Baritones who never sang Cortigiani, vil razza dannata or Largo al factotum
by jgcorrea | created - 28 Aug 2012 | updated - 24 Mar 2023 | PublicAs far as pop baritones are concerned, ¨Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14)
1. Maurice Chevalier
Actor | Gigi
Maurice Chevalier's first working job was as an acrobat, until a serious accident ended that career. He turned his talents to singing and acting, and made several short films in France. During World War I he enlisted in the French army. He was wounded in battle, captured and placed in a POW camp by...
2. Bing Crosby
Actor | White Christmas
Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr. in Tacoma, Washington, the fourth of seven children of Catherine (Harrigan) and Harry Lincoln Crosby, a brewery bookkeeper. He was of English and Irish descent. Crosby studied law at Gonzaga University in Spokane but was more interested in playing the ...
3. Mark Knopfler
Soundtrack | Local Hero
Mark Knopfler recorded his first single at age 16, but it was never released, He started the band Dire Straits in 1977, they were signed to Vertigo Records in 1978 and recorded the album "Dire Straits", which featured their first major hit single, "Sultans of Swing". Their follow-up albums include ...
4. Neil Diamond
Soundtrack | The Jazz Singer
Neil Leslie Diamond was born in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York City, on January 24, 1941. His father, Akeeba "Kieve" Diamond, was a dry-goods merchant. Both he and wife Rose were Jewish immigrants from Poland. The Diamond family temporarily relocated to Cheyenne, Wyoming, because of...
5. Michael Bublé
Soundtrack | Spider-Man 2
Multi-platinum artist Michael Bublé grew up near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was introduced to swing music and old standards by his grandfather, who offered his services for free as a professional plumber to musicians who were willing to let Michael sing a couple of songs with them on ...
6. Harry Belafonte
Actor | Bobby
Harold George Belafonte was born on March 1, 1927 in New York City. He was educated at the New York Dramatic Workshop. He grew up in Jamaica, British West Indies, and did folk-singing in nightclubs and theaters, and on television and records. His debut was at the Village Vanguard in New York. Also,...
7. Leonard Cohen
Soundtrack | Watchmen
Leonard Cohen was born on September 21, 1934 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He was a music artist and composer, known for Watchmen (2009), Night Magic (1985) and Natural Born Killers (1994). He died on November 7, 2016 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
8. Tim Curry
Actor | Congo
Timothy James Curry was born on April 19, 1946 in Grappenhall, Cheshire, England. His mother, Maura Patricia (Langmead), was a school secretary, and his father, James Curry, was a Methodist Royal Navy chaplain. Curry studied Drama and English at Birmingham University, from which he graduated with ...
9. Nat 'King' Cole
Soundtrack | The Nat King Cole Show
Nat King Cole was born Nathaniel Adams Coles (he later dropped the "s" in his surname) in Montgomery, Alabama. He received music lessons from his mother and his family moved to Chicago when he was only five, where his father, Edward James Coles, was a minister at the True Light Baptist Church and ...
10. Tom Jones
Soundtrack | This Is Tom Jones
Tom Jones was born Thomas Jones Woodward in Pontypridd, South Wales, to a traditional coal-mining family, the son of Freda (Jones) and Thomas Woodward. His father was of English descent and his mother was of Welsh and English ancestry. He began singing at an early age in church and in the school ...
11. John Fogerty
Soundtrack | Battleship
John Fogerty was born on May 28, 1945 in Berkeley, California, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Battleship (2012), The Manchurian Candidate (2004) and Blade (1998). He has been married to Julie Lynne Kramer since April 20, 1991. They have three children. He was previously married to ...
12. Paul Simon
Soundtrack | One-Trick Pony
Born on October 13, 1941, in Newark New Jersey, Paul Simon is one of the greatest singer/songwriters ever. In 1957, he and high school pal, Art Garfunkel, wrote and recorded the single, "Hey Schoolgirl", under the name "Tom and Jerry". After some failures, they broke up. Simon still wrote and ...
13. Frank Sinatra
Actor | From Here to Eternity
Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants Natalina Della (Garaventa), from Northern Italy, and Saverio Antonino Martino Sinatra, a Sicilian boxer, fireman, and bar owner. Growing up on the gritty streets of Hoboken made Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. ...
14. Elvis Presley
Soundtrack | Girls! Girls! Girls!
Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in East Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys Presley (née Gladys Love Smith) and Vernon Presley (Vernon Elvis Presley). He had a twin brother who was stillborn. In 1948, Elvis and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he attended Humes High School. ...
15. Peter Gabriel
Soundtrack | WALL·E
Peter Gabriel was educated at Charterhouse School, Surrey, England. He was the lead singer of leading progressive rock band Genesis from its inception until he left in 1975 for a successful solo career as a singer-songwriter, soundtrack composer and innovator in visual presentation of music, music ...
16. Carlos Gardel
Soundtrack | True Lies
Known as El Zorzal Criollo, the songbird of Buenos Aires, Carlos Gardel is a legendary figure in Uruguay and Argentina. He was born on December 11st, 1890, in Toulouse (France). His place of birth have been claimed by the Uruguayans and Argentinians, however, his Birth Certificate and his Will ...
17. Francisco Alves
Soundtrack | Berlim na Batucada
Francisco Alves was born on August 19, 1898 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was an actor, known for Berlim na Batucada (1944), Alô, Alô, Brasil (1935) and Samba em Berlim (1943). He died on September 27, 1952 in Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
18. Carlos Galhardo
Actor | Banana-da-Terra
Carlos Galhardo was born on April 24, 1913 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an actor, known for Banana-da-Terra (1939), Vamos Cantar (1941) and Pra Lá de Boa (1949). He died on July 25, 1985 in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
19. Noel Rosa
Composer | Cousas Nossas
Noel Rosa was born on December 11, 1910 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was a composer, known for Cousas Nossas (1931), Cidade-Mulher (1936) and Cleópatra (2007). He was married to Lindaura. He died on May 4, 1937 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
20. Charles Aznavour
Actor | Tirez sur le pianiste
Beloved French chanson entertainer Charles Aznavour, who wrote more than 800 songs, recorded more than 1,000 of them in French, English, Italian, German and Spanish and sold over 100 million records in all, was born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian on May 22, 1924, in Paris, the younger of two ...
21. John Charles Thomas
Actor | Great Day
John Charles Thomas was born on September 6, 1890 in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and executive, known for Great Day (1930), Under the Red Robe (1923) and Music in the Sky (1945). He was married to Dorothy May Koehler and Ruby B. Rittenour. He died on December 13, 1960 in Apple ...
22. Gino Bechi
Actor | Torna... a Sorrento
Gino Bechi was born on October 16, 1913 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for Come Back to Sorrento (1945), Music on the Run (1943) and The Lovers (1946). He died on February 2, 1993 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
23. Nélson Gonçalves
Music_department | Vida Nova
Nélson Gonçalves was born on June 21, 1919 in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He was an actor, known for Vida Nova (1988), Carnaval em Caxias (1954) and É de Chuá (1958). He died on April 18, 1998 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
24. Andy Thompson
Sound_department | Children of Men
Andy Thompson was born on May 10, 1968 in Melbourne, Australia. He is a composer, known for Children of Men (2006), United 93 (2006) and The Brothers Grimm (2005).
25. Charlie Zahm
Actor | Charlie Zahm: An Evening of Classic Melodies
Charlie Zahm is known for Charlie Zahm: An Evening of Classic Melodies (2007) and Gettysburg: Three Days of Destiny (2004).
26. Nelson Eddy
Soundtrack | Let Freedom Ring
The only career Nelson Eddy ever considered was singing. His parents, Isabel (Kendrick) and William Darius Eddy, were singers, his grandparents were musicians. Unable to afford a teacher, he learned by imitating opera recordings. At age 14 he worked as a telephone operator in a Philadelphia iron ...
27. Al Jolson
Actor | The Jazz Singer
Al Jolson was known in the industry as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," for well over 40 years. After his death his influence continued unabated with such performers as Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Jackie Wilson and Jerry Lee Lewis all mentioning him as an ...
28. Patrizio Buanne
Soundtrack | 30 Minutes or Less
Patrizio Buanne is known for 30 Minutes or Less (2011), Love Me Again (2010) and All the Queen's Men (2001). He has been married to Francesca Mignosa since November 28, 2019. They have one child.
29. Howard Keel
Actor | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Howard Keel was the Errol Flynn and Clark Gable of "golden age" movie musicals back in the 1950s. With a barrel-chested swagger and cocky, confident air, the 6'4" brawny baritone Keel had MGM's loveliest songbirds swooning helplessly for over a decade in what were some of the finest musical films ...
30. Gordon McRae
Actor | East Side, West Side
Gordon McRae is known for East Side, West Side (1927) and The Red Skelton Hour (1951).
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