|
Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZLaROSA, Julius(b 2 January 1930, Brooklyn, NY; d 12 May 2016) Singer. Joined US Navy '47; sang in navy clubs to get out of boring jobs. Arthur Godfrey heard him in Pensacola '50; he joined Godfrey's radio show Nov. '51, then the TV show; he got thousands of fan letters a week, his light baritone and boyish charm part of 'all the little Godfreys'; he had hits on Archie Bleyer's Cadence label '53-5; 'Anywhere I Wander' was no. 4 early '53 (song from film Hans Christian Andersen). Since his star was rising (he was getting thousands of fan letters a week) LaRosa hired himself an agent and was fired on the air in October 1953 by Godfrey, who was a tyrant ('That was Julie's swan song...'). Godfrey, who had the biggest ego in show business, complained that LaRosa 'lacked humility'. The press had a field day, comedians turned Godfrey into a joke, and LaRosa later said, 'what did I do but go and apologize to him for what was happening -- guilty because I had done what Daddy didn't want me to do! I now understand that he was an imperfect man.' 'Eh Cumpari', a Sicilian song similar to 'Old MacDonald Had A Farm' with instruments instead of animals, charted in September, reached no. 2, sold a million helped by Bleyer's charming arrangement and good recorded sound. (Godfrey soon fired Bleyer, too.) LaRosa had 20 hit singles in Billboard and/or Cashbox on Cadence, then RCA, by 1958; film Let's Rock (aka Keep It Cool) '58 with Paul Anka, Danny and the Juniors was a misguided attempt to make him into a teen idol. He continued learning his trade in clubs and became a highly regarded vocalist, described by Gene Lees as 'the most brilliant member of the Sinatra school', with excellent intonation and regard for the lyrics, not only a very good singer but an interpreter who became more than a Sinatra imitator. He briefly had his own TV variety show, was a success in Las Vegas '68, then a popular disc jockey at WNEW radio in NYC until '77 when the station changed hands; on tour he did a big commercial show and a smaller, hipper show for other clubs. He recorded for MGM with Don Costa, tracks long out of print; later albums included On The Sunny Side Of The Street and Love Songs on EMI labels (to be combined on CD); Julius LaRosa on Project 3; It's A Wrap! '84 on Audiophile with pianist Loonis McGlohon (arrangements by McGlohon and drummer Bill Stowe); with the Glenn Miller ghost band on In A Digital Mood '84 on GRP, with Mel Tormé and Marlene VerPlanck re-creating the Modernaires. Better Than Ever '96 on Avalon had a big band on some tracks, strings on others. |