Perry Como was born Pierino Ronald Como
in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on May 18, 1912,
the son of Pietro Como, a mill hand, and Lucia
Travaglini Como, immigrants from Palena, Italy.
The seventh of thirteen children, Perry Como
earned a few cents a day working after school
in a local barbershop in Canonsburg. Later, while
attending high school, he operated his own
barbershop. Como, performing at wedding
receptions and other functions, gained local
recognition for his singing ability. One of the
few vocalists of his generation to read music,
he played both organ and baritone horn.

 

Como married his high school sweetheart,
Roselle Belline, the daughter of French
immigrants; they had three children, whom
they sheltered from the celebrity world of show
business. "Roselle always stood by me," Como
remarked. She died in August 1998, two weeks
after celebrating their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary. 

 

In 1950 Como signed with CBS, hosting his own
program for five seasons. In 1955 he went back
to NBC, starring in the weekly Perry Como Show,
later titled The Kraft Music Hall. He remained
with NBC until 1963. From the late 1940s through
the early 1960s Como was a pioneer in the
television variety show genre. His singing style
evolved into the popular musical form called easy
listening, influencing a generation of lounge singers.
Beginning with his first, on Christmas Eve 1948,
Como's Christmas specials on ABC-TV became
an integral part of the holiday season. These
annual events were accompanied by his three
Christmas albums (1946-1948) for the RCA Victor
label. A fourth Christmas album, recorded for
Como's 1993-1994 Irish Christmas television
special, was his only non-RCA recording in half
a century. When ABC decided to cancel Como's
annual Christmas special in 1987, the Dallas
Morning News mounteda "Save Perry" letter-writing
campaign. A fan wrote: "If Perry Como is
removed from Christmas, can Santa Claus
be far behind?"

 

Among his most popular romantic ballads
are "Dream Along with Me," "Don't Let the
Stars Get in Your Eyes," "Temptation,"
"Because," "Till the End of Time,"
"Prisoner of Love," "And I Love You So,"
and "It's Impossible." Often accompanied
by the Mitchell Ayres Orchestra and the
Ray Charles Singers, Como sold more than
one hundred million records and had fourteen
tunes that were ranked number one musical
hits. In 1946 he was named top-selling male
singer by Billboard. As late as 1973 he received
a Grammy award nomination as best male pop
vocalist for "And I Love You So." His achievements
during the rock-and-roll era, when ballad crooners
were falling by the wayside, were particularly
remarkable.

 

Perry Como died in his sleep on May 12, 2001 --
a national treasure was lost.