Tony Perkins

During the closing years of the 1950s and the opening of the 1960s, numerous actors from cinema and small-screen productions ventured into the recording studio, yet Tony Perkins distinguished himself by avoiding the conventional path. Rather than crafting upbeat pop or rock tunes aimed at adolescents, his albums from 1957 and 1958 presented him in the guise of a nuanced jazz vocalist, evoking Chet Baker far more than Ricky Nelson. In 1932, as the offspring of a performer, Perkins resolved during adolescence to follow the same vocation. Initial theatrical appearances led to a short-lived engagement in the film capital, after which he returned eastward for studies at Columbia University. Settled in New York, he secured roles in theatrical productions and nascent television features. His rendition of "A Little Love Goes a Long, Long Way" within a Goodyear Playhouse episode titled Joey prompted Epic Records to offer him a contract. The ensuing self-titled album, crafted in 1957 under the arrangements of Marty Paich, yielded the single "Moon-Light Swim," which approached the upper reaches of the Top 40. Although he issued a pair of additional long-players for RCA Victor in 1958, an Academy Award nomination for his role in Friendly Persuasion prompted Perkins to concentrate once more on his screen career, resulting in no further musical releases.