STUART, Florida (AP)
- Vaughn Monroe, whose smooth baritone voice made "Racing with the Moon" and
other songs million sellers, has died at 62. (sic He was 61)
Monroe died Monday in a Stuart hospital. His widow said he became ill
and underwent stomach surgery two weeks ago after returning from an
engagement in Louisville, Ky., during the Kentucky Derby.
Born in Akron, Ohio, he was playing with bands in western Pennsylvania at
the age of 16. He formed his own band in 1937 (sic 1940), and for
eight years the group was featured on the popular radio program "Camel
Caravan." The band stayed together until 1953.
He was one of the first major entertainers to do
television commercials and for 15 years was known as "The Voice of RCA."
Monroe's hits included "Ghost Riders in the
Sky," "There I Said It Again" and "Ballerina."
"We made no concessions to rock n' roll," he
said in a recent interview "it is foreign to me. I would be out of place if
I ever tried it."
"The record industry today is such that they put
records out like popcorn," he said. "The young performers make one record
and they are hot. They have never been through the one-night stand business
playing in barns, freezing to death in unheated ballrooms."
A private funeral was scheduled with burial in
Stuart, where Monroe had lived for the past seven years.
