Perry Como – Biography of Perry Como

Easygoing, laid-back singer with a warm baritone voice Perry Como became a superstar of music and television, from the 1950s to the 70s.

One of the most popular singers between the end of WWII and the rise of rock & roll in the mid-1950s, Perry Como he perfected the post-big-band pop approach to pop music, lending his own irresistible, laid-back singing – influenced by Bing Crosby and Russ Columbo – to popular radio, television, and LP hits. Both his early traditional singing style, his later relaxed singing manner, and his focus on novel material were largely a debt to Bing Crosby; the appeal of What in the early 1950s it had practically no rivals.

Born May 18, 1912 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Pierino Ronald ComoThe seventh of thirteen children of Italian immigrants Pietro Como and Lucía Como Travaglini, he was working in a hairdresser in his hometown when he began touring with conductor Freddie Carlone at the age of 21.

In the mid-1930s, he got his big break with Ted Weems & His Orchestra, who was conducting a popular radio show called Beat the band. After the orchestra broke up in 1942, What hosted a CBS regional radio show, later called Supper club. The success of the series earned him a contract with RCA Victor Records in 1943, and he also began working in Hollywood with Something for the Boys.

The real great leap of Perry Como came with the 1945 film, A song to remember. His interpretation of “Until the end of time“It spent ten weeks at the top of the charts and became the biggest hit of the year. The baritone of What it worked especially well on ballads, with the additional number one hits of 1945-1947 “Prisoner of Love“,”Surrender” Y “Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go to Sleep)“.

Hired by NBC for another radio show in 1948, What, crossed over to the emerging medium of television that same year, with the Chesterfield Supper Club. The show quickly took off, eventually earning him four Emmys. In the mid-1950s, as he began to enjoy the novelty of the moment, the titles often comprised nonsensical words: “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Doo“,”Hoop-Dee-Doo“,”Pa-Paya Mama” Y “Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)Although he often did not like the songs, they often became very popular.

The happy songs of What They had worked well in the early decade, but their appeal began to wane in the late 1950s, with the rise of rock & roll and the wave of teen idols. His latest number one hit, “Catch a Falling Star“, it arrived in 1958. As it was much less visible during the 60s, but it returned in 1970 with its first live show in more than two decades, and followed a world tour; a single (“It’s Impossible“) even made the Top Ten in the late 1970s. What continued to record LPs and occasionally television specials while making scattered appearances throughout the 70s and 80s. On May 12, 2001, Perry Como he died in his sleep at his home in Florida.