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Vaughn Monroe

Personal Profile

Vaughn Monroe
  • Birth Name:
    Vaughn Wilton Monroe
  • Date of Birth:
    October 7, 1911
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Libra
  • Place of Birth:
    Akron, Ohio, USA
  • Place of Death:
    Stuart, Florida, USA
  • Date of Death:
    May 21, 1973
  • Height:
    6' 2"
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Nationality:
    American
  • Education:
    Jeannette High School in Pennsylvania

Family

Vaughn Monroe
  • Spouse:
    Marion Baughman

Career

Vaughn Monroe

Trivia

Vaughn Monroe
  • He also Sang "Lili Marlene" in USA.
  • Singing big band leader, popular in the 1940s and '50s, whose many hits for RCA Victor included "Ballerina", "Riders in the Sky", "There I Go", "There, I've Said It Again", "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You" and his theme song, "Racing with the Moon". After leaving the performing end of show business, he remained with RCA for many years as a TV spokesperson, executive, and talent scout. In the latter capacity, he helped give Neil Sedaka, among others, his first major exposure.
  • His version of 'Let it Snow' (from 1946) was featured in Die Hard I and Die Hard II.
  • Was a licensed pilot and once owned a Lockheed-12 plane.
  • The popularity of some of his western tunes got Vaughn his first acting film part with Singing Guns (1950).
  • Sold over 5,000,000 records in 1944.
  • Was a virtuoso on the trumpet and trombone.
  • He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1600 Vine Street and for Radio at 1755 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.
  • Singer, Orchestra Leader, Actor.
  • One of the most successful radio and recording artists of the 1940s and 1950's, he had dozens of top selling records, including "There, I've Said it Again", "Let it Snow", "Dance Ballerina" and "Ghost Riders in the Sky".

Quotes

Vaughn Monroe
  • "As a bandleader, people expect you to be artistic. But to be successful you've got to also develop a keen sense of business. On the bandstand, you sing, play or direct. A show is expected and you provide it. But off the stand, when it comes to picking new tunes, choosing spots to play, tyring to work out recording dates and broadcasts, negotiating contracts, and thaings of that sort -- well, that's the other side of the picture. The part that doesn't show."
View all Quotes: Vaughn Monroe

Biography

Vaughn Monroe
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Vaughn MonroeVaughn Wilton Monroe was born October 7, 1911 in Akron, Ohio, and his family moved to Wisconsin shortly thereafter. Monroe showed an early talent for the trumpet and focused most of his early efforts on that. Monroe wanted to be an opera singer, but the Depression made pursuing such a career impractical. Instead, he sang as a vocalist with several bands, among them Austin Wylie (who later worked for Artie Shaw), Larry Funk (for which he made his recording debut), and Jack Marshard.

It was Marshard who realized Monroe's talent, brought him out from the brass section, and turned him into a conductor. At the urging of Marshard and many others, Monroe started his own orchestra in 1940. RCA Victor immediately signed him to a contract. From 1940 until 1954, he had over 70 chart hits. One of these is the one he's best known for today: "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!", the 1946 version of which is heard at the end of the first two Bruce Willis "Die Hard" films.

Vaughn MonoroeThe tall, handsome Monroe, whose signature tune was "Racing With the Moon", was very popular in the 1940s and early 1950s. His band was heard every Sunday on the radio in America (under contract to Camel cigarettes) and played to full ballrooms everywhere they went. Some of the musicians who regularly toured with Monroe included guitarist 'Bucky Pizzarelli', saxophonist Adny Bagni, Bobby Nichols, singer Mary Jo Grogan, Trumpeter Bobby Nichols, trombonist Ray Conniff, and well-known jazz pianist Arnold Ross.

The big band business started losing steam in the early 1950s, and Monroe gave up his band in 1953. For the next 20 years, he worked as a single and on the nightclub circuit, while maintaining his contract with RCA Victor as their spokesman. Monroe died May 21, 1973, shortly after undergoing stomach surgery.

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