Jerry Vale

Though his career never achieved the same degree of superlatives afforded to peers like Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin, crooner Jerry Vale still enjoyed a five-decade career as a tasteful interpreter of American and international pop standards. After scoring chart hits with Eddy Arnold's "You Don't Know Me" and the Steve Allen-penned "Pretend You Don't See Her," Vale's best-loved material became his renditions of Italian-themed and Italian-language songs like "Innamorata" and his signature song, "Al di là," which endeared him to generations of Italian-American listeners. The latter tune, released in 1963, represented the peak of his tenure on the Billboard Hot 100, though Vale remained a fixture of both the adult contemporary charts and the nightclub circuit for the next four decades until his retirement in 2002. Vale's lovely high tenor voice and polished delivery preserved his status as one of traditional pop's most admired performers. Jerry Vale died at the age of 83 on May 18, 2014.