ONE GREAT ITALIAN-AMERICAN CROONER OF THE 1940’S & 1950’S – VIC DAMONE
Apr 08 '04
The Bottom Line Vic Damone was born “Vito Rocco Farinola” on 12 June 1928 in Brooklyn, New York City, NY
Vic’s mother was a piano teacher and his father although an electrician by trade he also sang and played the guitar. Vic began taking voice lessons at a very early age inspired by his favorite singer “Frank Sinatra”. He began performing in his local church’s choir and at special school events. His father was seriously injured in a work-related accident and this forced Vic to drop out of school to get a full time job to help support his family. He started working at the Paramount Theater in Manhattan, NY as an usher and an elevator operator.
He took “Perry Como” up to his dressing room one night and decided to give him a singing performance. Perry became his mentor and referred him to a local bandleader. He decided to adopt his mother’s maiden name of Damone and in early 1947 he won first place on the “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” radio show. Winning this contest led to him getting a regular singing engagement on the weekly radio show. He met “Milton Berle” one day at the station who was able to get him a regular engagement at two local nightclubs, the “La Martinique” and the “Aquarium”. He signed a contract in mid 1947 with “Mercury” records.
On 30 August his very first release was “I Have But One Heart (“O Mariariello”)” that would peak at #7 on the US pop singles chart. He next released “You Do” that made its single debut on 1 November and peaked at #7. In 1948 he had “It’s Magic” that peaked at #24 and a duet with “Patti Page” titled “Say Something Sweet To Your Sweetheart” that peaked at #23. He then began hosting his own weekly radio show called “Saturday Night Serenade”. He also began singing at his old stomping grounds the “Paramount” as well as the “Copa” in New York.
In 1949 he had 5 songs on the Top 100 singles pop chart in the US the biggest of these was “You’re Breaking My Heart” that peaked at #1 for 4 weeks and was his 2nd gold selling record. He had 9 songs on the singles chart in 1950 the biggest of which was “My Heart Cries For You” that would peak at #4. In 1951 he starred in 2 Movies which were “The Strip” and “Rich, Young And Pretty”. He also had 6 songs on the singles chart the biggest of them was “My Truly, Truly Fair” that would go on to peak at #4. He was drafted into the Army this year and served proudly until 1953.
Even though he was in the Army his record label continued to release previously recorded songs. In 1952 he had 4 songs on the US pop singles chart and the biggest of these was “Here In My Heart” that topped off at #8 on the chart. He had 4 more singles on the chart in 1953 the biggest of which was “Ebb Tide” that peaked at #10 on the chart. This song would be redone several times by different artists the biggest of which was done by “The Righteous Brothers” who made it a #5 hit in 1966. After he was discharged from the military he married the actress “Pier Angeli”. Vic starred in “Deep In My Heart” and “Athena” in 1954. This year he also made several guest appearances on the “Milton Berle Hour”.
He had only one song on the singles chart in 1955 with “Por Favor” that stalled at #73. In early 1956 “Mercury” dropped him from his contract and he signed a new deal with “Columbia” records. He had 2 hits on “Columbia” in 1956 the biggest of which was his #4 hit “On The Street Where You Live” from the Broadway Musical “My Fair Lady” starring “Julie Andrews”. He also starred in “Meet Me In Las Vegas” this year along with “Dan Dailey”, “Cyd Charisse”, “Agnes Moorehead”, “Jim Backus” and others. Also in 1956 he released his very first 12 inch album titled “That Towering Feeling!” that peaked at #14 on the US chart.
He also hosted his own Musical Variety show this year titled “The Vic Damone Show” but it went off the air the following year. In 1957 he had 2 charting singles in the US with the biggest of these being “An Affair To Remember (Our Love Affair)” that peaked at #16. This was the title song from the Movie of the same name starring “Cary Grant” and “Deborah Kerr”. He had only one song on the singles chart in 1958 with “Gigi” which was another title song from a Movie of the same name this time starring “Leslie Carone”. The song would only remain on the chart one week at #88.
In 1958 his marriage with “Pier Angeli” came to an abrupt end. In 1960 he starred in his final Movie titled “Hell To Eternity” along with “Jeffrey Hunter”, “David Janssen”, “Patricia Owens”, “George Takei” and others. In 1961 he was released from his contract with “Columbia” and signed with “Capitol” records who had just lost their contract with “Frank Sinatra” to “Reprise” records. In 1962 he had 2 hit albums in “Linger Awhile With Vic Damone” that peaked at #64 and “The Lively Ones” that peaked at #57 on the chart. In 1965 he switched record labels again this time signing with “Warner Brothers”.
He had one hit single with them in “You Were Only Fooling (While I Was Falling In Love)” that peaked at #30. He also had one hit album as well in “You Were Only Fooling” that peaked at #86 in 1965. In 1966 he switched record companies one more time this time signing with “RCA”. In 1967 he was a part of the Documentary “Spree” along with “Jayne Mansfield”, “Juliet Prowse”, “Mickey Hargitay” and “Constance Moore”. He released what would be his final record for many years to come in 1968 titled “Why Can’t I Walk Away” but it failed to make the album charts.
In 1971 he became a regular performer on the Las Vegas casino circuit. He had to declare bankruptcy in the early 1970’s but after a few years performing on the circuit he was able to iron out all his financial difficulties. All throughout the 70’s and 80’s he continued not only on the casino circuit but toured throughout the US and the UK. In 1984 he began releasing albums once again for “RCA” because of his growing popularity in the UK. He released 2 albums on “RCA” this year titled “On The South Side Of Chicago” and “The Damone Type Of Thing” but neither one made the record charts.
He married his 4th wife actress “Diahann Carroll” in 1987 but the marriage only lasted until 1996. In 1992 he released his final album for “RCA” titled “The Glory Of Love” but this album also failed to chart. To this day Vic continues to perform on the casino circuit in Las Vegas and tour sporadically. My only “CD” by Vic is titled "16 MOST REQUESTED SONGS" and was released on “Columbia” records on 25 August 1992. The songs on this CD are shown below in the order as they appear followed by the length of each and then my rating of each song:
1. On The Street Where You Live – 2:46 – 5
2. War And Peace – 3:05 – 3
3. Almost Like Being In Love – 2:50 – 4
4. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes – 3:53 – 4
5. Do I Love You (Because You’re Beautiful?) – 2:35 – 3
6. An Affair To Remember (Our Love Affair) – 2:49 – 4
7. You’re Breaking My Heart – 3:26 – 5
8. Angela Mia – 3:28 – 3
9. Maria – 3:44 – 4
10. Gigi – 3:05 – 4
11. Separate Tables – 2:42 – 3
12. But Beautiful – 3:28 – 3
13. My Romance – 2:20 – 4
14. Pleasure Of Her Company – 3:15 – 3
15. Serenade In Blue – 3:15 – 5
16. In The Blue Of The Evening – 4:22 – 4
TOTAL POINTS: 61 POINTS DIVIDED BY 16 SONGS = 3.81 OR 3 3/4 STARS
Rating Key:
5 –Great
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Fair
1 – Poor
0 – This song does not belong here!
Billboard US Top 100 Pop Singles for “VIC DAMONE”
1. I Have But One Heart (“O Marinariello”) – Debut on 08/30/47, Peaked at #7
2. You Do – Debut on 11/01/47, Peaked at #7
3. It’s Magic – Debut on 09/18/48, Peaked at #24
4. Say Something Sweet To Your Sweetheart – Debut on 10/30/48, Peaked at #23 with “Patti Page”
5. Again – Debut on 04/09/49, Peaked at #6 (GOLD)
6. YOU’RE BREAKING MY HEART- Debut on 06/18/49, Peaked at #1 for 4 weeks (GOLD)
7. Four Winds And Seven Seas – Debut on 07/23/49, Peaked at #16
8. My Bolero – Debut on 08/27/49, Peaked at #10
9. Why Was I Born? – Debut on 10/29/49, Peaked at #20
10. Sitting By The Window – Debut on 01/28/50, Peaked at #29
11. God’s Country – Debut on 03/18/50, Peaked at #27
12. Vagabond Shoes – Debut on 07/01/50, Peaked at #17
13. Tzena, Tzena, Tzena – Debut on 07/22/50, Peaked at #7
14. Just Say I Love Her – Debut on 08/26/50, Peaked at #13
15. Cincinnati Dancing Pig – Debut on 09/16/50, Peaked at #11
16. Can Anyone Explain (No! No! No!) – Debut on 10/14/50, Peaked at #25
17. My Heart Cries For You – Debut on 12/30/50, Peaked at #4
18. Music By The Angels – Debut on 12/30/50, Peaked at #18
19. Tell Me You Love Me – Debut on 02/03/51, Peaked at #21
20. If – Debut on 02/17/51, Peaked at #28
21. My Truly, Truly Fair – Debut on 06/02/51, Peaked at #4
22. Longing For You – Debut on 08/04/51, Peaked at #12
23. Wonder Why – Debut on 09/22/51, Peaked at #21
24. Calla Calla – Debut on 10/06/51, Peaked at #13
25. Jump Through The Ring – Debut on 05/10/52, Peaked at #22
26. Here In My Heart – Debut on 06/14/52, Peaked at #8
27. Take My Heart – Debut on 07/12/52, Peaked at #30
28. Rosanne – Debut on 07/26/52, Peaked at #23
29. Sugar – Debut on 02/07/53, Peaked at #13
30. April In Portugal – Debut on 05/16/53, Peaked at #10
31. Eternally (The Song From Limelight) – Debut on 08/08/53, Peaked at #12
32. Ebb Tide – Debut on 10/17/53, Peaked at #10
33. Por Favor – Debut on 11/19/55, Peaked at #73
34. On The Street Where You Live – Debut on 04/21/56, Peaked at #4
35. War And Peace – Debut on 09/22/56, Peaked at #59
36. Do I Love You (Because You’re Beautiful) – Debut on 04/13/57, Peaked at #62
37. An Affair To Remember (Our Love Affair) – Debut on 09/09/57, Peaked at #16
38. Gigi – Debut on 05/05/58, Peaked at #88
39. You Were Only Fooling (While I Was Falling In Love) – Debut on 04/17/65, Peaked at #30
SOME SONG LYRICS
AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER (OUR LOVE AFFAIR)
Our love affair is a wondrous thing
That we'll rejoice in remembering
Our love was born with our first embrace
And a page was torn out of time and space
Our love affair, may it always be
A flame to burn through eternity
So take my hand with a fervent prayer
That we may live and we may share
A love affair to remember
APRIL IN PORTUGAL
I found my April dream in Portugal with you
When we discovered romance, like we never knew.
My head was in the clouds, My heart went crazy too,
And madly I said: "I love you."
Too soon I heard you say:
"This dream is for a day"
That's Porugal and love in April!
And when the showers fell,
Those tears I know so well,
They told me it was spring fooling me.
I found my April dream in Portugal with you
When we discovered romance, like I never knew.
Then morning brought the rain,
And now my dream is through
But still my heart says "I love you."
This sad reality, To know it couldn't be,
That's Portugal and love in April!
The music and the wine convinced me you were mine,
But it was just the spring fooling me.
ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE
I have often walked down this street before
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before
All at once am I several stories high
Knowing I'm on the street where you live
Are there lilac trees in the heart of town?
Can you hear a lark in any other part of town?
Does enchantment pour out of every door?
No, it's just on the street where you live
And oh, the towering feeling just to know somehow you are near
The overpowering feeling that any second you may suddenly appear
People stop and stare, they don't bother me
For there's nowhere else on earth that I would rather be
Let the time go by, I won't care if I
Can be here on the street where you live
YOU’RE BREAKING MY HEART
You're breaking my heart 'cause you're leaving
You've fallen for somebody new
It isn't too easy believing
You'd leave after all we've been through
It's breaking my heart to remember
The dreams we depended upon
You're leaving a slow dying ember
I'll miss you, my love, when you're gone
I wish you joy, though teardrops burn
But if some day you should want to return
Please hurry back and we'll make a new start
Till then you're breaking my heart
JAGUARDOG’S FINAL THOUGHTS
I wasn’t planning on doing “Vic Damone” because I had never had any records by him. I was sorting my CD’s the other day to see what artists I had in the letter “D” category who I wanted to do a review on and I found this one lone CD by him that I had forgotten I had purchased about 3 years ago to add to my large growing collection. I put the CD in my computer tower and instantly said to myself I have to do this artist because there was so many songs I really enjoyed by him on this one CD. I hope doing a posting on him wasn’t too much of a stretch as far as being an important cog in the Pop scene in the 40’s and 50’s? His music sound was elegant, laid-back, mannered, mellow, refined, romantic, sentimental, smooth, soothing, sophisticated and stylish. Well that’s all I have for Vic and up next will be “Sammy Davis Jr.” which I hope a lot of you will enjoy? Thanks as always for dropping by and God Bless.
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Member: Ron Drain
Location: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
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