The Towering Feeling! - Vic Damone

That Towering Feeling!
Vic Damone
Orchestra under the direction of Camarata
Special Re-issue
Columbia Productions - Special Products
Columbia Records CL 900
1956

Available from online vendors so I will not be posting a sample. Presented here to share the cover art.

From the back cover: The phrase (Towering Feeling) comes from Alan Jay Lerner's Lyric for On The Street Where You Live, the charming song from "My Fair Lady" which Vic sang into first place among the ballads of 1956. This record, along with his television program and his motion picture appearances, left no doubt that Vic had resumed his position as one of America's top singing stars. He temporarily abdicated that position for two years in the Army, serving in both the United States and Europe. This interlude came when Vic had just reached the top, rounding off a climb that began in Brooklyn in 1928.

Vic's father arrived here from Italy shortly after the World War with a ringing voice and a plentiful supply of melodious folk songs that kept the family entertained for many an evening, with Vic's mother at the piano. During his schooling, young vic took part in amateur dramatic presentations and the work of the school glee club, along with his studies, and made his first radio appearance at the age of fifteen, singing on the "Rainbow House" show over Station WOR. Soon thereafter he got a part-time job as an usher at the Paramount Theatre, where he was able to watch a seemingly endless string of the finest singers of the day and absorb invaluable lessons. Later, while he was working as an elevator operator, he seized an opportunity to give an impromptu audition for Perry Como, a captive audience, who advised Vic to make singing his career.

During the war years, young Vic made appearances at church socials and canteens, polishing his style, and finally auditioned for the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts program. Milton Berle heard him there, and promised that if Vic won the contest, he would help him get his career under way. Vic Came out on top, and was soon set for an audition at La Lartinique, which was famous as a club where many young singers had had their first taste of fame. Vic remained there for eleven weeks and was showered with offers for other engagements, among them his own radio show and the chance to return to the Paramount as a star attraction. In 1947, he signed for his first commercial radio show, which ran for two years, and thereafter appeared at all the major hotels and nightclubs in the country. His movie debut came in 1950, in "Rich, Young and Pretty," and then the Army intervened. Since his return to civilian life, Vic has picked up where he left off in no uncertain terms, and even better, has married the enchanting Pier Angeli. And who, quoting from another lyric, could ask for anything more?

To illustrate the towering feeling, Vic has chosen twelve notable expressions of romance, mostly from the thirties and forties, including contributions by such expert hands as Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and Vincent Youmans, among others. Some of them are presented in standard ballad tempo, others have a more light-hearted approach deriving from the occasional giddiness that romance engenders. Contrast is provided in the accomplishments, too; four tunes are heard with a small combo plus five strings, with Buck Clayton warming passing choruses with his trumpet. Others are heard with full orchestra and vocal chorus, still other with a rhythm section and Urbie Green's trombone. All of them, of course, are blessed with the matchless velvety quality of splendid entertainment, and in all of them Vic conjures up the winning picture of a young man in love, spreading the contagion of the towering feeling around for everyone to share.

From Billboard - September 15, 1956: The lyric of Damone's hit single, "On The Street Where You Live," inspired the title of this LP, which features the warbler in fine vocal form on 12 nostalgic love songs, mostly from the 1930s and 1940s. Damone sings as usual – with impeccable taste and richness – while Camarata provides three different types of backing. Damone is hotter (as a single artist) than he has been in a long time, which should help sales on this package.

You Stepped Out Of A Dream
Wait Till You See Her
Out Of Nowhere
The Song Is You
Spring Is Here
Let's Fall In Love
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Time On My Hands
I'm Glad There Is You
The Touch Of Your Lips
All The Things You Are
Cheek To Cheek