Mel Tormé

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

Early years

Tormé was born in Chicago to immigrant Russian Jewish parents. A child prodigy, he began singing publicly at the age of four, acting by age nine, and playing drums in Chicago's Shakespeare Elementary School drum and bugle corps by the time he was a teenager. His first published song, "Lament to Love," was recorded by Harry James when Tormé was only 15.

As a songwriter

Tormé 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. Tormé frequently commented that the song took less than an hour to write and was not one of his personal favorites.

Early career

In 1943, Tormé and Frank Sinatra appeared in their first film together, "Higher and Higher." His early crooning style led to his publicist coining the name, "The Velvet Fog," to describe his smooth style, a name Tormé hated.

1944 saw Tormé form his own vocal group, the Mel-Tones, which included Les Baxter and Ginny O'Connor. The Mel-Tones had several hits, both on their own as well as paired with Artie Shaw's band. Cole Porter's song, "What is This Thing Called Love?" was their biggest hit. The Mel-Tones were among the first of the jazz-influenced vocal groups, setting the direction later followed by The Hi-Los and Manhattan Transfer.

In 1947, Tormé went solo, recording a number of romantic hits, including the 1949 number one "Careless Hands". His high tenor, smooth vocal style earned him the sobriquet "The Velvet Fog", which he disliked. He also came to pioneer cool jazz.

During the 1950s, as rock & roll music increased in popularity, which he termed 'three chord manure' Tormé was forced to abandon the commercial path and turned more and more to jazz. "Mountain Greenery" became a minor hit for Tormé in 1956. 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.

1962 saw Tormé score a surprise hit with "Comin' Home, Baby," arranged by Claus Ogerman, an R&B-influenced number. Quincy Jones and Kai Winding both had hits with instrumental covers of the same tune. Tormé's performance led Ethel Waters, a great jazz and gospel singer, to say that Torme "is the only white man who sings with the soul of a black man."

In 1963–1964 he was an occasional guest on The Judy Garland Show (appearing twice as a featured guest) and frequently worked as both a writer and musical arranger for it. He later wrote a book chronicling his experiences while on the show, "The Other Side of the Rainbow."

Later years

With the resurgence of jazz in the 1970s, Tormé 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; and his big band work with Rob McConnell and his Boss Brass orchestra. In the 1980s recording artist John Colianni served as Tormé's featured pianist.

In addition to producing a steady stream of albums, Torme performed globally up to two hundred live dates annually, and appeared regularly on television, including nine guest appearances (as himself) on the Night Court sitcom where he was the idol of the main character played by Harry Anderson. In the mid-90s he gained new popularity among Generation Xers for his appearances in a series of Mountain Dew commercials and on an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, in which he dedicates a song to Michael Richards' character, Kramer.

In August 8, 1996, a debilitating stroke abruptly ended his 65-year singing career. In February 1999, Tormé was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

He died in Los Angeles, California at the age of 73 on June 5, 1999. In eulogy, John Andrews wrote ^*

Tormé'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 Tormé 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.

Discography

For a partial Mel Torme discography, please see the Mel Torme discography.

Family

Father of Tracy Tormé. Father of broadcaster, Daisy Tormé. Father of rising singing star, James Tormé Father of alternative adult contemporary singer/guitarist Steve March Tormé

Publications

Includes:

The Other Side of the Rainbow (1970), about his experience as the musical adviser to Judy Garland on her television shows
Wynner (1978) a novel
It Wasn't All Velvet (1988) autobiography

Marriages

Candy Toxton (February 1949 - 1955) (divorced) 2 children
Arlene Niles (1956 - 1965) (divorced) 1 child
Janette Scott (1966 - 1977) (divorced) 2 children
Ali Severson (June 5, 1984 - 1999) (his death)

Samples

Night And Day.ogg of "Night and Day"

Filmography

Higher and Higher (1943)
Ghost Catchers (1944)
Pardon My Rhythm (1944)
Resisting Enemy Interrogation (1944) (documentary)
Let's Go Steady (1945)
Junior Miss (1945)
The Crimson Canary (1945) (drums dubber)
Janie Gets Married (1946)
Good News (1947)
Words and Music (1948)
Duchess of Idaho (1950)
The Fearmakers (1958)
The Big Operator (1959)
Girls Town (1959)
Walk Like a Dragon (1960)
The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960)
The Patsy (1964) (Cameo)
A Man Called Adam (1966) (Cameo)
Land of No Return (1978)
Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got (1985) (documentary)
The Night of the Living Duck (1988) (short subject) (voice)
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988) (voice)
The Smell of Fear (1991) (Cameo)

Television work

The Mel Tormé Show (1951-1952)
TV's Top Tunes (host in 1951)
Summertime U.S.A. (1953) (Summer replacement series)
The Comedian (1957)
It Was a Very Good Year (1971) (Summer replacement series)
Pray TV (1982) (Cameo)
Hotel (1983) (pilot for series) (Cameo)
A Spinal Tap Reunion: The 25th Anniversary London Sell-Out (1992)
Seinfeld - episode "The Jimmy" (1995)

External links