Before there was Josh Groban there was the incredible Vic Damone, the heartthrob crooner who captivated America with his charming smile and wooing music. Damone's knockout vocals catapulted him into full-fledged pop superstardom in the ‘40s and ‘50s, and through several media outlets the name Vic Damone outlasted most other musicians of his caliber through the 1970s.

Born to an Italian-American family in the late 1920s, Damone was raised on a strict diet of music from his childhood; his father was an electrician who sang and played guitar on the side, while his mother was a piano instructor. Damone's biggest musical influence came from the legendary Frank Sinatra, however, and his vocal style started gravitating toward Ol' Blue Eyes' right from the start. Damone's first musical recognition came in 1947, when he won first place in Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts show. While on the show, the young vocalist met Milton Berle, who hooked him up with gigs at La Martinique and the Aquarium nightclubs. All this recognition caught the attention of Mercury, who offered the 19-year-old a record deal. Damone's debut single was the monumental "I Have But One Heart," and thereafter Vic Damone became a staple balladeer in the music industry.

Even a stint in the military after being drafted couldn't stop Damone from conquering the vocal pop realm, and after he returned from the war in 1953 Damone spread his entertainment wings and started making cameos in film (Meet Me in Las Vegas) and television (The Vic Damone Show). Damone was able to withstand the ever-growing popularity of rock ‘n' roll through the late ‘50s, moving around from label to label while continuing to release hits. In the ‘70s, Damone became a figure on the Las Vegas casino circuit, and the balladeer kept pumping out new music long through the 1980s.