Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra

Billy Vaughn – born Richard Smith Vaughn in Glasgow, Kentucky on April 12, 1919 – was a hugely successful band leader, saxophonist, vocalist, arranger, and record executive. With his orchestra, he crafted some of the most celebrated pop hits of the late 1950s and early ‘60s, pioneering a distinctive "twin sax" sound that helped define an era of innocent, jazzy, easy listening melodies. After serving in World War II, Billy Vaughn began his career playing piano in clubs and lounge bars. While attending Western Kentucky University – majoring in music composition - he was recruited by vocal trio The Hilltoppers to play piano for them. He began singing with them and wrote their first hit single,“Trying” (1952). In 1954, Billy Vaughn took over the artistic direction of the new Dot Records label and formed his own orchestra. Although the big band/swing era had already come to an end, Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra were fashioned in the tradition of jazz big bands. They would go on to record a large catalog of albums and singles that were filled with Billy Vaughn’s unique arrangements of pop, jazz, and rock cover versions. While the youth of the mid-to-late 1950s were more concerned with rock ‘n’ roll, Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra caught the attention of an audience who were still eager to hear more traditional music. Their first hit, 1954’s "Melody of Love", climbed to Number 2 on the charts and sold a million copies. Other hits included "The Shifting Whispering Sands (Pt. 1)" featuring Ken Nordine (Number 5), followed by "Raunchy" (Number 10) and "Sail Along, Silvery Moon" (Number 5) in 1957. The group achieved no less than 40 Top 10 hits and 36 of their albums landed on the Billboard 200 Albums chart including Blue Hawaii (1959), Look for a Star (1960), Theme from The Sundowners (1961), Sail Along Silvery Moon (1960), Berlin Melody, which featured “It Happened in Adano” (1962) and the chart-topping Theme from A Summer Place (1960). The group remained popular in Europe, especially in Germany, up through the 1970s. Billy Vaughn retired to Palm Springs, California. He died of cancer on September 26, 1991.

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