![]() ![]() In 1945, Como recorded the pop ballad "Till the End of Time" (based on Chopin's " Heroic Polonaise"), which marked the beginning of a highly successful career. Mitchell Ayres, who was Como's musical director from 1948 until 1963, was offered the job during a game of golf. Where previously Como needed to be hired by Freddy Carlone and Ted Weems, by 1948 he was now in the position to hire the band. Singers came into their own, most likely to some extent because of the strike, and the situation was reversed, with the bands becoming a "backdrop" for vocalists-a very positive career boost for Como and his counterparts. Prior to the strike, popular music had been focused on the big bands, where vocal performers were merely featured as part of their performances. Two versions of "Goodbye, Sue" were produced: one using a vocal chorus for backup commercially issued by RCA Victor and another made in 1944, with full orchestral accompaniment, available as a V-Disc only. The only exception to the musicians' strike or ban was for V-Discs after October 27, 1943, which were distributed to the American Armed Forces and not sold commercially. Como's first RCA Victor record, "Goodbye, Sue", was produced in this manner, along with other Como releases during the strike. One way the recording industry of the time found to circumvent the problem was to replace the bands with various vocal groups. RCA Victor promotional pinback for Perry Como Week. While Como and other vocalists were able to have the backing of a band for a live concert or radio show, that would disappear when they entered the recording studio. Union musicians were allowed to play for live appearances and radio programs, but not to participate in any recording sessions it was a means to force the record companies to pay royalties to their musical performers. ![]() When Perry Como signed his first RCA Victor contract on June 17, 1943, and made his first recording for the company three days later, the 1942–44 musicians' strike (also known as the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) recording ban) was in full force. Como has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio, television, and music. Posthumously, Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Perry Como received five Emmys from 1955 to 1959, a Christopher Award (1956) and shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956. His pronunciation and phrasing in both Hebrew and Yiddish were learned from a member of the Mitchell Ayres Orchestra, who was the son of a rabbi. While his performances of "Ave Maria" became traditional on his holiday shows, Como would not perform it for live concert appearances, despite the requests of his audiences, saying, "It's not the time or place to do it." In 1953, Perry Como recorded "Eli, Eli" and "Kol Nidrei", and performed the latter on his television shows each year at the appropriate time on the Jewish calendar. His first religious recordings, " Ave Maria" and " The Lord's Prayer", were recorded in 1949 in a church, with Como asking his parish priest to sit in on the recording sessions, to make certain they were done in the proper reverential tone. Ĭomo was also well known for his recordings and performances in the intimate Easy listening style and religious music of Christian and Jewish faiths. Over the decades, Como is reported to have sold millions of records, including at least fifteen of his singles selling over a million copies, but he commonly suppressed these figures. Como had so many recordings achieve gold-record status that he refused to have many of them certified. Perry Como was a prolific American recording artist for the RCA Victor label between 19, and is credited with numerous gold records. Perry Como in an RCA recording studio, circa mid 1970s. ![]()
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