Mel Tormé

Birthday: 13 September 1925, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Birth Name: Melvin Howard Torme

A professional singer at the age of three, Mel Torme was a genuine musical prodigy. As a teenager, he played the drums in Chico Marx's band and earned the nickname "The Velvet Fog" because of his smooth, mellow tenor voice. In the 1940s, he formed his own group, the Mel-Tones, one of the first jazz-influenced vocal groups. As a solo musician, he had a number one hit in 1949 called "Careless Hands" and several lesser hits. He also acted in films and wrote several books, including biographies of Judy Garland and Buddy Rich. Torme's career included some songwriting, too. One of his most well-known compositions, "The Christmas Song", was written in midsummer as Torme relaxed by the pool. Show less «

I have to confess that my way of singing is very much affected by my private life, or by anything th...Show more »

I have to confess that my way of singing is very much affected by my private life, or by anything that touches me personally. I am a man, not a machine. Show less «

One of the joys of a jazz singer is to try to keep a dimension of constant improvisation in relation...Show more »

One of the joys of a jazz singer is to try to keep a dimension of constant improvisation in relation to what he sings. But--and it's a big but--only if you never lose sight of the original musical value which the composer put in it. And above all, if you don't sacrifice the most important element of a popular song: the words. Show less «