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In 1943, Tormé made his movie debut in
Frank Sinatra's first film, the musical
Higher and Higher. He went on to sing and act in a number of films and television episodes throughout his career, even hosting his own television show in 1951–52. His appearance in the 1947 film musical
Good News made him a
teen idol for a few years.
In that year he also formed the vocal quintet "Mel Tormé and His Mel-Tones," modeled after
Frank Sinatra and
the Pied Pipers. The Mel-Tones, which included
Les Baxter and Ginny O'Connor, had several hits fronting
Artie Shaw's band and on their own, including
Cole Porter's "
What is This Thing Called Love?" The Mel-Tones were among the first jazz-influenced vocal groups, blazing a path later followed by
The Hi-Los,
The Four Freshmen, and
The Manhattan Transfer.
Later in 1947, Tormé went solo. His singing at New York's
Copacabana led a local
disc jockey, Fred Robbins, to give him the
nickname "The Velvet Fog", thinking to honor his high tenor and smooth vocal style, but Tormé detested the nickname. (He self-deprecatingly referred to it as "this Velvet Frog voice.") As a solo singer, he recorded a number of romantic hits for
Decca (1945), and with the
Artie Shaw Orchestra on the
Musicraft label (1946–48). In 1949, he moved to
Capitol Records, where his first record, "Careless Hands," became his only
number one hit. His versions of "Again" and "
Blue Moon" became signature tunes. His composition "California Suite," prompted by
Gordon Jenkins' "Manhattan Tower," became Capitol's first 12-inch
LP album. Around this time, he helped pioneer
cool jazz.
From 1955 to 1957, Tormé recorded seven jazz vocal albums for Red Clyde's
Bethlehem Records, all with groups led by
Marty Paich, most notably
Mel Tormé with the Marty Paich Dektette. These recordings proved a creative peak for Tormé and for Paich, a leading figure in the
West Coast jazz of the time.
When
rock & roll music (which Tormé called "three-chord manure") came on the scene in the 1950s, commercial success became elusive. During the next two decades, Tormé often recorded mediocre arrangements of the pop tunes of the day, never staying long with any particular label. He was sometimes forced to make his living by singing in obscure clubs. He had two minor hits, his 1956 recording of "Mountain Greenery," and his 1962
R&B song "Comin' Home, Baby," arranged by
Claus Ogerman. The latter recording led the jazz and gospel singer
Ethel Waters to say that "Tormé is the only white man who sings with the soul of a black man." It was later covered instrumentally by
Quincy Jones and
Kai Winding.
In 1963–64, Tormé wrote songs and musical arrangements for the
The Judy Garland Show, and made two guest appearances on the show itself. However, he and Garland had a serious falling out, and he was fired from the series, which was canceled by
CBS not long afterward. A few years later, after Garland's death, his time with her show became the subject of his first book, "The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland on the Dawn Patrol" (1970). Although the book was praised, some felt it painted an unflattering picture of Judy, and that Tormé had perhaps over-inflated his own contributions to the program; it led to an unsuccessful lawsuit by Garland's family.
Other books by Mel Tormé include his novel "Wynner" (1979), "It Wasn't All Velvet" (1988) and "My Singing Teachers Reflections on Singing Popular Music" (1994).
Tormé befriended drummer
Buddy Rich the day Rich left the
Marine Corps in 1942. Rich became the subject of Tormé's book
Traps—The Drum Wonder: The Life of Buddy Rich (1987). Tormé also owned and played a drumset that drummer
Gene Krupa had used for many years. George Spink, treasurer of the
Jazz Institute of Chicago from 1978 to 1981, recalled that Tormé played this drumset at the 1979
Chicago Jazz Festival with
Benny Goodman on the classic "
Sing, Sing, Sing".
Although a jazz and popular musician, Tormé also respected
classical music, especially that of
Frederick Delius and
Percy Grainger.
