Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

er,

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording and another for radio performance.

Early life

Monroe was born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, United States. He graduated from Jeannette High School in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in 1929, where he was senior class president and voted "Most Likely to Succeed". After graduation, he attended

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

, where he was an active member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. Monroe attended New England Conservatory for one semester in 1935, studying voice with Clarence B. Shirley.

Career

Monroe formed his first orchestra in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1940 and became its principal vocalist. He began recording for RCA Victor's subsidiary Bluebird label. That same year, Monroe built ''The Meadows'', a restaurant and nightclub to the west of

Massachusetts Route 9 Route 9 is a major east–west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with U.S. Route 20 (US 20), Route 2, and Interstate 90, Route 9 is one of the major east–west routes of Massachusetts. The western terminus is near the center of the cit ...

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a pop ...

. After he ceased performing, he continued running the club until his death in 1973. The summer of 1942 brought a 13-week engagement on radio, as Monroe and his orchestra had a summer replacement program for '' Blondie'' 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 Entertainm ...

. Monroe hosted the ''

Camel Caravan A camel train or caravan is a series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or semi-regular service between points. Despite rarely travelling faster than human walking speed, for centuries camels' ability to withstand harsh condi ...

'' radio program from The Meadows, starting in 1946 and, during this time, was featured in a Camel cigarettes commercial. In 1952, Monroe and his orchestra had a weekly program on Saturday nights on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

radio. Those programs originated on location from wherever the band happened to be touring. Each program featured a focus on a college in the United States. The Meadows burned to the ground in December 1980 after sitting shuttered and vacant for a number of years. Monroe was tall and handsome, which helped him as a band leader and singer, as well as in Hollywood. He was sometimes called "the Baritone with Muscles", "the Voice with Hair on its Chest", "Ol' Leather Tonsils", or "Leather Lungs". Monroe recorded extensively for RCA Victor until 1956, and his signature tune was "Racing With the Moon" (1941). It sold more than one million copies by 1952, becoming Monroe's first million-seller, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the RIAA. Among his other hits were " In the Still of the Night" (1939), "

There I Go There may refer to: * ''There'' (film), a 2009 Turkish film (Turkish title: ''Orada'') * ''There'' (virtual world) *''there'', a deictic adverb in English *''there'', an English pronoun used in phrases such as '' there is'' and ''there are'' { ...

" (1941), "

There I've Said It Again "There! I've Said It Again" is a popular song written and published by Redd Evans and David Mann in 1941. In early 1945, Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra released Victor 20-1637, which reached the number one position on the Billboard's Natio ...

" (1945), "

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heat wave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions ...

" (1946), "

Ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

" (1947), "

Melody Time ''Melody Time'' is a 1948 American live-action/animated musical film produced by Walt Disney. The tenth Disney animated feature film, it was released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of seven segments set to popular mu ...

" (1948), " Riders in the Sky" (1949), "

Someday (You'll Want Me To Want You) "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You" is a popular song published in 1944 by Jimmie Hodges. The song became a standard, recorded by many pop and country music singers. Background In April 1951, Hugh O. Starr, an inventor from Steubenville, Ohio, ...

" (1949), " Sound Off" (1951), and " In the Middle of the House" (1956). He also turned down the chance to record "

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...

".Wertz, Marjori
"Singer Vaughn Monroe's road to stardom went through Jeannette"
February 9, 2007 ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'' via Vaughn Monroe Society. Monroe's orchestra had a number of excellent musicians including future jazz guitar great

Bucky Pizzarelli John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist. He was the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and double bassist Martin Pizzarelli. He worked for NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett (1971) ...

. While their musical focus was largely romantic ballads, in person, the band had a fiercely swinging side only occasionally captured on record. In ballrooms, Monroe often reserved the final set of the evening for unrestrained, swinging music. Movies also beckoned, although he did not pursue it with vigor. Monroe appeared in ''

Meet the People ''Meet the People'' (1944) is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film, musical comedy film made, and set, during World War II, and starring Lucille Ball and Dick Powell and featuring Virginia O'Brien, Bert Lahr, Rags Ragland and June Allyson. The film ...

'' (1944), '' Carnegie Hall'' (1947), ''

Singing Guns ''Singing Guns'' is a 1950 American Trucolor Western film directed by R. G. Springsteen and starring Vaughn Monroe. The film features three songs by Monroe. " Mule Train", one of the songs featured in this 1950 Republic Western and sung by ...

'' (1950), and '' Toughest Man in Arizona'' (1952). He co-authored ''The Adventures of Mr. Putt Putt'' (1949), a children's book about airplanes and flying, a personal interest of his. Vaughn Monroe Susie Scott Dan Blocker Bonanza 1962

Vaughn Monroe Susie Scott Dan Blocker Bonanza 1962

He hosted ''The Vaughn Monroe Show'' on CBS Television (1950–51, 1954–55) and appeared on '' Bonanza'', ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into natio ...

'', ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

'', ''

Texaco Star Theatre ''Texaco Star Theater'' was an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave Mi ...

'', ''

The Jackie Gleason Show ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms. ''Cavalcade of Stars'' Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMon ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'', and '' American Bandstand''. He was a major stockholder in RCA and appeared in print ads and television commercials for the company's television and audio products. After leaving the performing end of show business, he remained with RCA for many years as a television spokesperson, executive, and talent scout. In the latter capacity, he helped give

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

, among others, his first major exposure. He was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording at 1600 Vine Street and one for radio at 1755 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.

Personal life

Monroe married Marian Baughman on April 2, 1940, in

Jeannette, Pennsylvania Jeannette is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Jeannette was founded in 1888. The city got its name from one of the original city fathers, who wished to honor his wife, Jeannette McLaughlin, by giving the new town her fi ...

, where they had met as high school students. They did not date during high school, but became romantically inclined toward each other when their paths crossed again in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, years after graduation. They returned to Jeannette for their wedding. They had two children, Candace (born 1941) and Christina (born 1944). They remained married until Vaughn's death in 1973. Monroe was an avid railroad enthusiast. He collected and built HO scale model trains. On concert tours he had an elaborate and compact workshop that folded neatly into a valise. Inside were hundreds of intricate tools to build operating miniature locomotives, passenger & freight cars.Model Railroader Magazine; June 1986; John Page author Monroe was a licensed pilot and often flew his own Lockheed 12A airplane to tour dates.

Death

Monroe died on May 21, 1973, at Martin County Memorial Hospital in Florida, shortly after having stomach surgery for a bleeding ulcer. He was buried in Fernhill Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum in Stuart, Florida.

Monroe Orchestra personnel

Moonmaids The Moonmaids (sometimes styled as two words: Moon Maids) were an American female jazz and popular vocal quartet that started out as college student entertainers under the name "North Texas Swingtet." As the Swingtet, they launched and performed ...

, a female vocal quartet (1946 to 1952) *

Frank L. Ryerson Frank Layton Ryerson (3 July 1905 in Paterson, New Jersey – 15 May 1995 in Clearwater, Florida) was an American trumpeter, composer, arranger and educator. ''ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, Third edition,'' compiled for the American Society of C ...

, arranger & trumpeter (1944) * Ziggy Talent * George Robinson, Trombone (1944–1945) * Andrew (Andy) Bagni, Lead Saxophone (1939–1958) *

, Guitar * Joe Connie, Lead Trombone * Johnny Watson, Arranger, Baritone Saxophone * Wedo Marasco, Alto Saxophone *

Red Nichols Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols (May 8, 1905 – June 28, 1965) was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader. Biography Early life and career Nichols was born in Ogden, Utah, United States. His father was a college music profes ...

, Jazz Trumpet * Mike Shelby, Piano * Maree Lee, Vocalist (Moonmaids) * Tinker Cunningham, Vocalist (Moonmaids) * Babe Feldman, Tenor Saxophone * Jack Fay, String Bass * Gerry Bruno, String Bass * Mary Jo Grogan, (Moonmaids) * Art Dedrick, Trombone, Arranger * Ray Conniff, Trombone * Eddie Julian, Drums * Benny West, Trumpet * June Hiett, Moonmaids * Arnold Ross, Piano *

Don Costa Dominick P. "Don" Costa (June 10, 1925 – January 19, 1983) was an American conductor and record producer. He discovered singer Paul Anka and worked on several hit albums by Frank Sinatra, including ''Sinatra and Strings'' and '' My Way''. ...

, Arranger *

Marilyn Duke Marilyn (Marylin) Duke ''(née'' Manfrey Lecta Duke; October 3, 1916 Jackson, Georgia – August 7, 1995 Clayton County, Georgia), was an American singer from the swing era of the mid to late 1930s and early 1940s. She began as a soloist in 1933 ...

, vocalist * Betty Norton, Moonmaids * Arlene Truax, Moonmaids * Katie Myatt, Moonmaids * Jerry Bruno, bassist * Dino DiGiano, Trumpet (1941) * Bobby Rickey, Drums

Singles

References

External links

Vaughn Monroe Big Band Era Singer

(as listed on the Vaughn Monroe Appreciation Society website)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monroe, Vaughn 1911 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century trumpeters American bandleaders American crooners American male trumpeters American trumpeters Big band bandleaders Bluebird Records artists Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Dot Records artists Jubilee Records artists Musicians from Akron, Ohio Musicians from Pittsburgh New England Conservatory alumni People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania RCA Victor artists Singers from Pennsylvania Traditional pop music singers