caption death_date death_place years_active alias birth_place name background birth_date instrument genre image article_title birth_name
mel tormé in 1979 5 june 1999 los angeles , california , u.s. 1933 -- 96 the velvet fog chicago , illinois , u.s. mel tormé solo_singer 13 september 1925 vocals , drums , bugle , piano jazz mel tormé -lrb- 1979 -rrb- . jpg mel tormé
 melvin howard torme
mel tormé

melvin howard tormé -lrb- september 13 , 1925 -- june 5 , 1999 -rrb- , nicknamed the velvet fog , was an american musician , best known as a singer of jazz standards .
he was also a jazz composer and arranger , drummer , and actor in radio , film , and television , and the author of five books .
he composed the music for the classic holiday song `` the christmas song '' -lrb- `` chestnuts roasting on an open fire '' -rrb- and co-wrote the lyrics with bob wells .
