Singing Was the Easy Part

by Damone, Vic; Chanoff, David; King, Larry

• ISBN13: 9780312570262
• ISBN10: 0312570260
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-06
• Publisher: Griffin

Summary

Vic Damone is one of the enduring legends of American pop music. His early days were spent as an usher who longed to take the stage at New York City's legendary Paramount Theater. On August 30, 1947, he got his wish when his first hit "I Have But One Heart" reached #7 on the Billboard Chart. Befriended by Frank Sinatra and encouraged by legends like Perry Como and Tommy Dorsey, Damone had one of the greatest voices ever recorded covering such Lerner and Loewe classics as "On the Street Where You Live" and "Gigi" while making other numbers, like "You Do", his own. In "Singing Was the Easy Part", Damone tells the whole story of his life - and what a life it's been! A mob boss tried to throw him out the window of the Edison Hotel in New York City when he broke off an engagement to the boss's daughter. He was married to a string of glamorous women including the beautiful Anna Pierangeli and the tempestuous Diahann Carroll. When he got to Hollywood, Judy Garland gave him his first screen test, he got drunk for the first time with Ava Gardner at Chasens and he went golfing regularly with George Burns and Jack Benny. Oh yeah, there's also the story about how he took a nude chorus girl into the steam room of the Sands Hotel where Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin were relaxing between shows. All that - and much more - makes "Singing Was the Easy Part" a rollicking star-studded memoir from the great Vic Damone.

Author Biography

With seven gold records and innumerable hits, Vic Damone was one of the greatest expositors of the American Songbook.  Frank Sinatra said he had “the best pipes in the business.”  Luciano Pavarotti called him simply “The Voice.”

David Chanoff has written on foreign policy, education, literary history, and other subjects for such publications as the New York Times, The American Scholar, and The Washington Post. His sixteen books include collaborations with former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, former surgeon general Joycelyn Elders, and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff William Crowe.    

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Foreword	p. xi
Stardust on His Shoulders	p. 1
Frank Costello Put His Thumb Up and Said à He Lives!	p. 23
You Gotta Vocalize	p. 43
They All Played the Paramount	p. 59
I Have But One Heart	p. 79
Frank's Stand-In	p. 93
"The Bar?" Said Ava. "Sure."	p. 109
The Beautiful Pier Angeli	p. 129
Divorce Italian Style	p. 151
Let Me Put You on with Sam Giancana	p. 173
The Famous Sands Health Club	p. 203
So, I Tee'd the Ball Up and Said to Jack Benny, George Burns, and Ben Hoganà	p. 219
September Song	p. 245
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