Buddy Greco, the popular singer and piano player, who started his long career with Benny Goodman, has died. He was 90.
Greco best known for his hit “The Lady Is a Tramp,” passed away on Tuesday in Las Vegas, according to The Hollywood Reporter .
A family friend, Barb Donohue, reported his death on Facebook.
Born Armando Greco in Philadelphia, he was hired at age 16 to sing on tour with Goodman’s orchestra. He left the band at 20 and returned to singing in nightclubs.
Greco’s version of “The Lady Is a Tramp” was released in 1962 and sold over a million copies.
Among his popular pop, jazz and country songs were “Oh Look A-there,” “Ain’t She Pretty,” “Up, Up and Away” and “Around the World.”
He recorded several albums for Frank Sinatra’s Reprise Records, forming a long friendship with the singer and hanging out with the Rat Pack.
Buddy Greco and His Jazz Friends was recorded in 1992 with fellow greats including Grover Washington Jr, Ernie Watts, Buddy DeFranco, Jack Sheldon and Toots Thielemans.
Greco hosted his own TV special in 1965 and two years later starred with comedian George Carlin and drummer Buddy Rich on the CBS variety show Away We Go , a summer replacement series for The Jackie Gleason Show . In 1969, he tried his hand at acting, appearing opposite Adam West in the crime drama The Girl Who Knew Too Much.
In later years he continued to tour the world and had longtime gigs in Las Vegas as well as owning the Buddy Greco Dinner Club in Cathedral City near Palm Springs, California.
After moving to England, he toured extensively solo and with the Swinging Las Vegas Legends Show. He produced the London stage show Fever! The Music of Miss Peggy Lee with his wife, who was a friend of Lee’s.
In November, Greco appeared at his induction into the Las Vegas Entertainment Hall of Fame.
He is survived by his wife, Lezlie Anders, who often performed with him, and several children from previous marriages.
