Billy Vaughn was born Richard Vaughn on April 12, 1919 in Glasgow, Kentucky. Sadly he died of cancer at age 72 on September 26, 1991. He had many achievements during his career including being Music Director for Dot Records; arranged and conducted the orchestra for Pat Boone, Gale Storm, The Fontaine Sisters, and many other Dot recording artists. He was so successful that he has been recognized for having more pop hits than any other orchestra leader during the rock era.He appeared on the Billboard chart a total of twenty-eight times between 1955 and 1966, and scored four Topp Ten hits and two Gold Records.
This week on Treasure Island Oldies, it's our annual Instrumental Gems - Wordless Wonders Special and we are pleased to present Billy Vaughn on Voice Your Choice with two of his big hits: A Swingin`Safari and Sail Along Silv'ry Moon. A couple of trivia bits for you as well: Sail Along Silv'ry Moon was originally a hit for Bing Crosby in 1937; and A Swingin' Safari was written by the German band leader, Bert Kaempfert, who first signed The Beatles, and this song was also the theme song for the original TV game show Match Game.
Which song do you prefer: A Swingin' Safary or Sail Along Silv'ry Moon? Cast your vote by clicking on to the Voice Your Choice page and making your selection. We'll play the winner in Hour 3 of next week's show.
