Melvin Howard Tormé was born in 1925 in Chicago, Illinois to immigrant Russian Jewish parents whose real last name had been Torma.
He composed the music for the classic holiday song “The Christmas Song” (also known as “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” popularly sung by Nat King Cole and many other crooners). Noted by some as odd, because he was Jewish, that he wrote a Christmas song, Mel claimed to have written it in under 45 minutes and it was never one of his favorites.
As a teen, Mel Tormé sang, arranged, and played drums in a band led by Chico Marx of the Marx Brothers.
He was married 4 times, and had 5 children and 2 stepchildren.
Mel lent his voice to Warner Brothers in The Night of the Living Duck (1988) and Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters (1988)
Michael’s finished his Australia tour, and kicks off a UK Tour on July 18 and will take another break before a tour in South America in November. He’ll also be back here in NY in December… oh, what a Christmas gift that would be (considering I missed him on my birthday the past two years in a row)!
Mike reallllly needs these breaks. I think he’s been overworking himself, touring and recording non-stop for the past 3-4 years. I hope that after the CMI (Call Me Irresponsible) tour, he takes at least a solid year off.
As mentioned a while back, some rare Marilyn Monroe, “behind the scenes” tapes were recently put up for auction. The starting bids were expected to be around $15k, and personally I’m surprised that “On The Set With ‘The Misfits’” didn’t get a whole lot more than US$60,000.
The auction also included the original disco ball from “Saturday Night Fever” and an original script of “The Godfather” signed by Marlon Brando. The sale was held by Julien’s Auctions at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.
“The Misfits” was the last completed film for both Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. Gable had a fourth heart attack just after filming was complete and died Nov. 16, 1960, about two months before the movie’s U.S. release. Monroe died Aug. 5, 1962.
Other items sold early Saturday included a suit worn by Elvis Presley in the film “Viva Las Vegas,” which drew a bid of $36,325. Alfred Hitchcock’s driver’s license sold for $8,000, and an original “King Kong” French film poster sold for $40,625, according to the auction officials.
Hey gang, I’m well into one year writing here at Crooner Culture, and I wanted to do a little roundup of my favorite videos that have been posted on the site in that time. Hope you enjoy!
(Originally posted August 2007, I want to try to get this idea rolling again!)
Okay everyone - it’s time for the first ever Crooner Culture blog project!
Here’s the skinny…
Everyone has old family photos from the 40’s and 50’s laying around somewhere. Maybe your cousin’s got them all, or your sister, or your 80 year old Uncle Joe. But they’re somewhere.
Your job is to find the photo that reminds you of the classic “crooner era” and post it on your blog, writing whatever you know about when and where it was taken, and put a link in the post to this blog entry. (Along with a comment so that we’re both sure I know about it!)
At that point, I’ll post your photo(s), a link back to your blog, and the crooner song that I’m reminded of when I see the photo and read the story!
Here’s an example:
I have some photos that my grandma gave me that are my absolute favorites EVER. (I have this affinity for old photos of course!) And I finally got around to scanning in a couple to post here…
This is Gram in her raccoon coat…I think it’s adorable that she felt so luxurious in this coat that they just had to get some pictures taken by a professional!
This is my Poppy being playful in the snow - It’s so weird for me, because this isn’t the Poppy I knew. He passed away when I was two years old, and while I’ve treasured every memory I can muster about him - in them, he never looked like this!
I swear to you, I didn’t colorize this photo myself! It was done by the photographer, “C. Blair”
And if this one wasn’t their engagement announcement photo, I can’t imagine what was! I adore this pic - it reminds me of so many of the old movies from the 40’s era!
So, to go along with these photos, I have to say that only one song comes to mind…
I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra!
Lyrics…
Ive got you under my skin
I’ve got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart, that you’re really a part of me
Ive got you under my skin
I’ve tried so not to give in
I’ve said to myself this affair never will go so well
But why should I try to resist, when baby I know so well
That I’ve got you under my skin
I’d sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of having you near
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear
Don’t you know you fool, you never can win
Use your mentality, wake up to reality
But each time I do, just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin
cause I’ve got you under my skin
And before you start thinking I’m a weirdo, I want to let you know that you’re right. The main reason I feel this song fits is because of the raccoon coat (skin)! ;) That, and the obvious love and adoration between the two of them in that last photo.
So here we go, let me recap the project plan!
Find some old family photos from the 40’s and 50’s and scan them in.
Write a post on YOUR blog, telling as much as you can about the photos and the people in them.
Link to this post in the entry, and leave a comment below letting me know where your post is.
I’ll link to your post, with one of the photos, and will publish the first crooner song that comes to mind when I look at your post!
I’m looking to feature these on Wednesdays, so do send them in so I can have a good couple months’ worth of “Wednesday Family Album” posts!
I’m shooting for another regular series here at Crooner Culture, the “Weekend Song and Drink”, where I’ll highlight a tasty beverage (usually alcoholic, but often can be made without) and a song that would just go along well while drinking it.
You know how drinking that first sip of hot coffee in the morning gives you a “feeling”?
And you know how that really great song you hear does that same thing?
I’m gonna match them up for you. :)
The Rock Dose says, “There is just something about vinyl.” I have to agree. One of the things I remember growing up with my Dad was him pulling out his old records and us listening to them together. I seriously have my Dad to thank for my wide music tastes (except the crooners, which is kinda funny actually).
Michael Jackson in Vegas? Seems like a distinct possibility, and quite the odd situation involving averting foreclosure on Neverland Ranch, coming out of seclusion, and a comeback tour? Yikes.
I love Roberta’s blog “Rumors in Music” - she comes up with the best stuff! Rumor has it that 50 Cent and Val Kilmer are doing a duet now… true or not, this story’s worth a read! I won’t tell you what kind of song it is… you HAVE to go check it out!
So that’s a roundup of some of b5media’s Music Channel for this week. I hope all you Dads out there are having a wonderful day today!
“This is a funny commercial. Any commercial that ends up making Robert Goulet funny is one that has to get some respect. Of course what exactly is the product here? It turns out to be Emerald Nuts. Their pitch? That if you eat Emerald Nuts in the middle of the afternoon you will get the energy to need to defeat Rober Goulet. Cut to a shot of Robert Goulet crawling backwards across the ceiling like some kind of spider.” - Bryan Alaspa
I really thought this commercial was funny the first few times I saw it, but the funniest thing is that so many young people have NO CLUE who this man was, or WHY this commercial was so funny because of it.
Robert Goulet was probably most famous for being a stage (Broadway) crooner, his many credits include: Sunshine Town, Thunder Rock, The Optimist, Dreamgirl, Carousel, Finian’s Rainbow, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Pajama Game, Beggars Opera, Bells Are Ringing, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Happy Time, I Do, I Do, On A Clear Day, Kiss Me Kate, The Fantasticks, South Pacific*, Camelot (as King Arthur), Moon Over Buffalo, and Man Of La Mancha, and La Cage aux Folles.
* His most famous role on Broadway.
He died on October 30, 2007, while awaiting a lung transplant for 2 weeks at Cedars Sinai.
Nat “King” Cole was born in Montgomery, Alabama as Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965).
His father was a preacher in the Baptist church. His family moved to Chicago, Illinois while he was still a child. There, his father became a minister; Nat’s mother Perlina, was the church organist.
His first performance, at age four, was of “Yes, We Have No Bananas”.
Nat Cole and three other musicians formed the “King Cole Swingers” in Long Beach, CA and played in a number of local bars before getting a gig on the Long Beach Pike for $90 per week.
On November 5, 1956, The Nat King Cole Show debuted on NBC-TV. While commentators have often mistakenly hailed Cole as the first African-American to host a network television show — an honor belonging to jazz pianist and singer Hazel Scott in 1950 — the Cole program was the first of its kind hosted by a star of Nat Cole’s magnitude.
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Michael’s finished his Australia tour, and kicks off a UK Tour on July 18 and will take another break before a tour in South America in November. He’ll also be back here in NY in December… oh, what a Christmas gift that would be (considering I missed him on my birthday the past two years in a row)!
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