Vic Damone Performs Again, This Time On Sampod's Singing Legends

Dec. 3, 2012 - PRLog -- One of the most popular Italian-American crooners, Vic Damone  parlayed a smooth, mellow baritone into big-time pop stardom during the  '40s and '50s.  The 20th Century's most
popular singer, Frank Sinatra, said that Damone "had the best set of pipes in the business". His handsome looks and smooth voice aided him in making many feature films and personal appearances.

As a young man, when his father was seriously injured in a work accident, young Vic was forced to drop out of school to help support the family, and he got a job at the Paramount Theater in Manhattan as an usher and elevator operator. One night, while taking Perry Como up to his dressing room, Vic gave an impromptu performance and asked the singer if he had any talent; Como encouraged him, referred him to a local bandleader, and became something of a mentor to him. Adopting his mother's maiden name, Damone won first place on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts show in 1947, which led to regular professional gigs on local radio. While on the set of the show, he also met Mr. Television,  Milton Berle, who helped him get gigs at prominent nightclubs.

All the attention landed the 19-year-old Damone a record deal with Mercury in fairly short order. His debut single, "I Have But One Heart," sold well as did the follow-up song, "You Do", on which he competed for top honors with then extremely popular Vaughan Monroe.

All the attention landed the 19-year-old Damone a record deal with Mercury in fairly short order. His debut single, "I Have But One Heart," sold well, and the follow-ups, "You Do" and the Patti Page duet "Say Something Sweet to Your Sweetheart," were also successful. He began hosting his own radio show, Saturday Night Serenade, and played big New York venues like the Copa and the Paramount (where he'd once worked).

  Damone scored his first runaway smash in 1949 (with a cover of Doris Day's big hit, "Again,") and followed it with the similarly successful "You're Breaking My Heart"; both singles sold over a million copies. A steady stream of new releases followed through 1950, with the biggest including "Vagabond Shoes," the Top Ten "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" (a cover of the Weavers' adaptation of an Israeli folk song), "Cincinnati Dancing Pig," and the Top Five "My Heart Cries for You." The following year, he signed a film contract with MGM and appeared in two movies, The Strip and the musical  Rich, Young and Pretty. He also returned to the Top Five with a version of Guy Mitchell's "My Truly, Truly Fair." Other films in which Damone appeared included the film adaptation of the Broadway Musical, "Kismet", which gave Vic two more shots at the song charts with "And This is My Beloved" and "Stranger in Paradise". His co-stars were Ann Blythe and Howard Keel.

In 1956, Damone overcame the advent of rock & roll to score a gigantic pop hit with the My Fair Lady tune "On the Street Where You Live." That year, he also issued his first Top 20 LP, That Towering Feeling!  Outside of the musical arena, Damone appeared in another film, Meet Me in Las Vegas, and landed the first of what would prove to be several variety-show hosting gigs; his initial TV series, The Vic Damone Show, lasted two years.

 He  was initially able to dodge the rock & roll bullet, but his career momentum soon ground to a near-halt. He had only one more Top 20 single, 1957's "An Affair to Remember (Our Love Affair)," and he was slowly forced to try reinventing himself as an album artist and an interpretive singer for adult audiences.

In 1971, Damone started touring Las Vegas casinos as a performer, and although he had to declare bankruptcy in the early 1970s, he earned enough as a casino performer to clear up his financial difficulties. He extended his geographical range, touring through the United States and the United Kingdom, and as a result of his popularity decided to record some albums again, releasing them on the RCA label.

His final album was issued in 2002, with other albums being re-packaged and re-released. He has recorded over 2,000 songs over his entire career.

He has garnered new fans following the launch of the Vic Damone website in 2002 www.vicdamone.com , managed by his son-in-law William "Bill" Karant.

One of his final public performances was on January 19, 2002 at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in Palm Beach, Florida.

Damone did however step out of retirement on January 22, 2011, when he once again performed at the Kravis Performing Arts Center in Palm Beach, Florida to a sold out crowd. Damone dedicated this performance to his six grandchildren who had never seen him perform. The audiences gave him several standing ovations.

But that is not the whole story...for that, visit the SINGING LEGENDS pages on www.sampod4u.com.  There, Vic Damone becomes #24 in the list of all time greatest vocal performers.