Nicknamed The Velvet Fog, Mel Tormé was a classic crooner with a rich, smooth
voice and unshakeably cool delivery, who was once described by Bing Crosby as
"the best musical performer I have ever seen".
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Tormé was raised in a music-loving Russian-Jewish
family. By the age of four he was performing at a local restaurant as a novelty
act with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra and by the end of the roaring 1920s he had
established himself as a child star by performing in vaudeville troupes and
radio plays. Precociously talented, he was just 15 when he wrote the...