This article may need to be reworded to conform to a neutral point of view; however, the neutrality of this article is not necessarily disputed.

Perry Como (born Pierino Ronald Como, May 18, 1912 - May 12, 2001) was an United States crooner during the last half of the 20th century. His exclusive recording contract with RCA Victor in 1943 began an association that would last for almost 50 years without parallel by any other recording artist of the era.

Pierino Ronald Como was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Although he always liked to sing, his first great ambition was to be the best barber in all Canonsburg. After graduation from high school, he opened his own tonsorial establishment that featured the special Como haircuts plus some mighty pleasing Como singing in the background. In 1933 he joined Freddy Carlone’s band in Ohio and three years later moved up to Ted Weems’ Orchestra and his first record dates. Their first recording was a novelty tune titled "You Can't Pull the Wool Over My Eyes", recorded for the Decca Records label.

In 1942 Weems dissolved his band and Como went on to CBS where he sang for a couple of years without any conspicuous success. By this time the erstwhile barber had definitely decided to return to Canonsburg, his family and his barbering. Just as he was about to abandon his singing career once and for all, two NBC producers felicitously stepped in, returning him back into show business — specifically for the NBC "Supper Club," followed by very successful theatre and night club engagements.

In 1945, Como recorded the pop ballad, "'Till the End of Time" (based on Chopin’s "Polonaise"), kicking off a highly successful career. Como was the first artist who to have ten records sell more than one million copies. Likewise his television show has achieved a much higher rating than that of any other vocalist to date.

By the 1980s the atmosphere of recording had changed dramatically from his early days at RCA Victor Records. Como's recording sessions, previously filled with laughter and joy, had deteriorated into much more somber occasions. He walked away from the label in the early 1980s, but he returned to record his own album with his trusted friend and associate Nick Perito in 1987. His recording of "The Wind Beneath My Wings'" was almost autobiographical and a fitting end to a long and successful recording career. Como would record only once more in 1994, but privately, for his well-known Irish Christmas Concert.

Television

He had numerous Christmas television specials, beginning Christmas Eve, 1948, and continuing to 1994 when his final Christmas Special was recorded in Ireland. His television specials beginning about 1957, changing only from weekly to bi-monthly, then monthly followed by seasonal specials celebrating Easter, Spring, Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities, ending in 1987, from all parts of the world including England, Rome, Austria, France and many locations throughout North America. Perry's Christmas Concert in Ireland would be his final special and the last of his commercial recordings albeit not for his original label RCA Victor.

His regular television show, at first a spin-off from the Chesterfield Supper Club, continued through the early 1950s, becoming The Perry Como Show and then for five years as The Perry Como Kraft Music Hall, where he became the highest paid performer in the history of television to that date, earning mention in the Guinness Book of World Records. Prior to this Como battled Jackie Gleason, in what was billed The "Battle of the Giants", and won. This is rarely mentioned due to the fact that Como commonly diminished his own achievements. He recorded many long-play albums of songs for the RCA Victor Record label between 1952 an 1987, and is credited with numerous gold records. Perry had so many recordings achieve gold record status that he refused to have many of them certified. It was this characteristic which made him so different from his peers and endeared him to legions of fans throughout the whole world. Throughout the decades, Como is reported to have sold millions of records but these figures were commonly suppressed by Perry himself.

Perry co-starred with Julie Andrews in Julie on Sesame Street, an ABC television special from 1973.

A farewell concert from Ireland

In January, 1994, Perry Como traveled to Dublin, Ireland, for what would become an auspicious moment within his long career of more than 60 years. The year 1993 would have marked his 50th anniversary with the RCA Victor Records label, now owned and controlled by Bertelsmann and operated under the "BMG" logo, as well as his 45th year of television specials celebrating Christmas and its importance throughout the world to people of all faiths. Perry's Irish Christmas was produced for the American PBS public television system and was re-broadcast annually for many years beginning in 1994 continuing to this day.

Perry died May 12, 2001 at his residence in Jupiter, Florida, six days before his 89th birthday.

External links

• Look to Your Heart http://kokomo.ca/album_22.htm
• Perry Como's Irish Christmas Concert http://kokomo.ca/cd_review/press/christmas_concert_1993.htm
• BILLBOARD Memorial http://www.kokomo.ca/cd_review/press/index.htm