Bob Manning (February 1, 1926 – October 23, 1997) was an American big band singer who was popular in the 1950s, and well known through his radio and television appearances.

Biography

Manning was born Manny Levin on February 1, 1926. Manning was first spotted on

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') was an American radio and television variety show which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting '' Arthur Godf ...

and first gained notice as

Ziggy Elman Harry Aaron Finkelman (May 26, 1914 – June 26, 1968), known professionally as Ziggy Elman, was an American jazz trumpeter associated with Benny Goodman, though he also led his group Ziggy Elman and His Orchestra. Early years Elman was born i ...

's vocalist after first touring with local bands and singing on local radio stations. He recorded for

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

with Elman and also with

Art Mooney Arthur Joseph Mooney (February 11, 1911 – September 9, 1993) was an American singer and bandleader. His biggest hits were "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" and "Baby Face" in 1948 and " Nuttin' For Christmas," with Barry Gordon, in 1955. ...

and

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

. Manning was a featured singer on ''Rhythm on the Road'', an hour-long weekly program on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

in 1955.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 553. In May 1954, Manning was a guest singer on

Dave Garroway David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's ''Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with depressi ...

's television program. Manning had hits as a soloist after signing to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, most notable in with a cover of

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

s, ''

The Nearness of You "The Nearness of You" is a popular song written in 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington. The song debuted in the 1938 movie Romance in the Dark. It is also heard in the 1940 recording In the Mood by Glenn Miller and His Orchest ...

'' Manning's stepson is actor and voice artist

Barry Gordon Barry Gordon (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Donatello ...

. Manning died of pneumonia on October 23, 1997, aged 71.

Albums

* ''Lonely Spell'' (1955,

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

) * ''Our Wedding Songs'' (1958,

Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heigh ...

) * ''Tommy Alexander Presents His Golden Trombones'' (1958,

; Manning on four tracks)

Hit singles

References

External links

Bob Manning's recording of ''The Nearness of You'' from Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Bob Capitol Records artists American male pop singers Traditional pop music singers 1926 births 1997 deaths Apollo Records artists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers