Vic Damone popular 1950s crooner and nightclub star dies at 89
Vic Damone
Vic Damone performing in 1951. âVic has the best pipes in the business â singer Frank Sinatra once said. (AP)
Vic Damone  a pop crooner whose creamy baritone and heartthrob good looks propelled his success at the jukebox and on-screen in the post-World War II era  and for five decades more in nightclubs and concert halls  died Feb. 11 at a hospital in Miami Beach. He was 89.
He made his professional debut at 17  tying for first place on the radio contest âArthur Godfreyâs Talent Scouts â and his 1947 recording debut heralded an enviable new talent. âIf I had one wish â Sinatra was said to have remarked  âit would be for  Vic Damoneâs  tonsils.  Vic  has the best pipes in the business.â
Music critic Will Friedwald  in  his  volume âA Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers â attributed to Mr. Damone all the hallmarks of Sinatraâs early romantic balladeer phase â âthe beautiful voice  the light clear sound  the precise articulation  the impeccable phrasing.â
The advent of rock-and-roll drove Mr. Damone from his perch atop the pop charts  but he made two of his finest albums during that phase of his career â âLinger Awhile with Vic Damoneâ and âThe Lively Ones â both 1962 â featuring the singer at ease with jazzy up-tempo standards such as âThe Most Beautiful Girl in the Worldâ and âSoft Lights and Sweet Music.â
Vic Damone performing in 1951. âVic has the best pipes in the business â singer Frank Sinatra once said. (AP)
Vic Damone  a pop crooner whose creamy baritone and heartthrob good looks propelled his success at the jukebox and on-screen in the post-World War II era  and for five decades more in nightclubs and concert halls  died Feb. 11 at a hospital in Miami Beach. He was 89.
He made his professional debut at 17  tying for first place on the radio contest âArthur Godfreyâs Talent Scouts â and his 1947 recording debut heralded an enviable new talent. âIf I had one wish â Sinatra was said to have remarked  âit would be for   [TGT] tonsils.   [TGT] has the best pipes in the business.â
Music critic Will Friedwald  in   [TGT]   volume âA Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers â attributed to Mr. Damone all the hallmarks of Sinatraâs early romantic balladeer phase â âthe beautiful voice  the light clear sound  the precise articulation  the impeccable phrasing.â
The advent of rock-and-roll drove Mr. Damone from his perch atop the pop charts  but he made two of his finest albums during that phase of his career â âLinger Awhile with Vic Damoneâ and âThe Lively Ones â both 1962 â featuring the singer at ease with jazzy up-tempo standards such as âThe Most Beautiful Girl in the Worldâ and âSoft Lights and Sweet Music.â