Wondering if anyone believes this guys mob stories? His story in particular about costello along with other bosses having meeting in a hotel room to decide his fate due to him breaking n engagement with a mafia boses daughter , sounds ridiculous to me.

don't know much about him and the mob, sounds like they were bothered by him to have top bosses meeting him, I would like to hear more about the situation.

It could be true. But entertainers like to hear themselves talk, so who knows?

However, it IS true that he was blackballed from the Vegas casinos for awhile after he married Diahann Carroll. It eventually blew over, but some of those old timers didn't like the idea that he married a Black woman.

Its in his autobiography "Singing was the easy part".

mangauge, thank you, ill look for the book. whos daughter was it?

Some upstate mafia bosses daughter

She called his mom a bitch one day after she ( Vic's mom) suggested that she ( his fiance) learn how to cook for VIc. This , along with other things made Vic break the engagement , infuriating her father.

I cant recall the bossess name because I skimmed through the book months ago and have since forgot. I also tried googling and the story comes up but for some reason the bosses name dosent.

Nvm just found it , his name was supposedly Johnny D Angelo , but i cant find any info on him

mangauge, yeah, the name is unfamilar to me also, good of you to research it. thank you.

He did grow up in the bath beach section of Bensonhurst Brooklyn during the heights of the mob's glory days so I am pretty sure he does has some interesting stories. his cousin was doretta marrow. He also sung at some of the weddings of top made guys during the 50's and 60's.

I thought he could sing better than Sinatra, I thought he was great. in the 50s 6os the mob ruled the music world. so he very well could be telling the truth. great voice.

I remember this special from 1983 very well because we still had a Betamax at the time and I had to tape it for my grandmother, who was still alive at the time. Anyway, Vic Damone and Steve Lawrence both worshiped Sinatra, and it really comes across in this duet.

I think johnny d angelo is an alias because i cant find anything on the guy. He ( vic) claims that he was a boss as well so i imagine that SOMETHING should come up when googling him

Not to jump off topic but what you guys thought about Jimmy roselli ( god rest his soul ) ? He was my favorite crooner to this day and sung in Italian like a true napuletano. Vic was great as well... Frank was my second favorite hands Down. Who are some of your favorite crooners ?

why isn't peery como ever mentiolned, he was great, tony bennet was as good as any, vic damone, dean martin. Sinatra would be my 5th favorite. forgot to mention jerry vale.

was vic damones real name victor farinola.

I played Vic's show around half a dozen times. I have played for pretty much any singer of that era that you can name...Mel Torme', Julius LaRosa, Steve Lawrence, Sinatra Jr., Al Martino, Lou Monte and on and on....

Without a doubt Vic Damone had the most beautiful voice I ever heard in all those years. On one night we had a "tacet" where the whole band lays out and Vic just sang alone with the piano player. He sang that tune "Ruby" (they say your like a flame......)

His voice was simply angelic. Now he is NOT a swinger like Sinatra or Mel Torme, or ever Buddy Greco but just for the sheer beauty and his God given vocal "gift" I don't think I've ever heard better.

Sal

Vito farinola binnie I don't know where he got victor from lol he was called Vito growing up. I know his mom's side of the family were the Damone's tho.

If we talking multiple favorites... Everybody you mention I love listening too especially jerry vale. I grew up on perry como, Louie prima, don cornell, Frankie, Vic, Tony Bennett .. Who is last of the standing greats from that era. Am I a idiot Lml how could I forget dean martin Oops! He is my third favorite. Those guys were all fantastic.

I see you mentioned Buddy Greco - I was his Bodyguard for the evening while he was on the road with his then Wife Jackie Sabatino and her sister "BJ". They finished performing at the Club and then we went to another Club for Steak and Pizza. It was a nice evening.

As far as Vic Damone - Great Singer

I like them all especially liked Jerry Vale I used to run into him up in Harlem. We bought shark skin suits in the same place. I even saw him at the Copa.

One of my favorite movies hell to eternity Vic Damone was the third lead. Stared Jeffrey Hunter pretty good movie.

I named my oldest son Vic only because Vic sounds cool with almost any last name picture this Vic Obama even works with that

Hey you were a body guard so was I when I was a kid. Get to meet a lot of people you would not normally meet right.

A lot of Celebrities: Frankie Avalon, Shecky Greene, Buddy Greco, to name a few...

Then other Celebrities like Milton Berle, Dottie West, Hager Brothers, Lynda Day George...

There were quite a few these are just a random sample.

I played Buddy just once at the old Carrilon Hotel on Miami Beach.

I don't think he had a body guard (maybe when he went outside the hotel?)

He seemed like a very nice guy. He did something very few of these guys do...attend their own rehearsals. Most have a conductor or MD (musical director) and you never see them until show time. Then they go right to their dressing rooms and we go home.

But I remember Buddy staying though the whole rehearsal.

Buddy Greco- What a fucking talent......GREAT singer, GREAT piano player. Hes a real "musicians" singer.

Did you know that he played piano with Benny Goodmans band as a kid? Major talent.

The fellow who said he was Buddys bodyguard....was he a cool guy? I'm sure you had way more contact with him than I did. Its funny though, sitting up there watching from behind you can kinda tell who the assholes are.

Sal

ahhhhhh........... Louis prima, " im just a gigolo" ,how about " marie " have you ever heard dean martin sing marie. the old version when he sings it in Italian late fouries, greatest hes ever done. did you know? Louis prima wrote " sing, sing, sing" the great benny goodman tune.

NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT!!!!

pb. hey that's it!!!! thank you man!!!

My pleasure, buddy. That video is part of the soundtrack of my life .

he lived on either bat 16th or bay 14th..he sung with freddie inzerillo when they were teens..freddie wound up selling furniture..hey vinny i think you are older than 31 ..you are right about the names

louie prima was a bronx guy..sicilian

Louie Prima was born in New Orleans La. You can take that to the bank. He also had a brother who played trumpet named Leon.

New Orleans was LOADED with Sigis at the turn of the century,

Sal