He Answers (Sort Of)

Color Radio And R+B, Doo Wop, Rock+Roll: When you talk about classic pioneer vocal groups, you can’t have a discussion without mentioning Sonny Till and the Orioles. They started as the Vibranaires in early 1948. They appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s talent show in New York and initially lost, as they sung “Exactly like You”.

Blues World : Dealing with many tragedies and vicissitudes in his life, including the loss of his wife, Cora Lee Carter Jackson, in 1990 and three sons, including the accidental shooting by the police of his son, John Jr., in 1978, John Jackson could have become bitter. But he remained warm and gracious through it all, accepting such circumstances with his usual equanimity and resignation.

Tony Bennett : But first Bob Hope told me he didn’t care for my stage name (Joe Bari) and asked me what my real name was. I told him, ‘My name is Anthony Dominick Benedetto,’ and he said, ‘We’ll call you Tony Bennett.’ And that’s how it happened.

WorldsRecords : In the early 1950s pre rock ’n roll days in Britain, multi talented “King of Zing” Johnny Brandon was the British heart throb with countless radio, television and personal appearances across the country. Apart from singing Johnny also composed songs for the likes of Jessie Matthews and Vera Lynn.

Clarence Frogman Henry : Frogman wrote the “Frog song” (Ain’t Got No Home) 1956 after a late gig at The Joy Lounge. He was tired and the owner wasn’t too interested in letting the musicians off – so he slammed the keys down and howled “Oooh oh oh oh oh oh oh!”.

Dick Haymes : He married Nora Eddington, the ex-wife of Errol Flynn. They made a very attractive couple, but the marriage was only to last a few years. Problems surfaced when Dick met Rita Hayworth. The tabloids had a field day with such a juicy story. Before Nora could blink, he was asking her for a divorce to marry Rita.

Benny Golson : Benny Golson is the only living jazz artist to have written 8 standards for jazz repertoire. These jazz standards have found their way into countless recordings internationally over the years and are still being recorded

Al Martino : Martino has also proven himself to be taken seriously as a film actor. In 1972, he played that much sought-after role of Johnny Fontane in Frances Ford Coppola’s epic film The Godfather. Thus, he gained the respect of his fellow actors, including Marlon Brando and Robert Duvall. Martino also sang the film’s title score, The Love Theme From The Godfather.

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