Billy Vaughn
Billy Vaughn [ vɔ: n] ( born April 12, 1919 in Glasgow, Kentucky as Richard Smith Vaughn, † September 26, 1991 in Escondido, California ) was an American musician and orchestra leader.
Life
In 1952, Vaughn joined the University of Bowling Green, Kentucky, as a pianist and singer in the singing trio The Hilltoppers. Their first, self-penned single, Trying, was an instant chart hit and over the years they could string a Top 20 hit on the other. Her biggest success was the million seller P. S. I Love You, a remake of a 1930s hits.
1954 Vaughn joined as musical director for their music publishing Dot Records. With its own orchestra, he accompanied the Fontane Sisters with her number -one hit Hearts of Stone. That same year, he landed with his orchestral version of the Melody of Love own million-seller, reaching number 2 in the U.S.. In the following years he was very successful both themselves and others as a companion star. In 1957, he was alone with Pat Boone four million sellers, including three number-one hits. Vaughn knew not only masterful, old classics with their own style to recycle, but he sat especially the R & B music and rock ' n ' roll of black musicians in his own way to and arranged them so that they are in this form different from the originals, even under the white population found a large audience.
In 1958 he had his biggest and best-known hit with his orchestral version of Sail Along silv'ry Moon. The U.S. million-seller was the beginning of his international breakthrough, especially in Germany and Japan. This year he had with this song and with La paloma two number-one hits in a row and with Blue Hawaii, morning and Wheels he had more super hits in Germany, all of which were certified gold. With its five awards he was surpassed only by Freddy Quinn.
Until the early 1960s, he was always in the charts, he was, like all orchestral music, increasingly replaced by the beat wave and so he withdrew gradually from the music business. Nevertheless, he remains one of the most successful bandleaders ever. From 1958 to 1970 he was represented with 36 albums in the U.S. album charts.
Vaughn died in September 1991 from cancer.
Discography
Singles
Albums
Top 100 albums in Germany, Austria and the USA