Guy Mitchell

Guy Mitchell
Background information
Birth name	Albert George Cernik
Born	(1927-02-22)February 22, 1927 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	July 1, 1999(1999-07-01) (aged 72) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Genres	Big band, traditional pop, rock and roll, country
Years active	1947–1999
Labels	Decca, King, Columbia, Philips
Website	Official website

Guy Mitchell (born Albert George Cernik; February 22, 1927 – July 1, 1999) was an American pop singer and actor, successful in his homeland, the UK and Australia. He sold 44 million records, including six million-selling singles.

In the fall of 1957, Mitchell starred in ABC's The Guy Mitchell Show. He appeared as George Romack on the 1961 NBC western detective series Whispering Smith, with World War II hero Audie Murphy in the leading role.^[1]

Life and career

Born of Yugoslavian immigrants in Detroit, Michigan, at age 11 he was signed by Warner Brothers Pictures, to be a child star, and performed on the radio on KFWB in Los Angeles, California. After leaving school, he worked as a saddlemaker, supplementing his income by singing. Dude Martin, who had a country music broadcast in San Francisco, hired him for his band.

Mitchell served in the United States Navy for two years in World War II, then sang with Carmen Cavallaro's big band. In 1947 he recorded for Decca with Cavallaro's band, but left due to food poisoning. He went next to New York City and made records for King Records as Al Grant (one, "Cabaret", appeared in the Variety charts). He won on the radio show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in 1949 as a soloist.^[2]

Mitch Miller, in charge of talent at Columbia Records, noticed Cernik in 1950. He joined Columbia and took his new stage name at Miller's urging: Miller supposedly said, "my name is 'Mitchell' and you seem a nice 'guy', so we'll call you Guy Mitchell." Bob Merrill wrote hits for Mitchell.^[3] In the 1950s and 1960s Mitchell acted in such movies as Those Redheads From Seattle (1953) and Red Garters (1954). He appeared in "Choose a Victim", a 1961 episode of Thriller.

His first hit was "My Heart Cries for You" (1951). He ventured into rock with songs including "Heartaches by the Number", "Rock-a-Billy", "The Same Old Me", and his biggest hit, "Singing the Blues", which was number one for 10 weeks in 1956.^[4]

Personal life

He married three times, first to Jackie Loughery, a former Miss USA, then to Elsa Sorensen, who had been a Miss Denmark. His third wife, Betty, survived him after 25 years of marriage.

Death

Mitchell died on July 1, 1999, aged 72, at Desert Springs Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada of complications from cancer surgery.

Tribute

In 2007, to commemorate what would have been his 80th birthday, the English division of SonyBMG released The Essential Collection CD. His song "Heartaches by the Number" was part of the soundtrack of the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas.^[5]

Singles discography

Best known songs

• "My Heart Cries for You" (1950)^[7]
• "The Roving Kind" (1951) ^[7]
• "My Truly, Truly Fair" (1951) ^[7]
• "Sparrow In The Treetop" (1951) ^[7]
• "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania" (1952) ^[7]
• "She Wears Red Feathers" (1953) ^[7]
• "Belle, Belle, My Liberty Belle" (1951)
• "Feet Up (Pat Him On The Po-po)" (1952)
• "Heartaches by the Number" ^[7] (1959)
• "Knee Deep in the Blues" (1957)
• "Look At That Girl" (1953)
• "Ninety Nine Years (Dead or Alive)" (1956)
• "Pretty Little Black Eyed Susie" (1953)
• "Rock-a-Billy" (1957)
• "The Same Old Me" (1960)
• "Singing the Blues" (1956)
• "The Roving Kind" (1950)
• "Cloud Lucky Seven" (1953)
• "Unless" (1951)

Re-recorded songs

In February 1982 he re-recorded 20 of his popular songs with new musical backings (in stereo) at the Audio Media Studio in Nashville, Tennessee for Bulldog Records (No. BDL 2041 in the UK). The album was entitled "20 Golden Pieces of Guy Mitchell" (not to be confused with "20 Golden Greats" by Mitchell released in 1979). The songs on the album are:-

References

1. ↑ Cromelin, Richard (July 3, 1999). "Guy Mitchell, Singer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 11, 2012. 
2. ↑ Obituary, New York Times, July 5, 1999.
3. ↑ Obituary for Bob Merrill, The Independent; February 20, 1998.
4. ↑ Obituary, The Guardian, July 5, 1999.
5. ↑ Profile, discogs.com; accessed February 27, 2016.
6. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 371–372. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Obituary: Guy Mitchell, The Independent, July 5, 1999.

External links

• Guy Mitchell Appreciation Society site, belle49.freeserve.co.uk
• Guy Mitchell obituary
• Biodata, "The Interlude Era" site], earthlink.net
• "Guy Mitchell". Find a Grave. Retrieved May 7, 2015.