Vic Damone

After the success of Frank Sinatra, a crop of Italian-American balladeers entered the public eye and swept young female listeners off their feet; one of the more successful of the bunch was Vic Damone, who released a string of hit singles in the 1950s. Damone suffered from the changing musical climate of the '60s and '70s, although he had a U.S. Top 30 single in 1965 with "You Were Only Fooling (While I Was Falling in Love)." He made a remarkable comeback in the U.K. in the early '80s, thanks in part to the support of BBC Radio presenter David Jacobs, releasing several new albums and touring frequently. After a mild stroke in 2000, Damone played his final engagement a year later. He died in 2018 at the age of 89. ~ Paula Carino