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Vaughn Monroe in "Singing Guns" |
On his
decision to become a western balladeer...
"Many fans have gotten the idea that my film debut in a western role, and
our concentration on western tunes just "happened." On the contrary -- our
whole trend in this direction is the long-awaited result of a hunch I had
two years ago. The big hunch was the realization that there was a lot of
really good western music around that wasn't getting the play it deserved.
I have always felt a personal closeness to this type of ballad, and I was
sure that the band and I could really do a job on it."
"My Hunch Was Right" published in a 1950 Souvenir
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On touring with
the band...
"I
don't know if you're familiar with my business or not. A small part
of every year I am able to "sit down" in a New York Hotel with my
band. We may also have an opportunity to rest for a few weeks at one
of the major spots in Chicago and Hollywood, but the rest of the
time we're moving--from town to town--so fast you'd think the
sheriff was after us, for it's on the road, playing a dance tonight
in Erie and tomorrow in Dayton, then a week at the theater in
Cleveland, that a band makes its real money."
"A Bandleader Gets Some Air", SKYWAYS magazine
1947
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Parting words to an interviewer...
"Don't make me
a jerk!"
METRONOME magazine article, 1947
On
comics imitating his voice...
"I knew that we were clicking when mimics started kidding my voice,
I'll know that I'm on the way out when they stop doing their
imitations."
NEW YORK NEWS article by Ed Sullivan
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On singing...
"Funk asked me if I could
sing. Up to then I had just been a trumpet player. But if it was a
singer he wanted, I wasn't going to lose out on the job without an
effort. So I told him I could sing. I sang 'Brother, Can You Spare A
Dime,' and believe me, with only a couple of bucks in my pocket, I
meant it."
Mitch Woodbury Reports, "Vaughn
Monroe Recalls Early Days of Career" Moon Beam Extra, Second
Anniversary Issue |
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On planes...
"In the first place, I have always been slightly
daffy over planes . . . big ones, little ones, or in betweens. In
fact, I like anything with a motor in it, including motorcycles."
"A Bandleader Gets Some Air", SKYWAYS magazine
1947
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On his band...
"We spent the next three years
working up a nice, sweet society band and then realized that
although we had plenty of class appeal, we had little or no mass
appeal. So we started all over again and reorganized to get some
jump and rhythm. But through it all we've tried to play the type of
music that fits in with soft lights and sweet whispers."
"Vaughn Monroe, Glamour Guy"
by Joe Martin
"Well, we like to let down our
hair and pep it up at the dances, but we keep it slower when we
broadcast. We have to please everybody, and that softer music
appeals to the larger amount of people. It's like eating too much
cake. You have to have your steak too."
From "Talking It Over With Vaughn" Winter 1948 "Monroe-ly
Yours" fan club journal. Courtesy of Tinker Cunningham.
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On women's comments...
"How in the world any one weighing 185
pounds can be cute is beyond me."
"Vaughn Monroe, Glamour Guy"
by Joe Martin
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On song choices...
"If I had my choice, I'd
pick a song that tells a story every time. There is a great deal of
pleasure in doing the vocal on a number that you can put feeling
into. "
From a column by Vaughn written for the Fall 1948 "Monroe-ly
Yours" fan club journal. Courtesy of Tinker Cunningham. |
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On staying in touch...
"People forget you awfully
fast if they don't see you. There's a new generation growing up all
the time, and if you don't keep that personal touch with each one of
them, you're out of luck."
METRONOME magazine article, 1947
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On a career in classical music...
"For a while, I kept dreaming of being a concert
baritone and I took courses at the New England Conservatory of
Music, but I gave that up when I realized that the Depression had
wrecked the concert stage."
COLLIER'S magazine article "Voice with Muscles,"
August 20, 1949
On
developing one's voice...
"There are hundreds of people
running around with great voices. If they would study and develop
them they could become great singers."
From an interview with Edward Howard, "Moon Beam
Extra" fan club journal courtesy of Tinker Cunningham.
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Tommy Dorsey to Vaughn Monroe...
"What
college cutie wouldn't like to cuddle up and sing a duet with
you?--You big six-foot-two Adonis."
The Tommy Dorsey Show, October 7, 1945
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On his television show "Airtime
'57"...
"Having
been through all of this myself from appearances on almost every type of
musical television program during the past six years, I have a very good
idea of what I don't want on my show. That is why on "Air Time '57" two
guide rules will be stringently observed--"good music" and "simplicity."
"I
might add that we will draw much of our music material from my personal
library. It consists of over 3,000 songs and arrangements and literally
represents a cross-section of America's musical tastes in popular music
during the past 16 years. I started the library when I first organized my
band in 1940 and have been adding material to it up to the very present."
"Simplicity is the Thing!" by
Vaughn Monroe (star of "Air Time '57" for Air Force Reserve) TV and
Radio Magazine
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On becoming the Voice of RCA...
"I told him I wasn't an announcer, but he said
the company wanted someone with a casual and homey touch. At the
time, I didn't know four top New York announcers also were
auditioning for the job, or I'd never have agreed to do it. But I
won somehow."
From a November 30, 1967 interview for "The
Wichita Eagle" when asked about becoming the voice of RCA-Victor.
Vaughn's manager had called him to New York to audition for a series
of RCA commercials.
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