Buddy Greco born 14 August 1926

 

 

Buddy Greco (born Armando Greco on August 14, 1926 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American singer and pianist.

He was born Armando Greco in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Greco began playing piano at the age of four. Buddy had his first own trio the Three Shades of Rhythm  (Charlie Chasen guitar-Don Sgro bass) at 15. In 1946 the trio (Buddy Greco with the Sharps) (Francis Beecher guitar- Don Sgro bass) had a million seller hit

"Ooh, look-a-there ain't she pretty" for the Musicraft label. But the next years the trio fade somewhat away. But in 1948 Elliot Wexler Benny Goodman's manager noticed the trio at Philadelphia's Club 13 and advised Benny Goodman to listen to Buddy. Late 1948 Buddy (with Francis Beecher) joined the Benny Goodman band as a piano player, vocalist and arranger. In 1949 Buddy visited the UK and headed the Benny Goodman band for several occasions. Late 1949 they made a trip to the Philippines. Buddy & Benny recorded about 150 items in 1948/1949.

Benny Goodman hated playing bop and disbanded the band after the trip to the Philippines in 1949. Buddy went out on his own and his show business career was under way. Most of Greco's work has been in the jazz and pop genres. He has recorded songs such as "The Lady is a Tramp", "Up, Up and Away" and "Around the World", and has released about 72 albums and 100 singles.

                                

Greco has had an active concert career playing in symphony halls, theatres, nightclubs, and Las Vegas showrooms. In the 1960s he made appearances with the Rat Pack. Greco played the nightclub

singer Lucky in the 1969 film The Girl Who Knew Too Much. In 1967, Greco starred in the summer replacement television series Away We Go with drummer Buddy Rich and comedian George Carlin.

Greco has recorded albums for the Columbia/Epic and Reprise record labels, and other minor labels. His most popular albums were On Stage and Buddy's Back in Town, both with Columbia. His most successful single was "The Lady is a Tramp", which sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. Greco recorded an album entitled Movin' On which included his version of the Marvin Gaye standard "What's Going On". Greco recorded sporadically after this album, but he

continued performing live shows, and has performed in most of the top nightclubs in the world. His last nationally charted record was "From Atlanta to Goodbye", on the Scepter label, which made Billboard's Easy Listening Top 40 in 1969. To this date, Buddy's favorite is the album he made with the London Symphony Orchestra in which he arranged, played piano and conducted.

In the 1970s Buddy moved to Europe. He performed in England, Netherlands, France, Italy and around the world in Australia. Several  shows were made with Shirley MacLaine. Buddy Greco has been acclaimed as one of the finest jazz pianists of our time and

he continues to be active pursing other fields if the music business, producing record, writing and scoring for films and TV. In April 1993, Buddy was inducted to the Philadelphia Music Alliance's "Walk of Fame".  He has also gained acclaim for his musicianship and talent in the "Encyclopedia of Great Musicians" and the "Encyclopedia of Great Singer and musicians".

Living in Palm Desert, California, Greco continued to appear at his club in Cathedral City, California, until its closure in August 2009. In 2004 Greco and his spouse Lezlie Anders were headliners with the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies at the Plaza Theatre in Palm

Springs, California.

In 2008, Greco toured the UK with Anders. Together they performed dates with the BBC Big Band and played at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London. Greco was the first Las Vegas headliner to star at a British casino when he performed in cabaret on 8 August 2008 at the Circus Casino, Star City, Birmingham. Also in 2008, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to him and spouse Lezlie Anders.

In April 2010 he performed a live concert for BBC Radio 2 with the 42-piece BBC Concert Orchestra as a salute to Frank Sinatra. He toured the UK for over 30 dates from July 2010 with the Swinging Las Vegas Legends Show. He has produced, with his wife of 15 years, vocalist Lezlie Anders, a stage show titled 'FEVER! The Music of Miss Peggy Lee', which has met with critical acclaim, and opened in London's West End in the spring of 2010.  

Few can match the lifelong achievements of the extraordinary talent of Buddy Greco.  His peers have called him a singer's singer and musician's musician.  He has been internationally recognized year after year as one of the top jazz pianists of our time.  He appears at the top night clubs, concert halls, symphonies and in movies and has been featured on major television shows in the United States and throughout the world.  By order of Queen Elizabeth II, he was one of the only Americans to appear with the Beatles for a command performance for Her Majesty The Queen.

On New Year's Eve 2011 he made a guest appearance on Jools Holland's Hootenanny singing Fly Me to the Moon backed by the Jools Holland Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. (Info edited from various sources mainly Wikipedia)

Update:  Greco died on January 10, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 90