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Information on Perry Como's career.
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Perry Como's Career
In 1933 Perry Como joined Freddy Carlone's band in Ohio, and three years later moved up to Ted Weems' Orchestra and his first recording dates. The first recording was a novelty tune called "You Can't Pull the Wool Over My Eyes", recorded for the Decca Records label.
In 1942 Weems dissolved his band, and Como went on to CBS, where he sang for a couple of years without any conspicuous success. By this time the erstwhile barber had decided to return to Canonsburg, his family, and his barbering. Just as he was about to abandon his singing career once and for all, two NBC producers stepped in, returning him to show business for the NBC radio program Chesterfield Supper Club. Later he became a very successful performer in theater and nightclub engagements.
In 1945, Como recorded the pop ballad "Till the End of Time" (based on Chopin's "Heroic Polonaise"), which was the beginning of a highly successful career. Como was the first singer to have ten records sell more than one million copies. Also, his television show achieved a much higher rating than that of any other vocalist to date.
Como had, according to Joel Whitburn's compilations of the U.S. Pop Charts, no less than fourteen U.S. #1 singles: "Till The End Of Time" (1945); "Prisoner of Love" (1946); "Surrender" (1946); "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba" (1947); "A - You're Adorable" (1949); "Some Enchanted Evening" (1949); "Hoop-De-Doo" (1950); "If" (1951); "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes" (1952); "No Other Love" (1953); "Wanted" (1954); "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" (1956); "Round And Round" (1957); and "Catch A Falling Star" (1957).
On March 14, 1958, the RIAA certified Como's hit single, "Catch A Falling Star" as its first ever Gold Record. Perry Como won the 1958 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, male for "Catch a Falling Star." His final Top 40 hit was a cover of Don McLean's "And I Love You So", recorded in 1973.
Perry Como recorded many albums of songs for the RCA Victor label between 1952 and 1987, and is credited with numerous gold records. Como had so many recordings achieve gold-record status that he refused to have many of them certified. It was this characteristic which made him so different from his peers, and which endeared him to legions of fans throughout the world. Over the decades, Como is reported to have sold millions of records, but he commonly suppressed these figures.
By the 1980s, the atmosphere of recording had changed dramatically from Perry Como's early days at RCA Victor. Como's recording sessions had previously been filled with laughter and joy. In his 1959 recording of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town", listeners with headphones can hear him burst into laughter during one orchestra passage. But in later years, the sessions deteriorated into much more sombre occasions. For this reason, Perry Como walked away from his final studio-produced recordings in the early 1980s. He returned to record a final album for RCA with his trusted friend and associate Nick Perito in 1987. His recording of "The Wind Beneath My Wings" was almost autobiographical, a fitting end to a long and successful recording career. Como recorded only once more, in 1994, privately, for his well-known Christmas Concert in Ireland.
Perry Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.
Perry Como was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007.
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