Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973)[1] was an American baritone singer, trumpeter and big band leader who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording and another for radio performance.
Monroe formed his first orchestra in Boston in 1940 and became its principal vocalist. He began recording for RCA Victor's subsidiary label, Bluebird. That same year, Monroe built The Meadows, a restaurant and nightclub to the west of Boston on Massachusetts Route 9 in Framingham, Massachusetts. After he ceased performing, he continued running the club until his death in 1973.[4]
The summer of 1942 brought a 13-week engagement on radio, as Monroe and his orchestra had a summer replacement program for Blondie on CBS.[5]
Monroe hosted the Camel Caravan radio program from The Meadows, starting in 1946 and, during this time, was featured in a Camel cigarettes commercial.[6] In 1952, Monroe and his orchestra had a weekly program on Saturday nights on NBC radio. Those programs originated on location from wherever the band happened to be touring. Each program featured a focus on a college in the United States.[7]
Monroe was tall and handsome, which helped him as a band leader and singer, as well as in Hollywood. He was sometimes called "the Baritone with Muscles", "the Voice with Hair on its Chest", and "Ol' Leather Tonsils".[8]
Monroe's orchestra had a number of excellent musicians including future jazz guitar great Bucky Pizzarelli. While their musical focus was largely romantic ballads, in person, the band had a fiercely swinging side only occasionally captured on record. In ballrooms, Monroe often reserved the final set of the evening for unrestrained, swinging music.
Hollywood also beckoned, although Monroe did not pursue acting with much vigor. He appeared in Meet the People (1944), Carnegie Hall (1947), Singing Guns (1950), and Toughest Man in Arizona (1952). He co-authored The Adventures of Mr. Putt Putt (1949), a children's book about airplanes and flying, a personal interest of his.
After leaving the performing end of show business, Monroe remained with RCA for many years as a television spokesperson, executive, and talent scout. In the latter capacity, he helped give Neil Sedaka, among others, his first major exposure.[citation needed] He was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording at 1600 Vine Street and one for radio at 1755 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.[12][13]
Personal life
Monroe married Marian Baughman on April 2, 1940, in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, where they had met as high school students. They did not date during high school, but became romantically inclined toward each other when their paths crossed again in New York City, years after graduation. They returned to Jeannette for their wedding. They had two children, Candace and Christina. They remained married until Vaughn's death in 1973.[12][13]
An avid railroad enthusiast, Monroe collected and built HO scale model trains. On concert tours he had an elaborate and compact workshop that folded neatly into a valise. Inside were hundreds of intricate tools to build operating miniature locomotives, passenger and freight cars.[14]
Death
Monroe died on May 21, 1973, at Martin County Memorial Hospital in Florida, shortly after having stomach surgery for a bleeding ulcer.[2][3][1]
