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A sportcoat as part of a smart-casual look.

A sportcoat, sports coat or sports jacket, is a tailored jacket for men. Though it is of a similar cut and length to a suit jacket there are many differences. First, it is less formal. Also it is designed to be worn on its own and does not come as part of a suit. Styles, fabrics, colours and patterns are also more varied; sturdier and thicker fabrics are most often used, such as tweed, and in particular Harris Tweed from the north-west of Scotland.

Originally, sports coats were worn as casual attire for hunting and other outdoor sports (hence the name). With time, they have come to be seen as more formal, sometimes being used in school uniforms as at Summer Fields School in England.^[1]

Variant types[link]

A shooting jacket is a type of sports coat worn, as the name suggests, originally in the sports of shooting or hunting. It usually comes with a leather patch on the front shoulder to prevent wear from the butt of a shotgun or rifle, frequently with matching leather patches on the elbow.

A hacking jacket is a wool sports coat for casual horseback riding, often of tweed and traditionally with a single vent.

A blazer is similar to a sports coat but more closely resembles a suit jacket, and is tailored from solid color or striped fabrics. Blazers are often made with metal buttons reflecting its origins in the sport of boating, though this is not necessarily a defining feature.^[2]

See also[link]

• Blouson

Notes[link]

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Harry Rosen

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2008)

Harry Rosen, CM (born 1931) is the Founder and Executive Chairman of the Canadian luxury men's wear store Harry Rosen Inc.

Early life[link]

Born and raised in Toronto, Rosen lived for a short time in Callander, Ontario. As a teenager he found a job at a tailoring factory for men's clothes. There he learned about the making of clothing and, more importantly, about men's shopping habits.

After dropping out of high school he decided to open a men's clothing store.

Career[link]

With help from a family friend and connections in the cloth manufacturing business, he was able to open Harry Rosen Inc., on February 4, 1954 in Cabbagetown, Toronto, with his brother Lou.

In 1961, the store moved to Toronto's downtown core on Richmond Street. That year Stann Burkhoff, an advertising executive, came in to shop. Rosen and Burkhoff became friends and Burkhoff arranged to do some ads for the store in exchange for two suits - one for him and one for his art director. Together, they developed the 'Ask Harry' campaign. These ads ran in Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. It was so successful that people from across the country began coming to Harry Rosen.

Novel advertisements[link]

He has a long history of advertising in The Globe and Mail. One memorable ad features Rosen having just locked up his store for the evening, when he notices one of his window mannequins reading the Globe and Mail; Rosen is also carrying a copy in his arm while there is also one of the newspaper's vending boxes in the background of the street.

Upon spelling the name of Winnipeg wrong after opening the city's first store there, Rosen later took out an ad in the Winnipeg Free Press saying "I will not spell Winnipegger as "Winnippegger".

When the original main store was burned down, Rosen took out an ad which was almost mistaken for an Obituary.

Personal life[link]

Rosen has been married to his wife, Evelyn, for over 50 years. They have 4 children and 7 grandchildren. His eldest son, Larry, is the CEO of Harry Rosen Inc.

Philanthropy[link]

Rosen has been active in the Canadian Paraplegic Association, Corporate Fund for Breast Cancer, Cancer Care Fund, Mount Sinai Friends for Life Campaign, Ryerson University Board of Governors, George Brown Board of Governors, University of Western Ontario Board of Governors, Design Exchange and the United Jewish Appeal. He served a three year term as Campaign Chairman for the Canadian Cancer Society, Metropolitan Toronto.

In 2004, he served on the Mt. Sinai Board of Governors, Ryerson B.Com program in retailing advisory board and on the Cabinet of Major Individual Gifts for the United Way of Canada.

He appeared in a promotional campaign for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to promote services for those affected by addiction and mental health issues in the Toronto area.

In April 2010 he was honoured at a fundraising event for The University Health Network called "Hats Off To Harry" ^[1]

Awards[link]

• 1987 — Retail Marketer of the Year by the Retail Council of Canada
• 2001 — Retail Council of Canada's Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2003 — Honorary Doctorate in Commerce, Ryerson University
• 2004 — Order of Canada.
• 2005 — the Pitti Immagine Uomo Award from the Italian fashion community

References[link]

External links[link]

• Harry Rosen Bio
• Harry Rosen Consulting
• Men's wear proved perfect fit for Rosen

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. One of the most popular and successful country and Western singers of his era, for most of his nearly four-decade career, Robbins was rarely far from the country music charts, and several of his songs also became pop hits.

Biography[link]

Robbins was born in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona. He was reared in a difficult family situation. His father took odd jobs to support the family of ten children. His father's drinking led to divorce in 1937. Among his warmer memories of his childhood, Robbins recalled having listened to stories of the American West told by his maternal grandfather, Texas Bob Heckle. Robbins left the troubled home at the age of 17 to serve in the United States Navy as an LCT coxswain during World War II. He was stationed in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. To pass the time during the war, he learned to play the guitar, started writing songs, and came to love Hawaiian music.

After his discharge from the military in 1945, he began to play at local venues in Phoenix, then moved on to host his own show on KTYL. He thereafter had his own television show on KPHO-TV in Phoenix. After Little Jimmy Dickens made a guest appearance on Robbins' TV show, Dickens got Robbins a record deal with Columbia Records. Robbins became known for his appearances at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.

In addition to his recordings and performances, Robbins was an avid race car driver, competing in 35 career NASCAR races with six top 10 finishes,^[2] including the 1973 Firecracker 400.^[3] In 1967, Robbins played himself in the car racing film Hell on Wheels.^[4] Robbins was partial to Dodges, and owned and raced Chargers and then a 1978 Dodge Magnum. His last race was in a Junior Johnson-built 1982 Buick Regal in the Atlanta Journal 500 on November 7, 1982, the month before he died. In 1983, NASCAR honored Robbins by naming the annual race at Nashville the Marty Robbins 420. He was also the driver of the 60th Indianapolis 500 Buick Century pace car in 1976.

He ran many of the big super speedway races including Talladega Superspeedway in 1972, when he stunned the competition by turning laps that were 15 mph faster than his qualifying time. Apparently, in his motel room, Robbins had knocked the NASCAR-mandated restrictors out of his carburetor. After the race, NASCAR tried to give him the Rookie of the Race award, but Robbins would not accept it, admitting he was illegal because he "just wanted to see what it was like to run up front for once."

Robbins was awarded an honorary degree by Northern Arizona University.

On September 27, 1948, Robbins married Marizona Baldwin (September 11, 1930–July 10, 2001) to whom he dedicated his song "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife". They had two children, a son Ronny (born 1949) and daughter Janet (born 1959), who also followed a singing career in Los Angeles, California.

Robbins later portrayed a musician in the 1982 Clint Eastwood film Honkytonk Man. Robbins died a few weeks before the film's release in December 1982 of complications following cardiac surgery. At the time of his death, Robbins lived in Brentwood in Williamson County, outside Nashville. He was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville. The city of El Paso, Texas later honored Robbins by naming a park and a recreational center after him. Marty's twin sister Mamie Ellen Robinson Minotto died on March 14, 2004, when she was part way through writing a book about her brother "Some Memories: Growing up with Marty Robbins" as remembered by Mamie Minotto, as told to Andrew Means. It was published in January 2007.

Music and honors[link]

Robbins' 1957 recording of "A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[5] His musical accomplishments include the Grammy Award for his 1959 hit and signature song "El Paso", taken from his album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. "El Paso" was the first song to hit No. 1 on the pop chart in the 1960s. It was followed up, successfully, by "Don't Worry", which reached No. 3 on the pop chart in 1961, becoming his third, and last, Top 10 pop hit. "El Paso" was followed by two sequels: "Feleena" and "El Paso City", both of which continued the story featured in the original song. Also in 1961, Robbins wrote the words and music and recorded "I Told the Brook," a ballad later recorded by Billy Thorpe.

He won the Grammy Award for the Best Country & Western Recording 1961, for his follow-up album More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, and was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1970, for "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife". Robbins was named Artist of the Decade (1960–69) by the Academy of Country Music, was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982, and was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998 for his song "El Paso".

Robbins was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975. For his contribution to the recording industry, Robbins has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6666 Hollywood Blvd.

Robbins has been honored by many bands, including the Grateful Dead who covered "El Paso". The Who's 2006 album Endless Wire includes the song "God Speaks of Marty Robbins". The song's composer, Pete Townshend, explained that the song is about God deciding to create the universe just so he can hear some music, "and most of all, one of his best creations, Marty Robbins."^[6] The Beasts of Bourbon released a song called "The Day Marty Robbins Died" on their 1984 debut album The Axeman's Jazz. Johnny Cash recorded a version of "Big Iron" as part of his American Recordings series, which is included in the Cash Unearthed box set. Both Frankie Laine and Elvis Presley, among others, recorded versions of Robbins' song "You Gave Me a Mountain", with Laine's recording reaching the pop and adult contemporary charts in 1969.

Robbins performed and recorded several songs by longtime songwriter Coleman Harwell, most notably "Thanks But No Thanks" in 1964; Robbins and his producers employed the top sessions musicians and singers including the Jordanaires to record Harwell's songs. Harwell is the nephew of former Nashville Tennessean newspaper editor Coleman Harwell.

When Robbins was recording his 1961 hit "Don't Worry", session guitarist Grady Martin accidentally created the electric guitar "fuzz" effect -- his guitar was run through a faulty channel in a mixing console. Marty decided to keep it in the final version. The song reached No. 1 on the country chart, and No. 3 on the pop chart.

Robbins' song "Big Iron", originally released on his 1959 album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, gained renewed popularity following its use in the video game Fallout: New Vegas.

NASCAR[link]

Marty loved NASCAR racing and as he had the funds to do so, he raced occasionally. His cars were built and maintained by Cotton Owens. Marty Robbins ran typically at Talladega Superspeedway, Daytona International Speedway, and many other tracks. In 1983, one year after Robbins' death, NASCAR named the Nashville Fair Grounds race the Marty Robbins 420 in honor of him. Robbins typically ran either #42 or #22. He typically ran Dodge Daytonas or Fords. His final racecar, a 1978 Dodge Magnum, was superbly restored and donated to the Talledega Museum by his family, and was displayed there from 1983 to 2008. The car is now in private hands in Southern California and raced on the Vintage NASCAR club circuit.

Discography[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• IMDb Bio Retrieved on 2008-01-25
• Pruett, Barbara J. "Marty Robbins: Fast Cars and Country Music". Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. 2007. ISBN 0-8108-6036-8
• Diekman, Diane "Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins" (Music in American Life). 2012.
• "Fallout: New Vegas" Big Iron is used on Radio New Vegas
• Marty Robbins can also be heard in Silent Hill Downpour.

External links[link]

• Official Marty Robbins Web site
• Robbins page at Country Music Hall of Fame
• Robbins page at Western Music Association
• Robbins page at Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
• Robbins bio by Hank Davis at Allmusic
• Robbins page by Gaylen Duskey at NASCAR
• The short film Country Style USA Recruitment: Episode 8 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• The short film Country Style USA Recruitment: Episode 34 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut song by the British band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart^[1] on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached #5 on the US charts, as well. It is one of the fewer than 30 all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) copies worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

With its haunting Bach-flavoured instrumental melody, soulful vocals, and unusual lyrics—by the song's co-authors Gary Brooker, Keith Reid,^[2] and Matthew Fisher-- "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached #1 in several countries when released in 1967. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. It was the most played song in the last 75 years in public places in the UK (as of 2009),^[3] and the United Kingdom performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited in 2004 recognised it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years.^[4] Also in 2004, Rolling Stone placed "A Whiter Shade of Pale" #57 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

More than 1000 recorded cover versions by other artists are known.^[5] The song has been included in many music compilations over the decades and has also been used in the soundtracks of numerous films, including The Big Chill, Purple Haze, Breaking the Waves, The Boat That Rocked and notably in Martin Scorsese's segment of New York Stories. Cover versions of the song have also been featured in many films, for example by King Curtis in Withnail and I and by Annie Lennox in The Net.

The original writing credits were for Brooker and Reid only. On 30 July 2009, Matthew Fisher won co-writing credit for the music in a unanimous ruling from the Law Lords.

Recording and personnel[link]

The song was performed and recorded at Olympic Studios in London, England with Gary Brooker providing the vocals and piano, Matthew Fisher on a Hammond M-102 organ, David Knights on bass and Ray Royer on guitar. Drums were by session drummer Bill Eyden. A few days later, the song was re-recorded with the band's then newly-recruited drummer Bobby Harrison. That version, though, was considered inferior^{[citation needed]} and one of the original mono recordings was chosen for release.

Producer for the record was Denny Cordell and Keith Grant was the sound engineer.^[6]

The song was included on the original U.S. release of the Procol Harum album, but not on the UK version.

Lyrics[link]

Reid got the title and the starting point for the song at a party. He overheard someone at the party saying to a woman, "You've turned a whiter shade of pale," and the phrase stuck in his mind.^[7][8] The original lyrics had four verses, of which only two are heard on the original recording. The third verse has been heard in live performances by Procol Harum, and more seldom also the fourth.^[9] The author of Procol Harum: beyond the pale, Claes Johansen, suggests that the song "deals in metaphorical form with a male/female relationship which after some negotiation ends in a sexual act."^[8] This is supported by Tim de Lisle in Lives of the Great Songs, who remarks that the lyrics concern a drunken seduction, which is described through references to sex as a form of travel, usually nautical, using mythical and literary journeys.^[10] Other observers have also commented that the lyrics concern a sexual relationship.^[7]

Structurally and thematically, the song is unusual in many respects. While the recorded version is 4:03 long, it is composed of only two verses, each with chorus. The piece is also more instrument-driven than most songs of the period, and with a much looser rhyme scheme. Its unusually allusive and referential lyrics are much more complex than most lyrics of the time (for example, the chorus focuses on Chaucer's The Miller's Tale). Thus, this piece can be thought of as a forerunner to the progressive rock that would reach its zenith about ten years later.

The phrase a whiter shade of pale has since gained widespread use in the English language, noticed by several dictionaries.^[11][12][13] As such, the phrase is today often used in contexts independent of any consideration of the song. (See ^[14] for many annotated examples complete with links to original sources.) It has also been heavily paraphrased, in forms like an Xer shade of Y--this to the extent that it has been recognised^[15][16] as a snowclone – a type of cliché and phrasal template.

Composition[link]

The song is in moderate time, in C major, and is characterised by the bassline moving stepwise downwards in a repeated pattern throughout. In classical music this is known as a ground bass. The harmonic structure is identical for the organ melody, the verse and the chorus, except that the chorus finishes with a cadence. The main organ melody appears at the beginning and after each verse/chorus. But it is also heard throughout, playing variations of its theme and counterpointing the vocal line. Both the vocal and the organ accompaniment reach a crescendo at the beginning of the chorus "And so it was, and later ..."; where the organist rapidly runs his finger down and up the entire keyboard. The final instrumental fades out to silence - a common device in pop music of the time.

The Hammond organ line of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's "Sleepers, Wake!" and "Air on the G String" - both of which use a similar stepwise bass motion. But contrary to popular belief, the song is not a direct copy or paraphrase of any music by Bach,^[17] although it makes clear references to both pieces. This similarity is referred to in the 1982 play The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard and the 1991 film The Commitments. A yet closer melodic influence that is seldom cited can arguably^{[weasel words]} be found in the organ choral prelude "O Mensch bewein dein' Sünde groß" (O Man, Lament Your Sin So Great), BWV 622, from Bach's Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book). The music also borrows ideas from "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge.^[18]

Reception[link]

The single was released on 12 May 1967 by Deram Records and entered the UK charts on 25 May. In two weeks it reached number one where it stayed for six weeks, and on the UK chart for a total of 15 weeks. A May 1972 re-release on Fly Records stayed in the UK charts for a total of 12 weeks, and reached number 13 as highest. In the US, it reached #5 and sold over one million copies. In the Netherlands it entered the chart at number one in June 1967 and again reached number one in July 1972.

Chart positions: # 1 (UK), # 1 (the Netherlands), # 1 (Germany), # 1 (Ireland), # 1 (Australia), # 1 (World), # 3 (Norway VG-lista), # 5 (USA Hot 100). "A Whiter Shade of Pale" also managed to peak at number twenty-two on the soul charts in the U.S.^[19]

Over time, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has earned extensive critical acclaim:

• John Lennon was a great fan of the song and was known to have played it repeatedly in his Rolls Royce. When it was released in England, Lennon (and friends in his circle) reportedly confused Brooker's soulful vocals with Steve Winwood, who had popularity at the time with The Spencer Davis Group.
• It was named joint winner (along with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", which also uses the word 'fandango') of the Best British Pop Single 1952–1977 at the BRIT Awards, part of Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee.
• #57 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.
• British TV station Channel 4 placed the song at #19 in its chart of the 100 greatest number one singles.^[20]

Authorship lawsuit[link]

In 2005, former Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher filed suit in the High Court against Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming that he co-wrote the music for the song.^[21]

Fisher won the case on 20 December 2006 but was awarded 40% of the composers' share of the music copyright, rather than the 50% he was seeking and was not granted royalties prior to 2005.^[22]

Gary Brooker and publisher Onward Music were granted leave to appeal, and a hearing on the matter was held before a panel of three judges during the week of 1 October 2007. The decision, on 4 April 2008, by Lord Justice Mummery, in the Court of Appeal upheld Fisher's co-authorship^[23] but ruled that he should receive no royalties as he had taken too long (38 years) to bring his claim to litigation. Full royalty rights were returned to Brooker.^[24]

On 5 November 2008, Matthew Fisher was granted permission to appeal this decision to the House of Lords.^[25] Lawyers say it is the first time the Law Lords have been asked to rule on a copyright dispute involving a song.^[26] The appeal was heard in the House of Lords on 22–23 April 2009.^[27]

On 30 July 2009 the Law Lords unanimously ruled in Fisher's favour. They noted that the delay in bringing the case had not caused any harm to the other party; on the contrary they had benefited financially from it. They also pointed out that there were no time limits to copyright claims under English law. The right to future royalties was therefore returned to Fisher.^[28][29] The musicological basis of the judgment, and its effect on the rights of musicians who contribute composition to future works, has drawn some attention in the music world.^[30]

Video[link]

The first video for the song was shot in the ruins of Witley Court in Worcestershire, England.^[31] The Witley Court video features four of the five musicians who played on the hit single: Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher, David Knights and Ray Royer, in performance and walking through the ruins. Only the drummer in the video isn't on the record: early band member Bobby Harrison is seen miming to session man Bill Eyden's drumming. According to Shindig! Magazine's Procol Harum cover story by Alan Robinson (November–December 2009 issue – page 55), the video was directed by Peter Clifton whose insertion of Vietnam War newsreel footage caused it to be banned from airplay on the "Top of the Pops" TV show. The band subsequently made another video using "Scopitone" technology, but by this time, Robin Trower and B.J. Wilson had replaced Royer and Harrison in the band, so only three of the five musicians on the recording are represented, and no performance footage included – only the five musicians cavorting around London, running across fields, etc. This lineup, with Fisher in a monk's cowl, also mimed to the song on Top of the Pops, (though Gary Brooker sang live) and black and white footage of this performance has been shown online, perhaps constituting the third video of the song from 1967. (See also its inclusion on the 'Top of the Pops 40th Anniversary 1964–2004 DVD'.)

There was also a video shot as part of Joel Gallen's Deja-View music video series.^[32] Originally airing on various networks in late 1985 through 1986, this video starred Harry Dean Stanton and Bernie Taupin, but featured no member of the band. It has also aired on VH1 Classic, and has recently surfaced online.^[33][34]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bill Eyden Obituary
• Procol Harum — A Whiter Shade Of Pale, live video from Eagle Rock Entertainment's official channel on YouTube
• A Whiter Shade of Pale: authorised lyrics of all four verses

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2008)

Johnny Desmond
Desmond in 1953.
Background information
Born	Giovanni Alfredo De Simone (1919-11-14)November 14, 1919 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	September 6, 1985(1985-09-06) (aged 65) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	traditional pop
Years active	1939–1950s
Labels	Decca, Okeh, Columbia, RCA Victor, MGM, Coral
Website	Susan Liddell's Johnny Desmond Fan site

Johnny Desmond (November 14, 1919–September 6, 1985), born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone, was a popular American singer.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

He was born in Detroit, Michigan; and as a boy, sang on a local radio station, but at age 15 he quit to work at his father's grocery. He still retained a love of music, however, and briefly attended the Detroit Conservatory of Music before heading to the nightclub circuit, playing piano and singing.

In 1939 he formed his own singing group. The group was first called the Downbeats, but after being hired to work with Bob Crosby's big band in 1940, it was renamed the Bob-O-Links. The group appeared on 15 commercial recordings by the Crosby orchestra, including two charted hits, "You Forgot About Me" (which reached No. 15), and "Do You Care?" (No. 18).

War years[link]

In the middle of 1941 Desmond decided to leave the Bob-O-Links to go solo. He became the featured vocalist for Gene Krupa's band, replacing Howard Dulaney, in September, recording over a dozen songs, the last of which was "All Those Wonderful Years", a song from the movie Keep 'em Flying, which reached No. 21 on the US charts.

In 1942 he enlisted in the United States Army, but his military service was in fact a continuation of his singing career. He was a member of Glenn Miller's Army Air Forces Orchestra and from November 1943 until some time in 1944 he toured Europe, mainly serving as a replacement for Tony Martin. He made a number of radio broadcasts with the Miller band and was even given his own show by the British Broadcasting Corporation, "A Soldier and a Song."

Postwar era[link]

When the war ended, he took a job on The Breakfast Club, a radio variety program out of Chicago. He made a number of charted hit recordings: "Don't You Remember Me?" (recorded 1946, reaching No. 21 on the charts), "Guilty" (recorded December 6, 1946, reaching No. 12), "C'est si bon" (recorded May 11, 1949, reaching No. 25), "Don't Cry, Joe" (recorded May 21, 1949, reaching No. 22), "Just Say I Love Her" (recorded January 20, 1950, reaching No. 24), "The Picnic Song" (recorded April 1, 1950, reaching No. 20), "Because of You" (recorded February 10, 1951, reaching No. 17), and "Woman" (recorded September 15, 1953, reaching No. 9). On September 24, 1953 he joined with Don Cornell and Alan Dale to record "The Gang that Sang 'Heart of My Heart'," a No. 10 hit on the chart. During this time he was switching recording companies frequently. The 1946 recordings were made for RCA Victor, the 1949-51 recordings for MGM, and the 1953 recordings for Coral Records.

In the 1940s and 1950s, many artists would record the same song at about the same time, and some chart hits for Desmond were also major hits for other singers. Thus "Guilty" (No. 12 for Desmond) was an even bigger hit for Margaret Whiting, with a No. 4 position. "Because of You" (No. 17 for Desmond) was a No. 1 hit for Tony Bennett. "The High and the Mighty" (No. 17 for Desmond) was No. 4 for Les Baxter and his Orchestra. And the Desmond/Dale/Cornell version of "Heart of My Heart" reached No. 10, but the Four Aces' version peaked at No. 7 on the charts.

In some cases, Desmond's version was the biggest hit. Teresa Brewer also recorded "The Picnic Song" but her version did not chart. "Woman" was recorded by José Ferrer (back to back with a recording of "Man" by his wife, Rosemary Clooney), but Desmond's was the bigger version in the US (though the UK Singles Chart favored the Ferrer recording). In addition, Desmond also recorded a number of versions of songs that did not chart but became hits for other singers: for example, "Mister and Mississippi" (a hit for Patti Page) and "Too Young" (a hit for Nat King Cole).

In 1957, Desmond joined Boris Karloff in a guest appearance on NBC's The Gisele MacKenzie Show. In 1958, he was cast as a regular, Jim Kendall, in Joan Caulfield's short-lived NBC sitcom, Sally.^[1]

Later years[link]

On Broadway, Desmond appeared in Say, Darling (1958) and as Nicky Arnstein in Funny Girl, after Sydney Chaplin left the cast.^[2]

Desmond died of cancer in Los Angeles, California at the age of 65.

External references[link]

• Susan Liddell's Johnny Desmond Fan site
• Article on Desmond on The Interlude Era website
• umkc.edu/lib/spec-col

References[link]