Perry Como

Perry Como stood among the era's leading vocalists in the years spanning the close of World War II and the mid-'50s arrival of rock & roll. He refined a post-big-band style of pop by applying his own effortlessly smooth, relaxed delivery—shaped by Bing Crosby and Russ Columbo—to the era's hit songs across radio, television, and long-playing records. Although his initial formal crooning technique and the later easygoing approach plus taste for novelty numbers both drew heavily from Crosby's example, few artists matched Como's broad popularity in the early 1950s. He entered the world in 1912 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and was still employed as a singing barber in his hometown when, at twenty-one, he joined local bandleader Freddie Carlone's touring unit. In the mid-'30s he secured a major opportunity with Ted Weems & His Orchestra, the group fronting the widely heard radio program Beat the Band. Once that ensemble disbanded in 1942, Como took over a regional CBS broadcast that later adopted the title Supper Club; the program's popularity secured him an RCA Victor recording contract in 1943 and also led to his first Hollywood assignment on the film Something for the Boys.

Como achieved his decisive breakthrough with the 1945 motion picture A Song to Remember. His interpretation of "Till the End of Time" remained at number one for ten weeks and ranked as the year's most successful release. The singer's mellow baritone proved especially suited to ballads, yielding additional chart-topping successes between 1945 and 1947 with "Prisoner of Love," "Surrender," and "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go to Sleep)." NBC engaged him for a fresh radio series in 1948, the same year he moved into the new medium of television via the Chesterfield Supper Club. The program rose quickly in popularity and ultimately brought him four Emmy Awards. By the mid-'50s Como began favoring light novelty numbers whose titles frequently relied on playful nonsense syllables, among them "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Doo," "Hoop-Dee-Doo," "Pa-Paya Mama," and "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)." Although he often found the material unappealing, these pieces regularly produced major commercial successes.

The relaxed character of Como's earlier recordings had suited the opening years of the decade, yet his popularity diminished toward the close of the '50s amid the rise of rock & roll and a new generation of teen idols. His final number-one single, "Catch a Falling Star," appeared in 1958. Visibility decreased during the '60s, but he reemerged in 1970 with his first live concert in more than twenty years; a subsequent world tour followed, and the single "It's Impossible" reached the Top Ten late that year. Como kept issuing albums and occasional television specials while making occasional appearances through the '70s and '80s. On May 12, 2001, he passed away in his sleep at his Florida residence.