Jazz Connection Magazine

Crooner Don Cherry, above, could hit golf balls as well as make hit records. He is the only person

ever to hold professional careers as a singer and as a golfer. Cherry's million-selling recording

of "Band Of Gold" was a chart-topper in 1956. "Mr. Band of Gold" will be headlining the annual

"Jukebox Saturday Night" program at the Paradise Performing Arts Center in Paradise, CA,

on May 26, 2007.

The Eighteenth century French philosopher Voltaire wrote about experiencing "the best of both possible worlds." Crooner Don Cherry epitomizes that ideal as he is the only person ever to hold successful dual professional careers both as a singer and as a golfer. In fact, Cherry is the only person in history to have had a million selling hit record (Band Of Gold in 1956) and also to have finished in the Top Ten in the U.S. Open in golf.

"The fact that I could sing and play golf, I got to so many people in so many areas that nobody else had ever been," said Cherry, 83, via telephone from his home in Las Vegas, NV. "I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about. I became very good friends with Bing Crosby, who was a good golfer. I remember talking with him once on the golf course about all the hits he made. I said something about doing an album called Don Cherry Sings With Bing. He said he would give me twenty songs and that he'd write down the linear notes and give me the history of those songs. We went to New York and we recorded three of those songs and all of a sudden the 'roulette' went broke. I don't know what happened to the recordings, but if I had them today, they would be priceless. That's because of golf and because I could sing."

It prompted Dan Jenkins, novelist and sports writer for Golf Digest, to write: "Contrary to popular notions, Jimmy Demaret wasn't the best golfer who could sing and Bing Crosby wasn't the best singer who could play golf. The All-Time Best Golfer/Singer, Singer/Golfer is Don Cherry."

Affectionately known as "Mr. Band Of Gold," it's been said that Cherry is a golfer who sang his way to the top.

"When Band Of Gold became a hit, it made me a lot of money," the "Swinging Singer" said. "I didn't make too much from the record company, but I made it working nightclubs and working other shows. It helped put me on the map, so to speak."

Although Cherry was already "on the map" before making Band Of Gold, his penchant for making hit recordings and the accolades he garnered as an amateur golfer were easy to track.

Cherry was an early favorite of present golf legends Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, as he was to rock 'n roll superstar Elvis Presley. Even "The King" considered Don Cherry one of his two favorite singers.

With his numerous hit recordings and his fame on the golf course, Cherry has remained somewhat anonymous over the years. Do a name search of Don Cherry on the Internet and two other famous persons with the same name will occupy most of the search results: Don Cherry, the late avant-garde jazz trumpeter who died in 1995, and Don Cherry, the volatile National Hockey League great.

"It never bothered me that we three all shared the same name," Cherry said. "I met Don Cherry the jazz trumpeter in Houston one time. Don Cherry the hockey coach didn't get along with a lot of people. I once went to Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) to do a telethon. The Edmonton Oilers were playing at home that night. I was asked to come out on the ice to sing the American National Anthem. When I was introduced, the pillows came sailing down from the stands. The announcer had to go over the louder speaker to tell the fans it wasn't the Don Cherry they thought it was. (laughing)"

Despite the apparent confusion in names, Cherry has always remained a jukebox favorite for the past 50 years. That fact will be showcased in regal form as Cherry is slated to headline the annual Memorial Day weekend extravaganza, "Jukebox Saturday Night," at the Paradise Performing Arts Center in Paradise, CA, on Saturday, May 26, 2007. Also on the bill will be the Skyliners Big Band from nearby Chico, CA, led by the husband and wife team of John and Joey Mahoney.

This will be the fourth "Jukebox Saturday Night" gala presented by the PPAC. Other past headliners have included The Ink Spots, The Modernaires, and last year's performer, Marilyn King from the renowned King Sisters vocal group.

Donald Ross Cherry was born on Jan. 11, 1924, in Wichita Falls, TX, the youngest of three children. His

mother, Ross Alma, was a skilled seamstress while his father, Don Cherry, was a rig builder who left home when his youngest child was five.

To support her three children, Ross Alma Cherry took in sewing for people. When customers would come to the house to pick up their clothes, she would beckon her young son from out of the back bedroom to sing for them.

"I'd sing Irish lullabies and stuff like that," Cherry recalled. "She often had me sing Shenandoah, which was her favorite song."

While his singing abilities came naturally, Cherry credits his mother's influence on his early musical development, he said.

"My mother was a strong-willed woman, but loving," Cherry said. "She was a member of the Church of Christ and she would take me to church with her. The congregation didn't have a choir so we would all sing. When I was about seven years old, I noticed that people would turn around and look at me. She told me that the reason why people were looking at me was because I sing better than they do. So I just kept on singing. I knew then I could sing. I could always sing."

"I was more influenced by both jazz and pop music," Cherry said. "Even though I lived in Texas, I loved listening to Bing Crosby. I heard Country music, sure. But guys like Bing, Dick Haymes and Buddy Clark were the ones I heard the most. I was exposed to every kind of music there was. It helped me in a lot of ways."

While he always carried a tune in his heart, music wasn't the main interest in Cherry's life as a youngster. Sports was. Cherry started out playing baseball but soon got bitten by the golf bug, thanks in part to his older brother, Paul.

"My brother was a caddy and he turned me on to golf," Cherry said. "After school I'd go to the golf course and caddy, too. Golf was real big in Wichita Falls. Then I started playing it."

Cherry took to the sport as a fish takes to water. His second home was the golf course where he would often caddy for many pro golfers who came through Wichita Falls. He was always watching and learning from them, he said.

As a young teen, Cherry shagged balls for golf pro Jimmy Demaret, often catching them in mid-air with his bare hands, and caddied for Dave Marr Sr., in the Texas PGA, and for Tommy Bolt. Cherry and Bolt became life-long friends. In fact, in 1988, Cherry once again caddied for the golfing legend, this time at the Senior Open in Lake Tahoe.

When Cherry was thirteen years old, tragedy struck when his older sister, Anna Lee, died from complications after having her tonsils removed by a medical intern.

As an introspective child, Cherry immersed himself in his interest in golf, becoming better and better with each passing year. And if there ever was a "natural" in the sport of golf, it was Cherry. As a senior at Wichita Falls High School, he entered and won the city's Junior Golf Championship, shooting a 78.

"When I got turned on to golf, it was something I could play very simply," Cherry said. "Golf is a game where the only opponent you have is yourself. The only thing you're playing is that grass and that dirt. It never moves. Golf is ninety percent mental. It really is."

In addition to making money caddying, Cherry also took a job in the evenings working for Western Union from 6 p.m. to midnight delivering telegrams on a bicycle. Because he could sing, he often would be tagged to deliver singing telegrams.

"Singing telegrams were a quarter a piece and I would go around town delivering as many as I could," Cherry said. "When I was finished for the evening, I'd go home, sleep, then go to school."

When Cherry turned 18 - a month after America entered World War II - he was drafted into the Army-Air Corps. As luck would have it he was stationed at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls as a dispatcher for his four-year military commitment. During this time, he continued practicing his golf game in his off-duty hours and later that year, he defeated Billy Maxwell to win the Lubbock Invitational.

Life in the military also gave Cherry the opportunity to sing behind a microphone when he participated in Army-sponsored shows on the base.

After his discharge in 1946, Cherry continued to compete in amateur golf tournaments, wiping out the competition. In less than nine years, the young golfer won 24 titles, earned 90 amateur trophies and scored 30 holes-in-one.

Cherry soon realized that he liked singing for audiences when he saw how his mellow baritone voice touched people. He soon was headlining at The Chalet nightclub in Dallas for a number of months and worked as a staff performer with FM-Station KTRN. He continued to play golf by day and sing at night.

"I never drank or smoked in my life, so I was able to play golf in the daytime and sing at night," Cherry said.

But Cherry's first big professional break as a singer came in early 1947 when he attended a dance at the Wichita Falls Country Club where Jan Garber and his Orchestra were playing. Garber, known as "The Idol Of The Airlanes," led a very successful society-type band since the mid-1920s.

The locals that attended the affair knew that Cherry could sing and prompted the noted bandleader to permit the 23-year-old crooner to sing a few songs with the band.

"Jan let me sing," Cherry said. "I had just won a golf tournament and he heard that I could sing. I sang Guilty, The Anniversary Song and 'Till The End Of Time."

Cherry was so good, that the following day Garber fired his regular "boy singer," Roy Cordell, and hired Cherry at a salary of $125 a week.

Trying to capitalize for publicity purposes (and profit) on Cherry's golfing prowess, Garber would arrange golf matches for anyone who wanted to play against "The Kid," as Cherry was called.

"Jan would have me on stage and challenge any member of the audience to play against me in a golf match," Cherry said.

Garber made a quick $400 per match while Cherry's cut of the winnings amounted to $25, Cherry said.

"The Kid" lost his first match, but went on to go undefeated thereafter during the seventeen-day road trip back to New York City.

"I basically just rode the bus," Cherry said of his brief stint with Garber. "When I did sing with the band, I sang maybe six songs a night. During the day I would go out and play golf. Jan had a wonderful orchestra and he seemed like he knew what he was doing, but he wasn't a musician. He came across as a real nice man for the public."

After arriving in the "Big Apple," Cherry waxed his first two record transcriptions with Garber: Apple Blossom Wedding and You Do.

After making the transcriptions, Garber let Cherry go, giving him $47 for the bus fare back to Texas.

Once back home, Cherry continued golfing in tournaments and singing at night. He landed a five-day-a-week radio show on WFAA in Dallas, and went on to make appearances on Billy Mayo's Breakfast Club morning shows. During his time on radio, the young balladeer was attracting wide audience attention.

In 1950, Decca Records got ear of Cherry and signed him to a recording contract. On May 5 of that year, Cherry went into the recording studios to wax his first record for the label - Mona Lisa with Victor Young and his Orchestra.

"Victor had a lady there named Esther Stone who conducted me," Cherry said. "I had never studied music. Sometimes I had the tendency to loose the beat or something like that. Everyone just wanted to make sure things were done right. Everyone was so kind. I never met a musician in the studios who wasn't kind to me."

When the record was released, Cherry's name was not listed on the label. Listeners were so taken by this "mystery" singer that inquires were made as to who he was.

A short time later, Cherry was then teamed up with legendary clarinet-playing bandleader Artie Shaw to record a pair of songs for the Decca label - Don't Worry 'Bout Me and Just Say I Love Her.

While Shaw's seemingly over-bearing persona appeared intimidating, Cherry didn't find that to be the case in his encounter with "The King of the Clarinet." In fact, Shaw went the extra mile to accommodate the young singer so that the recording session would go well, Cherry said.

"When Artie found that I couldn't read music, he took me into another studio and played the songs for me for 15 minutes until I learned them," Cherry said. "He was so good to me, it was unbelievable."

As a result of that recording experience, Cherry holds the highest regard for Shaw, he said.

"Just knowing about Artie and watching him work, he was probably one of the most intelligent human beings around," Cherry said. "Another person like that is Willie Nelson. You can't believe the things he knows. He's almost like a jazz musician."

When the two Shaw-led songs were released, Cherry was given vocal credit on the label.

However, Just Say I Love Her was almost never released, according to Cherry.

"Decca changed the release on that song because the label was afraid someone was going to sue them because it sounded like another song," Cherry said.

On his third recording session Cherry struck pay dirt with the song, Thinking Of You. It shot up to the Number 3 position on the Hit Parade, instantly selling over 700,000 copies - over one-half million more than Eddie Fisher's version - thus giving the Texas Troubadour his first hit single.

As a result of Thinking Of You, Cherry got his feet wet as a pop "cross-over" artist, introducing him to Country music.

"Paul Cohen, the president of Decca Records, felt I had a 'country-sound' to my music and asked me if I could sing Country," Cherry recalled. "Not being smart, I told him I could. Paul took me to Nashville for three days to cut fourteen Country songs. He said Hank Williams had a song for me to record. Sure enough, Hank had the song for me. Ernest Tubb worked with me on the music and we went into the studio to record it."

That song was I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You). Williams eventually recorded the song himself and it became another hit for the legendary Country singer.

Even master pop songwriter Irving Berlin was so taken with Cherry's version of one of his songs that in gratitude, he wrote a Country piece for crooner.

"I had just recorded a beautiful song with (trumpeter/bandleader) Tutti Camarata called Maybe It's Because," Cherry said. "Irving liked the recording and asked around as to who recorded it because he wanted to talk with me. The Decca people told Irving that I had gone to Nashville to cut some Country songs and when I returned they would send me over to see him. I wasn't afraid but I was in such awe of a man like Irving Berlin. When I walked into his office, he was sitting behind his desk wearing his glasses on the front part of his nose. He looked up at me and said, 'Mr. Cherry, that was one of the best records I ever heard of my song. I understand that you were in Nashville and I wrote a Country song for you.'"

Cherry was honored to have a song composed for him by the great Irving Berlin, but apparently the celebrated songwriter was not at his inspirational best when he penned the music, according to Cherry.

"It was the worst song in history!" Cherry said laughing. "We never recorded it, but when a guy like Irving Berlin writes a Country song for you, it's really something."

Other hits recorded by Cherry on the Decca label soon followed over the next few years including Vanity (1953), My Mother's Pearls (1954), Our Very Own, Mad About You, Grievin' My Heart Out For You, Lover's Quarrel, and I'm Through With Love.

Also during his time with Decca, Cherry got to record a few songs with famed bandleaders Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey when the brothers reunited in 1953 after eighteen years of going their separate ways as musicians.

The two songs Cherry waxed with the Dorsey Brothers were Music, Maestro, Please and A Bunch Of Strangers.

The Dorsey Brothers' feud with each other is legendary. The riff came to a head in 1935 when Tommy walked off the bandstand after disagreeing with Jimmy as to how the tempo of a certain song should be played. Jimmy then assumed leadership of that existing band while Tommy went on to form his own outfit. Each brother recorded many hit songs through the 1930s and '40s as bandleaders in their own right.

By 1953, the Dorsey Brothers ended their feud to reunite as bandleaders once again. That reunion lasted until Tommy's untimely death on Nov. 26, 1956.

"One had an opinion about something as did the other and sometimes they didn't agree," Cherry recalled of the Dorsey's. "But I didn't see any antagonism between the two. Of course, I wasn't around them that much unless I played golf with them. I played golf with Tommy four days before he died."

Although Cherry takes no personal credit, but Jimmy Dorsey's last hit, So Rare, can probably be attributed to the hit-making singer.

"I made So Rare with Ray Conniff (April 23,1956) and I went out golfing with Jimmy and Tommy and I played the record for them," Cherry said. "Soon after, Jimmy put the song out as an instrumental."

J.D. recorded So Rare in November 1956, with something of a rock 'n' roll beat to it, that featured his alto sax. It would be his last hit, a million-seller. He was given a gold record for the song two days before he died of lung cancer on June 12, 1957.

Don Cherry with 1953 Walker Cup team member Sam Urzetta.

While his musical career was taking off, Cherry continued making a name for himself in the golfing arena. From 1952 to 1961, Cherry played in the Masters a record nine times. In 1952, he was a semi-finalist in the U.S. Amateur, took second in the Metropolitan Amateur, and claimed medals in the Western Amateur. The next year, he placed as a semi-finalist in the Southern Amateur, was a member of the U.S. team in the Americas Golf Cup, and won the Canadian Amateur, which allowed him to compete in the famed 1953 Walker Cup Tournament, winning for the United States.

In 1954, Cherry took home the Quarter Finalist title in the U.S. Amateur, was once again honored as a member of the U.S. Team in the Americas Golf Cup, and he also won the Sunnehanna Amateur. The following year, he competed for the second time in the famed Walker Cup.

The 1955 Walker Cup Tournament provided a memorial high point for Cherry both as a golfer and as a singer. Playing at St. Andrews in Scotland, Cherry and his partner, Harvey Ward, scored one up to win over Joe Carr and Ron White, thus taking home the win. After helping to secure a U.S. Team victory, Cherry was standing on stage during the awards-reception ceremony when Lord Brabazon, Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Association, announced to the audience, "Bing Crosby and Bob Hope tried to make it to the Walker Cup, but didn't. We finally found a golfer who can sing. Would you please honor us with a song, Mr. Cherry?"

"I didn't know he was going to do that," Cherry said. "I thought for a second. Frankie Laine had a big hit two years earlier with I Believe that was very popular over in the British Isles. So, I sang I Believe right there a cappella. Here I was surrounded by thousands of Scotsmen and you could have heard a pin drop! The ovation that I received was one of the great feelings in my life. The next day, we received a lot of publicity over it. The papers wrote that the reason the U.S. Team won was because 'They believe they can chip... They believe they can putt... They believe they can win!'"

In 1954, Cherry signed on as a semi-regular on The Arthur Godfrey Show, providing him with national television exposure. Godfrey hosted one of the most popular television variety shows in the 1950s. While he had a great knack for showcasing talent, Godfrey didn't like it when he perceived that he was being upstaged by his performers. Case in point: In 1953, Godfrey caused a sensation when he fired - live on television - crooner Julius LaRosa, one of his contract performers on his show, for what he considered to be "lack of humility."

"Arthur had his own feelings about everything, but he was very good to me," Cherry said. "When I went over to Scotland to play in the Walker Cup, he covered it on his show. When I got back, he had me on his show. When I was ready to marry Sharon (Sharon Kay Ritchie - Miss America 1956), a lot of people were talking about that. Arthur made a big deal out of it on his show. Immediately after we were married, I thought I was coming back on his show. In the mean time, Walter Winchell started a variety show (which lasted about 6 weeks) and I appeared on it. Arthur heard about it and I never saw him again."

Also in 1954, Cherry ended his stint at Decca Records to sign on with Columbia when Mitch Miller, Columbia's A& R man (Artist and Repertoire), wooed him over the label. Columbia already hosted a stable of popular recording artists including Rosemary Clooney, Jo Stafford, Frankie Laine, Tony Bennett, Guy Mitchell, Johnnie Ray, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis, and The Four Lads.

Miller, who sported a moustache and a goatee, and was known as "The Beard," was a former symphony oboist who had a reputation of putting "junk songs" in front of his artists to record. Surprisingly, many turned out to be hits. Some of those junk-song hits were Come On To My House for Rosemary Clooney, The Roving Kind for Guy Mitchell, and Que Sera, Sera for Doris Day, among others.

"I'll tell you a junk song that Mitch threw at me," Cherry said. "I had gone to Nashville to work for about ten days. Mitch had this song called Just Walking In The Rain and while I was gone, he gave it to Johnnie Ray to record (June 29, 1956). And we all know that Johnnie had a million-seller with that one! So after my return from Nashville, Mitch gave me A Ferryboat Called Minerva to record. It's the worst song you ever heard!"

For his first recording on Columbia, Cherry was backed up by Percy Faith and his Orchestra on Tell It To Me Again with the song, Clean Break, on the 78's flip side (both recorded on Dec. 16, 1954). During that same session, he also recorded Be My Darling Once Again.

It didn't take long for Cherry to produce another hit song with Fifty Million Salty Kisses (And One Phony Hug) (recorded on July 1, 1955). His musical support on the recording was led by former Glenn Miller Army-Air Corps alumnus Norm Leyden. That song set the stage for what was to be his biggest hit, Band Of Gold, written by Jack Taylor and Bob Musel.

"My manager at the time, Howie Richmond, brought the song to my attention and he suggested to Mitch (Miller) and me that I should record it," Cherry said about how the song came to him for consideration. "I sang a lot of songs at Columbia where they said to me, 'Sing.' I did what they told me to do without judging their opinion. I wasn't immediately taken by the song at first, but when we went into the studios and started doing it, it sounded great to me."

Band Of Gold was first recorded as a ballad by a female artist, but Cherry's manager wanted his client to record the song in a different way, according to Cherry.

Miller had no problem with Cherry singing the song in whatever way he wanted, but he did stipulate to the 31-year-old singer that they use an arranger Columbia had hired from the Harry James band by the name of Ray Conniff.

Though he got his start as a trombone player in the Big Band era playing and arranging with Bunny Berigan, Bob Crosby and Artie Shaw, and later just arranging for Harry James, Conniff broke out as a solo artist after being hired by Miller as a house arranger with Columbia Records in 1951.

For five years, Conniff wrote back-up arrangements for vocalists, and took the assignments other Columbia arrangers were too busy to write. Working on Band Of Gold would be Conniff's first major break as a credited arranger and orchestra leader for Columbia.

"We went out to Ray's house and he started to play those triplets in the beginning of the song," Cherry recalled. "I looked at Howie and he looked at me. Of course, I didn't know much about music, but I think what Ray did for the song helped enormously to the success of it. He made Band Of Gold a lot more commercial."

Conniff, who died in October 2002, used a tightly harmonized chorus (courtesy of the Ray Charles Singers) in place of a string section (a Conniff trademark), and the sound was an instant hook.

Recorded on Oct. 17, 1955, and released two months later, Band Of Gold shot up to the Number 5 spot on Billboard's Top 20 Chart in January 1956, staying in the Top 20 until March where it peaked at Number 12. On the platter's flip side was Rumble Boogie.

Although Band Of Gold would be Cherry's biggest hit, he was initially surprised by the song's instant popularity, he said.

"I was sort of surprised," Cherry said. "You're happy about something like that but not sure about anything until it starts to happen. It took about five days for Band Of Gold to become a hit. You can put out a record for people to listen to in Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia and Chicago, and in four days you'll know if you have a hit or not."

While Band Of Gold as a song is nothing special in and of itself, Cherry credits Conniff's imaginative ability as an outstanding arranger for its success, he said.

"You know the success Ray had with the singers and instrumentation he used," Cherry said. "I think Band Of Gold started Ray on his career putting the voices and instrumentation together making them a major part of the record." (Click to hear Band Of Gold)

Cherry and Conniff collaborated in April 1956 on Swingin' For Two, the only album the crooner made for Columbia. Selections on that album are For You, Love Is Just Around The Corner, I Didn't Know About You, My Future Just Passed, Sleepy Time Gal (all recorded April 19); When The Sun Comes Out, I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter, Please Be Kind, I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine (recorded April 20); and I'll String Along With You, So Rare, and I'm Yours (recorded April 23).

Swingin' For Two (Plus Bonus Tracks) may be purchased from Amazon.com at www.amazon.com or from Oldies Collectables at www.oldies.com.

Cherry followed Band Of Gold with many more chart-toppers for Columbia including Wild Cherry, Ghost Town, I'll Be Around and I'm Still A King To You (all with Conniff, Jan. 30, 1956), If I Had My Druthers (with David Terry and his Orchestra, July 19, 1956) There's A Place Called Heaven, Mr. Teardrop and Fourteen Karat Gold (all three with Conniff, Nov. 26, 1956), Let It Be Me, Hasty Heart, So Long, The Last Dance and April Age (the latter two with Percy Faith, Dec. 18, 1956), and I Look For Love (with Conniff, Aug. 27, 1958), among others.

From 1956 to 1965 Cherry was heard in almost every home in America as the voice for the very popular television ad campaign for Mr. Clean household cleaning solution. It turned out to be a profitable venture for the singer earning him a ton of money. (Click to hear Mr. Clean jingle)

While an ad campaign for Mr. Clean was reintroduced to television audiences a few years ago by Proctor and Gamble, there is no interest today by the manufacturers to utilize Cherry's original "jingle," Cherry said.

"They put out the first eight bars of the original jingle in the current ad," he said. "But they also do it a little differently now. They are also advertising other products."

By 1960, the music industry had changed so much that Cherry put his recording career on hold and concentrated more on golf. In that year, he competed in the U.S. Open at Cherry Hill and finished second low amateur four strokes out of first place behind 20-year-old Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer respectively.

The next year, Cherry was chosen to play in and subsequently won, his third Walker Cup tournament. Having played in the Masters nine times, the Walker Cup three times, the America's Cup twice and eight U.S. Opens, Cherry decided it was time to turn pro. So in 1962, at the age of 38, that's what he did.

Cherry continued to remain busy performing in clubs and showrooms. He was kept in the public eye with appearances on The Perry Como Show, The Jerry Lewis MD Telethon and Dick Clark's American Bandstand. He even was the first co-host of The Mike Douglas Show when it first started out in Cleveland and Philadelphia before going nationwide.

In the mid-1960s, Cherry developed a life-long and almost inseparable friendship with singer Dean Martin. The happen-chance meeting between the pair occurred on the golf course in Las Vegas early one morning. The two hit it off right away.

In addition to being golfing buddies, the two singers would often work the same nightclubs together. Martin performed in the main room while Cherry would headline the center arena or lounge. Cherry would also be a frequent guest on Martin's television show.

After appearing on The Dean Martin Show a number of times, Cherry was signed as a regular on Martin's 1967 summer show hosted by Vic Damone, Carol Lawrence and Gail Martin (Dean's daughter). That '67 Summer Show was so popular that it also aired again in 1971 as Martin's summer replacement.

In fact, Martin is credited with helping to jump-start the second half of Cherry's career as an entertainer, Cherry said.

After his first marriage ended in divorce in 1962 (producing two sons, Sean Ross Cherry and Stephen Patrick Cherry), Cherry remarried four years later to Joy Vera Blaine, a former Las Vegas showgirl and former Miss Nevada. Their fourteen-year marriage produced a daughter. Dean Martin was Cherry's Best Man at the wedding.

Dean Martin, right, clowns around in front of the camera with his

"pallie," Don Cherry, on the golf course.

By 1965, Cherry signed a recording contract with Monument Records producing new hits such as Country Boy, I Love You Drops (1966), Between Winston-Salem And Nashville, Tennessee (Nov. 14, 1969), and the charted Take A Message To Mary (June 1968).

During his fourteen-year stay at Monument, Cherry recorded a number of albums including Cherry Smashes, Take A Message To Mary, Let It Be Me, and The World Of Don Cherry.

In 1968, Cherry was chosen to sing Lonely Rider, the title song for the film, Will Penny, starring Charlton Heston. After that, Cherry recorded an updated version of The Whippoorwill, which was written for the 1958 movie, Thunder Road, by actor Robert Mitchum.

Moving permanently to Las Vegas in 1967, Cherry performed at every showroom in town. He was hired by The Riviera Hotel as Casino Host and Golf Director.

A chapter about Cherry's contribution to the game of golf is found in the book, Texas Golf Legends by Paul Milosevich. Cherry continues to carry his PGA card in his wallet to this day and holds life membership in the Professional Golfers' Association of America. In 1995, he was inducted to the Texas Golf Hall of Fame along with former President George H. W. Bush.

While jogging one day, Cherry met Francine Bond Smith, a former singer and dancer and a veteran of twenty-eight Broadway shows. Love soon blossomed and the couple married in 1993.

Don and Francine Cherry in 2004

Like his friend, Dean Martin, Cherry experienced personal tragedy with the loss of a son. His youngest son, Stephen, 41, was killed on Sept. 11, 2001, a victim of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Building in New York City. The first plane hit right where the younger Cherry's office was. Stephen Cherry, who also composed and recorded Country-Rock songs, left behind a wife and four sons.

Since the loss of his son, Cherry has remained busy with performing, playing in golf tournaments and helping such charitable organizations such as the American Lung Association, The Children's Adoptive Charities and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, TX. He also helped to raise money to erect a memorial for the victims of 9/11.

In recent years, Cherry has also been recording independently. Some of his albums include The Velvet Voice Of Don Cherry; Home On The Range With Don Cherry; Give Me The Simple Life; Happy Holidays; Live At The Sands; two albums with Willie Nelson, Augusta and It's Magic; and Without A Song: A Tribute To Perry Como, recorded in 2000.

"Perry was a wonderful guy," said Cherry about his crooner friend. "I did the project before Perry passed away. He knew I was doing it. I sent a CD to him but I don't think he ever heard it."

If Como did have a chance to listen to Cherry's musical offering, he no doubt would have given it two thumbs up.

Fans wishing to keep up to date with Cherry and to purchase any of his CD's, may log on to the official Don Cherry website at: www.doncherry.us

Cherry was a featured guest star on the 2004 PBS special, "Magic Moments - the '50s Era." The show was filmed at Donald Trump's Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Also sharing the stage were Patti Page, Gogi Grant, Pat Boone, The McGuire Sisters, The Four Lads, and other singing groups. For the show, Cherry sang his signature song, Band Of Gold, with verve and gusto, thus bringing back many memories for the enthusiastic and sold-out audience.

While Cherry has "always been out there" performing and recording over the years, the publicity surrounding the ball-hitting balladeer has waned.

"The way music has changed, it ruined a lot of us," Cherry said. "Vic Damone has given up. Jerry Vale had a stroke and can't sing any more. I've been out there, but the major interest by promoters haven't been there."

Last year, Cherry's autobiography, Cherry's Jubilee: Singin' and Swingin' Through Life with Dino, Frank, Arnie and Jack, was published by Triumph Books. (See Don Cherry Book) Co-authored with Neil Daniels, the book contain lots of colorful stories of friends Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Phil Harris, Willie Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Mickey Mantle, Buddy Hackett, and others

The book has sold very well and has received rave reviews from fans in both the music and sports worlds.

A compilation CD, Cherry's Jubilee: Singin' And Swingin' Through Life, containing of some of Cherry's favorite records from the past 50 years, has also been released to compliment his autobiography. (See Don Cherry Cherry's Jubilee CD)

Cherry can also be seen quite regularly on the Golf Channel as the subject of numerous interviews.

Last month, Cherry was the celebrity captain at the Dan Pastorini and Mark Dennard Celebrity Golf Tournament at the Woodlands Resort in Houston, TX, and performed later that evening at the Quail Valley Country Club in Mission City, a suburb of Houston.

In December of this year, Cherry will be the headline performer on a cruise to the Caribbean as part of a fundraiser for Hospice. (Check Cherry's website for details.)

With a diverse musical career spanning seven decades that has touched the pop, jazz, Country and rock genres, Cherry has worked or recorded with a litany of musical greats including Gordon Jenkins, David Street, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Joe Williams and Billy Eckstine.

"Joe Williams was one of the greatest friends I ever had," Cherry said. "Billy Eckstine, too. (Drummer) Buddy Rich was something else. I once took Buddy and Sammy Davis out to play golf at The Tropicana. About the Fourth Hole, Sammy said he was exhausted and that he had to sit down. Buddy said to me, 'Let's go on and play the next five holes and we'll come back to get him!'"

As Cherry continues to spend time on the fairway, as well as performing and recording, his legacy in American popular music will always be rooted in the hits he helped to create over a half century ago. However, he feels he is still making a contribution to that legacy even today.

*** Jukebox Saturday Night featuring Don Cherry with the Skyliners Big Band will take place at the Paradise Performing Arts Center, 777 Nunnely Road, Paradise, CA, on Saturday, May 26, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30, $25 and $20 (student/child). For ticket information, call the PPAC at (530) 872-8454. ***