Don Cornell
Template:Short description Template:Infobox musical artist
Don Cornell (born Luigi Francisco Varlaro; April 21, 1919 – February 23, 2004)<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> was an American singer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Early years
Born to an Italian family in The Bronx, New York, Cornell attended Roosevelt High School in the Bronx.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Open access</ref>
Career
In his teens he played guitar in a band led by jazz trumpeter Red Nichols. When he was eighteen, he was a vocalist in the Sammy Kaye band. He became a solo act in 1949. Between 1950 and 1962, twelve of his records were certified gold. These included the million-seller "It Isn't Fair",<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">Template:Cite book</ref> plus "I'll Walk Alone", "I'm Yours", and "Hold My Hand". He appeared often on television programs hosted by Perry Como, Jackie Gleason, and Arthur Godfrey during the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name="Eder">Template:Cite web</ref>
When singing at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Kentucky, he appeared many times on the Ruth Lyons television program and was a substitute host. In 1953, he was on the TV program Chance of a Lifetime.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Open access</ref> He had a radio program on KGO in San Francisco in 1953.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Open access</ref>
In 1959, Cornell, comedian Martha Raye, and other investors formed The Big Daddy Mining Company. The company planned to mine "a rich gold vein on a hillside near Coarsegold, California".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Cornell worked as a singer into the 1990s. He and his wife founded the label Iris as a division of MCA to release songs he recorded for Coral and Dot earlier in his career. These albums include Something to Remember Me By and From Italy with Love.<ref name="Eder" />
Awards and honors
Cornell was named to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1963. In 1993, he was inducted into the Big Band Hall of Fame.<ref name="Eder" />
His 1952 hit "I" was the only single-character pop chart entry until Prince's No. 7 Billboard Hot 100 hit "7" from 1992 and the only single-letter hit until Xzibit's No. 76 Hot 100 hit "X" from 2000. "Hold My Hand" sold over one million copies and topped the UK Singles Chart in 1954.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs 2">Template:Cite book</ref> Cornell's 1955 hit "Young Abe Lincoln" holds the record for highest debuting pop single (No. 25) to spend only one week on the Billboard chart.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Template:Cite book</ref>
Death
Cornell died in Aventura, Florida, from emphysema and diabetes at the age of 84.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Open access</ref><ref name="obit">Template:Cite web</ref>
Hit records
| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US BB |
US CB |
UK | ||
| 1942 | "I Left My Heart at the Stagedoor Canteen"(with Sammy Kaye) | 3 | ||
| "I Came Here to Talk for Joe"(with Sammy Kaye) | 8 | |||
| 1947 | "That's My Desire"(with Sammy Kaye) | 2 | ||
| "The Red Silk Stockings and Green Perfume"(with Sammy Kaye) | 8 | |||
| "The Little Old Mill"(with Sammy Kaye) | 24 | |||
| "Serenade of the Bells"(with Sammy Kaye) | 3 | |||
| "Hand In Hand"(with Sammy Kaye & Laura Leslie) | 21 | |||
| "I'll Hate Myself In the Morning"(with Sammy Kaye & Laura Leslie) | 20 | |||
| 1948 | "I Love You, Yes I Do"(with Sammy Kaye) | 10 | ||
| "Tell Me a Story"(with Sammy Kaye) | 8 | |||
| "Down Among the Sheltering Palms"(with Sammy Kaye) | 14 | |||
| 1949 | "Careless Hands"(with Sammy Kaye) | 3 | ||
| "Kiss Me Sweet"(with Sammy Kaye & Laura Leslie) | 29 | |||
| "Room Full of Roses"(with Sammy Kaye) | 2 | |||
| "Baby, It's Cold Outside"(with Sammy Kaye & Laura Leslie) | 12 | |||
| "It Isn't Fair"(with Sammy Kaye) | 2 | |||
| 1950 | "I Need You So" | 28 | ||
| 1952 | "I'll Walk Alone" | 5 | ||
| "I'm Yours" | 3 | |||
| "This Is the Beginning of the End" | 20 | |||
| "You'll Never Get Away"(with Teresa Brewer) | 17 | 17 | ||
| "I" | 7 | 10 | ||
| "Be Fair" | 20 | |||
| 1953 | "S'posin'" | 28 | ||
| "She Loves Me" | 23 | 33 | ||
| "Please Play Our Song" | 18 | |||
| "Heart of My Heart"(with Alan Dale & Johnny Desmond) | 10 | 5 | ||
| "You're On Trial" | 24 | |||
| 1954 | "Size 12" | 23 | ||
| "Hold Me" | 26 | |||
| "Believe In Me" | 22 | |||
| "Hold My Hand" | 2 | 6 | 1 | |
| "No Man Is an Island" | 21 | |||
| 1955 | "Give Me Your Love" | 28 | ||
| "Most of All" | 14 | 16 | ||
| "The Door Is Still Open to My Heart" | flip | 22 | ||
| "Stranger In Paradise" | 19 | |||
| "The Bible Tells Me So" | 7 | 7 | ||
| "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" | 26 | |||
| "Young Abe Lincoln" | 25 | 45 | ||
| 1956 | "Teenage Meeting" | 80 | ||
| "Rock Island Line" | 59 | |||
| "See Saw" | 57 | |||
| 1957 | "My Faith, My Hope, My Love" | 57 | ||
| "Mama Guitar" | 47 | 57 | ||
| 1958 | "Play Some Music For Broken Hearts" | 95 | ||
References
External links
- 1919 births
- 2004 deaths
- Jazz musicians from New York (state)
- Singers from New York City
- People from Aventura, Florida
- 20th-century American singers
- American jazz musicians
- American people of Italian descent
- American male pop singers
- Big band singers
- Traditional pop music singers
- Deaths from diabetes in Florida
- Deaths from emphysema
- Jubilee Records artists
- RCA Victor artists
- 20th-century American male singers
- American male jazz musicians