Buddy Greco

Buddy Greco is an American jazz and pop singer and pianist from Philadelphia, where he is born in 1926 and dies in 2017. Born Armando Greco, he begins playing piano at the age of four after his mother introduces him to the instrument. As a child and teenager, he sings on the radio and performs in clubs in Philadelphia.

Early career

At 16, Greco is hired by Benny Goodman and tours internationally with Goodman’s orchestra. He spends four years with the band, working as a singer, pianist and arranger. After leaving Goodman at 20, he returns to nightclub work, continuing to sing and play piano.

Recording career

Greco records in jazz, pop and country music and sells over one million records across his career. His songs include

Oh Look A-There

,

Ain’t She Pretty

,

Up, Up and Away

and

Around the World

. His biggest-selling single is

The Lady Is a Tramp

, which sells over one million copies. He records more than sixty albums.

Performance work

He conducts the London Symphony Orchestra, performs for Queen Elizabeth II and appears with the Beatles. In the 1960s, his work expands into film and television. He appears regularly in the TV series

Away We Go

and has a role in the film

The Girl Who Knew Too Much

.

Collaborations and later career

From 1969 to 1970, Greco works with Ron Eschete, and the duo appears on several television programmes including

The Mike Douglas Show

. He meets Lezlie Anders while she is performing in Las Vegas, first appearing on stage with her when she is a support act at The Desert Inn. After they marry, they work and tour together. In 1992, he begins a thirteen-week engagement in Las Vegas at the Starlight Room at Stars’ Desert Inn, which leads to a renewed period of recognition.

UK work and later performances

Greco becomes acquainted with the UK in 1949 and spends many years performing in clubs around England. He later moves to Essex, while keeping his house in Palm Springs, California. In 2008, he tours the UK with Anders and performs with the BBC Big Band and at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London. He is the first Las Vegas headliner to appear in cabaret at a British casino when he performs at the Circus Casino, Star City, Birmingham. In 2010, he performs a Frank Sinatra tribute for BBC Radio 2 with the 42-piece BBC Concert Orchestra, and later tours the UK with the Swinging Las Vegas Legends Show. He and Anders also produce

Fever! The Music of Miss Peggy Lee

, a stage show about Peggy Lee, in which he plays piano and conducts the orchestra while she sings.

Honours and personal life

Greco is inducted into the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame and is listed in the

Encyclopedia of Great Musicians

and the

Encyclopedia of Great Jazz Singers and Musicians

. He is married five times: to Sally Baionno, Dani Crayne, Margret Kinley, Jackie Sabatino and Lezlie Anders. He has children from several of these marriages.