Billy Vaughn (1931-1991)

Billy Vaughn was among the most successful instrumental artists of the 1950s, a man who never heard a song he didn't cover. He was born on April 12th 1931 in Glasgow, Kentucky.

Like Les Baxter, Vaughn started as a vocalist, leading a group called the Hilltoppers, and had a string of hits throughout the 1950s. The most famous of these was a cover of Terry Gilkyson's "Marianne" in 1957. In the mid 1950s, Vaughn became musical director of Dot Records, which specialized in cover records. He led the syruppy orchestra behind such white-bread covers of original black R&B hits as the Fontane Sister's "Hearts of Stone" (first done by the Charms) and Gale Storm's "I Hear You Knocking" (written by Smiley Lewis, made a hit by Fats Domino), the hits of Pat Boone and many other Dot artists.

Between 1954 and 1968, Vaughn recorded over 25 albums of covers instrumentals for Dot. Several of his recordings outsold the originals, among them "The Shifting, Whispering Sands" (first done by Rusty Draper) and "Melody of Love" (a cover of a French hit, "Melodie d'Amour"). He also released an EP featuring a version of "Shifting, Whispering Sands" with narration by Ken Nordine.

As Vaughn's popularity faded in the US, it grew in Germany and Japan, and he took bands on tours of each country several times. Billy Vaughn died on September 26th 1991 in Escondido, California..

The hits in the Billboard Hot 100 :

record position weeks year
       
Melody of love 2 27 weeks 1954
The shifting whispering sands (part 1 & 2) 5 15 weeks 1955
A theme from The Three Penny Opera 'Moritat' 37 13 weeks 1956
Little boy blue 76 1 week 1956
When the white lilacs bloom again 18 10 weeks 1956
Petticoats of Portugal 83 3 weeks 1956
The ship that never sailed 95 1 week 1957
Sail along silvery moon 5 26 weeks 1957
Raunchy 10 21 weeks 1957
Tumbling tumbleweeds 30 11 weeks 1958
Trying 77 4 weeks 1958
Singing hills 56 5 weeks 1958
La paloma 20 10 weeks 1958
Cimarron (roll on) 44 10 weeks 1958
Blue Hawaii 37 10 weeks 1958
Hawaiian war chant 89 1 week 1959
Your cheatin' heart 82 5 weeks 1959
Look for a star 19 12 weeks 1960
The sundowners 51 10 weeks 1960
Wheels 28 8 weeks 1961
Orange blossom special 63 6 weeks 1961
Blue tommorrow 84 5 weeks 1961
Berlin melody 61 7 weeks 1961
Come September 73 6 weeks 1961
Chapel by the sea 69 6 weeks 1962
A swingin' safari 13 12 weeks 1962
Mexican pearls 94 2 weeks 1965
Michelle 77 6 weeks 1966

Recorded albums