He was a singer-songwriter, composer, author, actor,
drummer and arranger born in Chicago, Illinois, and nicknamed "The Velvet
Fog" by the DJ Fred Robbins.Known to be a child prodigy he began his professional singing career
when he was 4 years old when he performed with the Coon-Sanders
Orchestra.By the time he was
8 he had started acting in radio serials, by the time he was thirteen he
had written his first song, in his early teens he was a drummer in the drum
and bugle corps at his elementary school in Chicago and later in Chico Marx's
band, as well as a close friend of Gene Krupa, and by the time he was sixteen
he had a song published which was made into a hit by Harry James. Moving into movies, he appeared in
the 1943 Higher and Higher with Frank Sinatra and Good News, in
1947, which gave him teen idol status.After having been drafted into the US Army in 1944 he
was released from service in 1945 after the discovery that he was
flat-footed.Taking influence
from Frank Sinatra and his group The Piped Pipers, he formed Mel Torme and
his Mel-Tones in 1944 and the quintet saw several hits.He also ventured out on his solo
singing career in 1947 and from that time on he would see success with many
of his romantic and jazz influenced songs and recordings.His first and only No. 1 hit was "Careless
Hands" in 1949, but his signature songs would be "Blue Moon" and "Again".As a composer his California
Suite had the honour of being Capitol Records first 12" LP release.Although continuing to record
throughout the '50s and '60s and making seven albums with the Marty Paich
Dektette, his popularity waned until jazz made a comeback in popularity and
propelled him back into the limelight.During 1976 and 1977 he would win an Edison Award, be
named "Best Male Jazz Singer" by Downbeat and appear at Carnegie Hall with
Gerry Mulligan and George Shearing, who he would later record several
albums with and in 1982 and 1983 he was the recipient of two Grammy Awards
for "Best Jazz Vocalist".Back
on television he would appear on programmes ranging from comedy to science
fiction as well as appearing in several commercials for the drink Mountain
Dew.Writing over 300 songs he
will probably be best remembered for "The Christmas Song" which he
collaborated on with Bob Wells and which Nat King Cole successfully recorded
in 1946.As an author he wrote
five books including an autobiography named My Singing Teachers and the
biographies of Buddy Rich and Judy Garland.In 1996 he was struck down by a stroke and three years
later, when he was 74, he would suffer another that would take his life.In 1999 he was honoured with a
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
