Jerry Vale

Jerry Vale
Vale in 1965.
Background information
Birth name	Gennaro Luigi Vitaliano
Born	July 8, 1932 (1932-07-08) (age 79) The Bronx, New York City
Occupations	Vocalist

Jerry Vale (born Gennaro Luigi Vitaliano; July 8, 1932, The Bronx, New York) is an American singer.

Career

In high school, in order to make some money, he took a job shining shoes in a barbershop in New York City. He sang while he shined shoes, and his boss liked the sound so well that he paid for music lessons for the boy. Enjoying the lessons, Vale started singing in high school musicals and at a local club. This led to additional club dates, including one that lasted for three years at a club in the suburb of Yonkers, New York, just north of the city. When Paul Insetta, (who was a road manager for Guy Mitchell and a hit songwriter) heard him there, he signed him to a management contract, changed his name, and further coached him. He then arranged for Vale to record some demonstration records of songs he'd written, and brought the demos to Columbia Records. Vale then signed a recording contract with Columbia Records, and Insetta managed him for many years.

His version of the National Anthem, recorded in the late 1960s, was a fixture at sporting events for many years.

Vale and Rita, his wife of over forty years, reside in Palm Desert, California. His autobiography, A Singer's Life, was published in 2000 by Celebrity Profiles, Long Island, New York. He made cameo appearances as himself in the 1990 film Goodfellas and the 1995 film Casino, both directed by Martin Scorsese.

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions
		Hot 100	AC
1953	"You Can Never Give Me Back My Heart"	29	-
1954	"Two Purple Shadows"	20	-
	"I Live Each Day"	29	-
1956	"Innamorata (Sweetheart)"	30	-
	"You Don't Know Me"	14	-
1957	"Pretend You Don't See Her"	45	-
1958	"Go Chase a Moonbeam"	60	-
1962	"Al di là"	-	-
1963	"Old Cape Cod"	-	-
1964	"Have You Looked into Your Heart"	24	1
1965	"For Mama"	50	-
	"Tears Keep On Falling"	96	-
	"Where Were You When I Needed You"	99	-
1966	"Ashamed"	-	23
	"Dommage, Dommage (Too Bad, Too Bad)"	93	-

See also

• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart

External links

• Jerry Vale at MySpace
• Bio on NNDB site
• Bio on VH1 site
• Jerry Vale at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Vale, Jerry
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 8, 1932
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death