Bio of mel torme biography
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Mel Torme
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Mel Torme was among the most enduring singers from the big-band era, maligned by some as the epitome of lounge singer, acclaimed by many more as one of a talented and serious vocalist.
Legend has it that Torme began singing for his supper a Chicago restaurant when he was four and was working the vaudeville circuit soon after. He worked as a child actor on radio, and began writing songs in his early teens. In the early 1940s, he quit high school to became a boy singer (and drummer and part-time arranger) with Chico Marx's band.
His first fame coincided with Frank Sinatra's, and the two appeared together in their first film, "Higher and Higher." He wanted to be a jazz singer, "but I got sidetracked," he said. His manager "felt the way to the gold was for me to become a crooner. For a long period I was singing mushy, sentimental songs." His publicist coined the name, "The Velvet Fog," to describe his smooth style
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| Mel Tormé | |
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Mel Tormé (1979) | |
| Born | Melvin Howard Tormé September 13, 1925(1925-09-13) Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Died | June 5, 1999 (aged 73) Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Other | The Velvet Fog |
| Years active | 1933–1999 |
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known as one of the great jazz singers. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books. He co-wrote the classic holiday song "The Christmas Song" (also known as "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") with Bob Wells.
Biography[]
Early years[]
Tormé was born in Chicago, Illinois, to immigrant Russian Jewish parents[1] whose name had been Torma. A child prodigy, he first sang professionally at age 4 with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra, singing "You're Driving Me Crazy" at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant. Between 1933 and 1941, he acted in th
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Mel Torme was a child actor and musical prodigy. He began singing at the age of three, studied piano and drums, and at 15 published his first song which was recorded by Harry James. In 1942 he joined the band of comedian Chico Marx as drummer, singer, and vocal arranger, and in 1943 he formed his own group, the Mel-Tones, and appeared in his first film, Higher and Higher, with Frank Sinatra. The Mel-Tones, a precursor of contemporary vocal jazz, were popular during WWII and enjoyed several hits on their own as well as with Artie Shaw’s band.
In 1947 Torme began a solo career, recording popular songs in his smooth-as-satin röst which reached into both the baritone and tenor range, performing in the best clubs, and appearing in films. His utgåva of “Blue Moon” from the spelfilm Words and Music (a fictionalized biography of the Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart partnership) topped the charts in 1949, and he picked up the moniker “The Velvet Fog.” By the 1950’s he gave up crooning and tur