Mel Tormé

Mel Torm? (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999) was a jazz singer with a light, velvety, high-tenor voice. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest male singers in the history of jazz. Torm? also wrote a number of classic jazz songs and wrote almost all the arrangements for the songs he sang.

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Torm? was born Melvin Howard Torm? in Chicago of immigrant Russian-Jewish parents.

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A child prodigy, he began singing publicly at the age of four, acting by age nine, and playing drums by time he was a teenager. His first published song, "Lament to Love," was recorded by Harry James when Torm? was only 15.

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Torm? went on to publish some 250 songs, mostly in collaboration with Bob Wells. Their best known effort is "The Christmas Song", recorded by Nat King Cole in 1945, and a holiday classic ever since. Torm? frequently commented that the song took less than an hour to write and was not one of his personal favorites.

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During the war years, Torm? performed in led the Mel-Tones, a vocal group specializing in jazzy arrangements, usually backed by the swing band of Artie Shaw.

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In 1947, Torm? went solo, recording a number of romantic hits, including the number one "Careless Love". His high pitched, silky-smooth vocal style earned him the sobriquet "Velvet Fog", which he disliked.

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During the 1950s, as rock and roll increased in popularity, Torm? abandoned the commercial path and turned more and more to jazz. Critics say his art reached its first creative peak on a series of albums arranged by Marty Paich, one of the leading figures in West coast jazz of that period.

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With the resurgence of jazz in the 1970s, Torm? entered another artistically fertile period. During the last twenty years of his career he recorded frequently in a variety of settings, the best known of which were a series of concerts with pianist George Shearing. In addition to producing a steady stream of albums, he performed live up to two hundred live dates annually, and appeared regularly on television, including nine guest appearances on the Night Court series where he was the idol of the main character played by Harry Anderson. In the mid-90s he even gained popularity among Generation Xers for his appearances in a series of Mountain Dew commercials and on Seinfeld.

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In August 1996, a debilitating stroke abruptly ended his 65-year singing career.

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In February 1999, Torm? was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

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He died at 73 on June 5, 1999.

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In a eulogy after his death, John Andrews wrote:

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Torm?'s style shared much with that of his idol, Ella Fitzgerald. Both were firmly rooted in the foundation of the swing era, but both seemed able to incorporate bebop innovations to keep their performances sounding fresh and contemporary. Like Sinatra, they sang with perfect diction and brought out the emotional content of the lyrics through subtle alterations of phrasing and harmony. Ballads were characterized by paraphrasing of the original melody which always seemed tasteful, appropriate and respectful to the vision of the songwriter. Unlike Sinatra, both Fitzgerald and Torm? were likely to cut loose during a swinging up-tempo number with several scat choruses, using their voices without words to improvise a solo like a brass or reed instrument.

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September 13: September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). There are 109 days remaining in the year....

1925: 1925 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar)....

June 5: June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining....

Mel Tormé related Images and Photos (experimental)

Mel Torme - Instant Party	Mel Torme - Instant Party	WNEW Mel Torme (1973)	Mel Ferrer
Mel Gibson Print	Mel Gibson Print	Mel Gibson Print	Actor Mel Gibson Shooting Scene from Film "Lethal Weapon 3"
Mel Gibson and Tina Turner Rolling Stone no. 455 August 29 1985	Mel Ferrer Françoise Arnoul and Micheline Presle (episode "Luxurieux point ne seras"): Le Diable e	Looney Tunes 'Speechless' Print Honoring Mel Blanc