American Flag: Creative Commons
Note: FAB Collection, Texana/Genealogy Department, San Antonio Public Library- edited by Howard L. Bell.
Vic Damone, born Vito Rocco Farinola, was a member of the Fourth Army Band in the 1950’s. Damone was born in Brooklyn to parents, Rocco D. Farinola & Domenica Damone Farinola in June of 1928. His love for music began at a young age and he grew up idolizing Frank Sinatra.
Damone’s musical inspiration may have come from his parents who encouraged him to sing and play instruments. Following his dreams, he took on singing lessons and joined talent shows. Beginning in adolescence, he garnered the attention of talent agents who helped spring him onwards to stardom. Through the years, Damone was noticed by musical giants such as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash.
Having achieved musical success by the mid-1940s and movie star status by the early 1950s, Damone enlisted in the United States military, joining the Army Show, a gathering of military musical performers who journeys to various U.S. military installations and performs musical numbers for service members to boost morale, while stationed in Germany. Damone finished out the remainder of his short stent in the military, approximately 8 months, with the Fourth Army Band located at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. He continued to showcase his talents by performing with the Pastels, a musical group formed from members of the Fourth Army Band.
Upon leaving the military, he continued to perform in concerts, movies, television, and radio. Damone also appeared on talk shows, such as The Judy Garland Show. On one occasion, he told Judy Garland that when Elvis Presley would attend his concerts, Elvis would send him a note requesting that he sing “Over the Rainbow,” the song made famous by Garland in the movie The Wizard of Oz.
Throughout the years, Damone never forgot the troops from his time in the service and appeared on a few "non profit" United Service Organizations (USO) tours, at least one of them with Bob Hope. USO tours are still around today and provide a much needed moral boost for U.S. service members that serve around the world.
For more information on Vic Damone, visit the Fourth Army Reunion Band Collection and review a few memories from the troops of FAB that served with him.
