: Carl Sigman Author: Robert Maxwell (instrumental) Original: Frank Chacksfield and His Orchestra , 1953
1955	Por favor	-	US73 (4 weeks) US	First published: November 1955 with Hugo Peretti Authors: Noel Sherman, Joe Sherman
1956	On the Street Where You Live The Liveliest at Basin Street East	UK1 (17 weeks) UK	US8 (25 weeks) US	First published: April 1956 Chart entry in UK only in May 1958 with Percy Faith and His Orchestra Author: Einar Aaron Swan
	War and Peace	-	US59 (10 weeks) US	First published: September 1956 with David Terry and His Orchestra from the soundtrack of the film War and Peace Authors: Nino Rota , Stone
1957	Do I Love You (Because You're Beautiful)	-	US62 (10 weeks) US	First published: April 1957 with Marty Manning Authors: Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II
	An Affair to Remember (Our Love Affair)	UK29 (2 weeks) UK	US35 (16 weeks) US	First published: September 1957 with Percy Faith from the soundtrack of the film The Great Love of My Life Authors: Harold Adamson , Harry Warren , Leo McCarey
1958	Gigi	-	US88 (1 week) US	First published: April 1958 with Percy Faith and His Orchestra Authors: Al Lerner, Frederick Loewe Original: Louis Jourdan in Gigi , 1958
	The Only Man on the Island	UK24 (3 weeks) UK	-	First published: July 1958 with Frank De Vol and His Orchestra Authors: Bob Hilliard, Dave Mann
1965	You Were Only Fooling (While I Was Falling in Love) You Were Only Fooling	-	US30 (10 weeks) US	First published: April 1965 Authors: Billy Faber, Fred Meadows, Larry Fotine Original: The Ink Spots , 1948

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Filmography

• 1951: Deadly Pavement Sunset Strip (The Strip)
• 1951: Pretty, young and in love ( Rich, Young and Pretty ; also: Rich, young and pretty )
• 1954: Athena
• 1954: Deep in My Heart
• 1955: Anchored in Frisco (Hit the Deck)
• 1955: Kismet
• 1956: Viva Las Vegas (Meet Me in Las Vegas)
• 1958: The Gift of Love
• 1960: Saipan raid troop ( Hell to Eternity ; also: From Hell to Eternity )

literature

• Donald Clarke (Ed.): The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music . London 1989/1990, ISBN 0-14-051147-4 , pp. 312f.
• David Roberts (Ed.): Guinness World Records - British Hit Singles , 14th edition. London 2001, ISBN 0-85112-156-X .
• Tim Rice , Jo Rice, Paul Gambaccini / Mike Read: The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits . Enfield 1982, ISBN 0-85112-250-7 .
• Rice, Rice, Gambaccini: The Guinness Book of Number One Hits , 2nd edition. Enfield 1988, ISBN 0-85112-893-9 .
• Frank Laufenberg , Ingrid Laufenberg: Frank Laufenberg's Rock and Pop Lexicon , Volume 1. 5th Edition. Düsseldorf / Munich 2000, ISBN 3-612-26206-8 .

swell

1. ↑ Legendary singer Vic Damone dies at age 89
2. ↑ Laura Deni: Vic Damone Retires . February 19, 2001; on www.vicdamone.com (Version of November 29, 2006)
3. ↑ Penguin Encyclopedia (see below), p. 313
4. ↑ Guardian music: Vic Damone, renowned American crooner, dies aged 89. February 12, 2018, accessed February 12, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Pat Kinney: Music, faith can guide us, a singer believes . ( Memento from December 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: Singles UK US
7. ↑ US singles: Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006. Billboard Books, New York 2007, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 . / US albums: The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .

Web links

Commons : Vic Damone  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Vic Damone's website
• Vic Damone at Allmusic (English)
• Vic Damone at Discogs (English)
• Vic Damone in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Vic Damone at Epinions