Rosemary Clooney

Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American pop and jazz singer and actress. She came to prominence with the song "Come On-a My House" (1951), which was followed by "Tenderly" (1951), "Half as Much" (1952), "Botch-a-Me" (1952), "Mambo Italiano" (1954), "Hey There" (1954), "This Ole House" (1954), and "Sway" (1960), a remake of "¿Quién será?". In total, her discography includes 49 studio albums, 33 compilation albums, six live albums, four video albums, one soundtrack album, and three box sets.

Clooney's career languished in the 1960s due to her pregnancies, bipolar disorder, and drug addictions, but was revived in 1976, when her White Christmas co-star Bing Crosby invited her on his 50th anniversary tour. Clooney continued recording until her death in 2002. She was the mother of actor Miguel Ferrer and the aunt of actor George Clooney. A heavy smoker, Clooney died of lung cancer at age 74.

Rosemary Clooney was born on May 23, 1928, in Maysville, Kentucky, the daughter of Marie Frances (née Guilfoyle), of Irish ancestry, and Andrew Joseph Clooney, of Irish and German descent. Her father was an alcoholic who was often jailed for public drunkenness and struggled to make a living, while her mother traveled often for her dress business. Her younger brother, Andy, drowned in the Ohio River as a young boy. Clooney was raised Catholic. When Rosemary was 15, her mother remarried and moved with Rosemary's brother Nick to California, while Rosemary and her sister Betty remained with their father. They resided in the John Brett Richeson House in the late 1940s. She moved between relatives and attended four high schools, all in the Cincinnati-area: Hughes, Withrow, Our Lady of Mercy, and Western Hills.

Clooney never received singing lessons or learned how to read sheet music. She and her sister Betty learned to sing by ear and began singing to attract crowds before their grandfather's campaign speeches for mayor of Maysville; he was elected three times. The performances built their confidence and gave them local recognition.

In 1945, Rosemary and Betty won a spot singing on the WLW radio station in Cincinnati, making $20 per week. While on the radio, in 1947, they were heard by Tony Pastor when he was in Cincinnati. Pastor was initially reluctant to take both sisters into his band as Betty was still under the age of 18 but hired them to record "I'm Sorry I Didn't Say Sorry", backed with "The Lady from Twenty-Nine Palms". The Clooneys recorded 14 songs with the Pastor band.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.