Tormé, Mel (1925-1999)

One of the most versatile entertainers of all time, Mel Tormé, known as the "Velvet Fog," was one of America's most acclaimed vocalists as well as a composer-arranger, drummer, actor in films and television, and star performer on records and the live concert stage. In 1996, his 67th year in show business, he broke all records by performing for the twentieth consecutive year at both Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. The popular holiday classic "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire") is his best-known composition.

Born in Chicago, Tormé began his career at age four, singing on weekly radio broadcasts with the Coon-Sanders Nighthawk Band in 1929 and with Buddy Rogers and his Band in the early 1930s. When he was six, he worked regularly with vaudeville units around Chicago, and at nine he was cast as Jimmy the newsboy on the popular NBC radio soap opera Song of the City. Remaining as a regular in the show from 1934-40, Mel used his spare time to study drums and songwriting. At age fifteen he wrote his first hit song, "Lament to Love," which was recorded by Harry James in 1941. The following year he joined the Chico Marx Band in California as a drummer, singer, and arranger.

When the band broke up in July, 1943, the young singer's career began to soar. He made his debut in a feature film with Frank Sinatra in RKO's Higher and Higher, followed shortly by Pardon My Rhythm and Let's Go Steady, minor musicals with a high school setting. These two films featured the Mel-Tones, a singing group formed by students from Los Angeles City College, featuring Tormé as lead singer and arranger.

After serving in the army during World War II, Mel signed a contract with MGM studios. There he played in Good News (1947), a popular college film starring June Allison and Peter Lawford and featuring the "Varsity Drag." Mel also appeared in Words and Music (1948) with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. During the 1950s he recorded a string of hit records and toured widely on the concert stage as the leading jazz singer of the new "Cool School."

Making the transition to television in 1951, he starred with Peggy Lee on TV's Top Tunes, a summer replacement for The Perry Como Show. For the next two years he hosted a daily talk show on CBS. In 1957 he earned an Emmy nomination for best supporting actor in a Playhouse 90 production entitled "The Comedian." During this time he was frequently featured on television variety shows.

His career as an author began in 1963 when producer George Schlatter hired Mel to write scripts for The Judy Garland Show on CBS. His experiences in coping with the unpredictable star of the show led him to write The Other Side of the Rainbow, which was published by William Morrow and became a best seller. His later books include his autobiography, It Wasn't All Velvet, Drummin' Men: The Heartbeat of Jazz, the Swing Years, and The World of Gene Krupa: That Legendary Drummin' Man.

His long career includes appearances with most of America's best-known symphony orchestras. In 1983 Mel won the Grammy Award as Best Male Jazz Vocalist for the album An Evening with George Shearing and Mel Tormé. While performing at the White House for President and Mrs. Reagan the following year, he was told he had received a second Grammy for the album Top Drawer. As the aging superstar of pop music, Tormé won an even wider audience with frequent appearances as himself on the popular television comedy, Night Court. Tormé passed away in June of 1999.

—Benjamin Griffith

Further Reading:

Balliett, Whitney. American Singers: 23 Portraits in Song. New York, Oxford, 1988.

Friedwell, Will. Jazz Singing: America's Great Voices from Bessie Smith to Bebop and Beyond. New York, Da Capo, 1996.

Tormé, Mel. It Wasn't All Velvet: An Autobiography. New York, Viking, 1988.

——. My Singing Teachers: Reflections on Singing Popular Music. New York, Oxford, 1994.