Enjoying great success in music, film, television and the stage, Dean Martin was less an entertainer than an icon, the eternal essence of cool. A member of the legendary Rat Pack, he lived and died the high life of booze, broads and bright lights, always projecting a sense of utter detachment and serenity; along with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis,... [+] Read More

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Recognized throughout much of his career as "the world's greatest living entertainer," Sammy Davis, Jr. was a remarkably popular and versatile performer equally adept at acting, singing, dancing and impersonations -- in short, a variety artist in the classic tradition. A member of the famed Rat Pack, he was among the very first African-American... [+] Read More

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Al Martino was one of the great Italian-American pop crooners, boasting a string of hit singles and LPs that stretched from the early '50s all the way into the mid-'70s. However, he is perhaps even better known for his role in The Godfather as singer Johnny Fontane, a character supposedly based on Frank Sinatra but with eerie similarities to... [+] Read More

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Every era needs its crooner, and in the early '60s, it was Bobby Vinton. Vinton's sentimental balladeering and orchestral, middle-of-the-road arrangements were a throwback to a decade earlier, before rock & roll had found its mass market. If Vinton is sometimes identified with a rock & roll audience, it's only because his music was bought by... [+] Read More

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One of the most popular male vocalists of the early '50s despite a throwback style that recalled Al Jolson and Tin Pan Alley, Eddie Fisher scored four number one hits between 1952 and 1954 but is probably known best for his celebrity circles -- his wives included Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor and Connie Stevens. Born in Philadelphia, Fisher... [+] Read More

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A two-time Grammy winner in the early '60s, Jack Jones has made a fine living since, blending vocal standards from traditional pop with swinging renditions of contemporary pop and rock hits. Born in Los Angeles in 1938, Jones was the son of the romantic lead actor and recording artist Allan Jones (who had a hit with "The Donkey Serenade") and... [+] Read More

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Jerry Vale's beautiful high-tenor voice graced many of the most enchanting pop songs of the '50s and '60s, including a parade of Italian-American favorites like "Innamorata (Sweetheart)," "Volare," "Amore, Scusami," and his signature song, "Al Di La." Vale, born Genaro Louis Vitaliano in 1932, learned the Italian repertoire from an early age;... [+] Read More

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His face is more famous than his voice, but Robert Goulet recorded a string of popular albums for Columbia during the 1960s, striking the pop charts with several hits and earning a 1962 Grammy award. Born in 1933 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Goulet was raised in Edmonton, Alberta, where he first studied acting and singing as a teenager. He... [+] Read More

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As a solo artist and in a duo with his wife Eydie Gorme, Steve Lawrence enjoyed a successful singing career that stretched well past half a century. He placed hits in the bestseller charts for over 25 years and used that as the basis for becoming a nightclub and concert headliner. Starting out in the post-swing, pre-rock & roll era of the early... [+] Read More

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One of the prototypical Italian-American crooners, Vic Damone parlayed a smooth, mellow baritone into big-time pop stardom during the '40s and '50s. Early in his career, his inflection and phrasing were clearly indebted to Frank Sinatra, who once famously called him "the best set of pipes in the business." Overall, though, Damone's style was... [+] Read More

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