Armando Joseph "Buddy" Greco (August 14, 1926 – January 10, 2017) was an American jazz and pop singer and pianist who had a long career in the US and UK. His recordings have sold millions, including "Oh Look A-There Ain't She Pretty", " Up, Up and Away", and " Around the World". His most successful single was " The Lady Is a Tramp", which sold over one million copies. During his career, he recorded over sixty albums. He conducted the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and performed for Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

and with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Music career

George Carlin Buddy Greco Away We Go 1967

Buddy Greco was born Armando Joseph Greco to an Italian-American family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Giuseppe Joseph Greco and Carmela Greco (born Piedimonte), who was originally from Ripabottoni in Molise, Italy. His mother introduced him to piano at age four. As a child he sang on the radio, and as a teen performed in nightclubs in Philadelphia. At age 16, he was hired by bandleader

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conc ...

and spent four years touring the world with the Goodman orchestra, playing piano, singing, and

arranging In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

. In 1951 Greco started his recording career, signing with labels such as

Coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and se ...

, Kapp, Epic, and

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

. In 1967 he hosted the CBS television series ''Away We Go'' with comedian

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...

. Guests included

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

and

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

. He had a role in the film '' The Girl Who Knew Too Much''. In 1969 he formed a duo with jazz guitarist

Ron Escheté Ronald Patrick Escheté (born August 19, 1948) is an American seven-string jazz guitarist. He is the first person to record a cover version of "Christmas Time Is Here", which Vince Guaraldi wrote for the Charlie Brown television program. Career ...

Las Vegas and Palm Springs

Greco met his fifth and last wife, Lezlie Anders, while she was performing in Las Vegas. Working as his supporting act, she met Greco on the stage of the

Desert Inn The Desert Inn, also known as the D.I., was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, which operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by architect Hugh Taylor and interior design by Jac Lessman, it was th ...

. After marrying, they worked and toured together. In 1992, he performed in Las Vegas at the Starlight Room at Stars' Desert Inn. This engagement ushered in the second phase of his career. The following year he was added to the Philadelphia Music Alliance's Walk of Fame. Shortly after, he toured Italy, France, Australia, and England. While living in Palm Springs, Greco opened a small club. The walls were decorated with pictures of Greco, the

Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business frie ...

, and other celebrity friends. He performed there often, and it became a popular place for celebrities to dine. After closing it, he moved to England. While living in

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...

, he continued to appear at his club in

Cathedral City, California Cathedral City, colloquially known as "Cat City", is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. Situated between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, the city has the second larg ...

, until it closed in August 2009. In 2004, he and Anders were headliners with

The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies ''The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies'' was a Ziegfeld Follies style dance and musical review show that played at the historic Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs, California, United States, seasonally from November to mid-May. The Follies was founded i ...

at the Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs, California.

Life in Britain

Greco became acquainted with Great Britain in 1949. He spent many years performing in Britain's clubs. He moved to

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

, keeping his Palm Springs, California, property as a vacation home. In 2008, he and Anders toured the UK. They performed with the

BBC Big Band The BBC Big Band, originally known as the BBC Radio Big Band is a British big band, previously run under the auspices of the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC). The band broadcasts exclusively on BBC Radio, particularly on BBC Radio 2's long ...

and at

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...

in London. In August of that year, he was the first Las Vegas headliner to star at a British casino when he performed at the Circus Casino, Star City,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

. In April 2010, he performed a tribute to

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

for

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

with the 42-piece

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

. He toured the UK with the ''Swinging Las Vegas Legends'' show beginning in July 2010. In 2010, Greco and his wife produced the stage show ''Fever! The Music of Miss Peggy Lee'', which met with critical acclaim at its London West End opening. Greco played piano and conducted the orchestra while Anders sang. The show received positive reviews in the U.S."Rat pack legend tells Peggy's story". ''Croydon Advertiser'', 4 November. 2011: 49, Print. On New Year's Eve 2011, he made a guest appearance at ''

Hootenanny A hootenanny is a party involving music in the United States. It is particularly associated with folk music. Etymology Placeholder Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in the early twentieth century U.S. as a placeholder nam ...

'' hosted by

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

, singing " Fly Me to the Moon". In 2012, he toured the UK in smaller venues, including Thameside Theatre Stage, and The Broadway in Essex. Greco died on January 10, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 90. Greco had an album released by

Scepter A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The '' Was'' and other ...

which Tom Murray of the ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'' referred to 48 years later as "a strange and beautiful mutant of its time". The album was ''Let the Sunshine In''. It included the songs " Let the Sunshine In", "Everybody Gets to Go to the Moon", "

You're My World "You're My World" is a ballad originally recorded in 1963 as "Il mio mondo" ("My World") by Umberto Bindi, who co-wrote the Italian version with Gino Paoli. Subsequently, an English version was commissioned, and the lyrics were written by Carl S ...

", "

Spinning Wheel A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinnin ...

", " Never Give You Up", and "

Like a Rolling Stone "Like a Rolling Stone" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on July 20, 1965, by Columbia Records. Its confrontational lyrics originated in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted fro ...

Awards and honors

* Inductee, Walk of Fame, Philadelphia Music Alliance * Appears in ''Encyclopedia of Great Musicians'' and the ''Encyclopedia of Great Jazz Singers and Musicians'' * Inducted into the Grand Order of Water Rats in 2011

Discography

As leader

* ''Buddy Greco at Mister Kelly's'' (Coral, 1956) * ''Broadway Melodies'' (Kapp, 1956) * ''My Buddy'' (Fontana, 1959) * ''Let's Love'' (Epic, 1961) * ''I Like It Swinging'' (Columbia, 1961) * ''Songs for Swinging Losers'' (Epic, 1961) * ''Buddy & Soul'' (Epic, 1962) * ''Soft and Gentle'' (Epic, 1963) * ''Buddy's Back in Town'' (Columbia, 1963) * ''Sings for Intimate Moments'' with Dave Grusin (Epic, 1963) * ''My Last Night in Rome'' (Epic, 1964) * ''Modern Sounds of Hank Williams'' (Epic, 1964) * ''Here's Buddy Greco'' (Vocalion, 1964) * ''On Stage'' (Epic, 1964) * ''From the Wrists Down'' (Epic, 1965) * ''I Love a Piano'' (Columbia, 1965) * ''Buddy Greco Sings and Plays with the Hollywood All Stars'' (Society, 1965) * ''Big Band & Ballads'' (Reprise, 1966) * ''Buddy's in a Brand New Bag'' (Reprise, 1966) * ''Away We Go!'' (Reprise, 1966) * ''Let the Sunshine In'' (Scepter, 1969) * ''It's My Life'' (Pye, 1972) * ''Movin' On'' (Pye, 1973) * ''Buddy Greco Live'' (Pye, 1974) * ''For Once in My Life'' (Project 3, 1979) * ''Live at the Sands'' (Picc-a-Dilly, 1980) * ''Hot Nights'' (Applause, 1982) * ''Ready for Your Love'' (Bainbridge, 1984)Show Music - Volume 4, Issue 1 - Page 43 1985 "Jazz singer Buddy Greco's Ready for Tour Love (BT 6255) features nine recent vintage songs, with "The Hungry Years," "Love Won't Let Me Wait," "Me and Mrs. Jones," and "Ready For Your Love" included on the album. I Am What I Am ..." * ''Movin' On'' (USA Music, 1989) * ''It's Magic'' (Prestige, 1990) * '' 'Round Midnight'' (Bay Cities, 1992) * ''Route 66'' (Celebrity, 1994) * ''In Style'' (Camden, 1996) * ''Jazz Grooves'' (Candid, 1998)

Singles

* ^A "The Lady Is a Tramp" peaked at No. 26 in UK Singles charts.

References

External links

Buddy Greco Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (1995,2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greco, Buddy 1926 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Philadelphia People from Cathedral City, California People from Palm Desert, California People from Southend-on-Sea Singers from Pennsylvania American expatriates in the United Kingdom American jazz musicians American male singers American people of Italian descent American pianists Benny Goodman Orchestra members Nightclub performers Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania American male pianists American male jazz musicians Jazz musicians from California