Guy Mitchell

Guy Mitchell (born Albert George Cernik; February 22, 1927 – July 1, 1999) was an American singer and actor, who was successful in his homeland, the UK, and Australia. He sold 44 million records, including six million-selling singles. His hits included "My Heart Cries for You", "Heartaches by the Number" and "Singing the Blues".

In the fall of 1957, Mitchell starred on the eponymous ABC's The Guy Mitchell Show. He also acted in a number of films, such as Those Redheads From Seattle and Red Garters, and appeared on TV as George Romack on the 1961 NBC western detective series Whispering Smith, and on the 1990 BBC television drama series Your Cheatin' Heart.

Life and career

Guy Mitchell was born Albert George Cernik to Croatian immigrants in Detroit, Michigan. The family moved to Los Angeles when he was 11, where he was signed by Warner Brothers Pictures to be a child star, and performed on KFWB radio.

Mitch Miller, in charge of talent at Columbia Records, noticed Cernik in 1950. Cernik joined Columbia and took his new stage name at Miller's urging. Miller had originally intended to record a sentimental ballad called "My Heart Cries for You" and "The Roving Kind" with Frank Sinatra; however, Sinatra was not interested, and rejected the songs selected for him to record that day. Given that Miller had already booked the musicians for the recording session, he invited Cernik to come in the evening as a replacement to record the songs. The recording went well, and Miller then told him that he should change his name as Miller could not pronounce the name Cernik. Initially reluctant, he then took Miller's name Mitchell, and added Guy, as he liked to say "Hi, Guy" in reply to other people's "Hello", and became Guy Mitchell for the record release. "My Heart Cries for You" became Mitchell's first hit, reaching No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard charts.

After "My Heart Cries for You", Mitchell was propelled into international fame and would be a popular star throughout the 1950s. Mitchell scored more international hits during the 1950s. His biggest hit was "Singing the Blues", which topped the charts in the U.S. for ten consecutive weeks and topped the charts in the UK for three non-consecutive weeks.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Mitchell acted in such movies as Those Redheads From Seattle (1953) and Red Garters (1954).

Tribute In 2007, to commemorate what would have been his 80th birthday, the English division of Sony BMG released The Essential Collection CD. His song "Heartaches by the Number" was part of the soundtrack of the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas.

Singles discography

Notable songs "My Heart Cries for You" (1950) "The Roving Kind" (1951) "My Truly, Truly Fair" (1951) "Sparrow In The Treetop" (1951) "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania" (1952) "She Wears Red Feathers" (1953) "Belle, Belle, My Liberty Belle" (1951) "Feet Up (Pat Him On The Po-po)" (1952) "Heartaches by the Number" (1959) "Knee Deep in the Blues" (1957) "Look At That Girl" (1953) "Ninety Nine Years (Dead or Alive)" (1956) "Pretty Little Black Eyed Susie" (1953) "Rock-a-Billy" (1957) "The Same Old Me" (1960) "Singing the Blues" (1956) "The Roving Kind" (1950) "Cloud Lucky Seven" (1953) "Unless" (1951)

Re-recorded songs In February 1982, Mitchell re-recorded 18 of his popular songs with new musical backings (in stereo) at the Audio Media Studio in Nashville, Tennessee for Bulldog Records (BDL 2041 in the UK). The album was entitled 20 Golden Pieces of Guy Mitchell (not to be confused with 20 Golden Greats by Mitchell, released in 1979). The songs on the album are:-

Side 1 "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania" "Feet Up (Pat Him on the Popo)" "Heartaches by the Number" "She Wears Red Feathers" "Sparrow in the Tree Top" "Sippin' Soda" "Rockabilly" "Cuff of my Shirt" "Cloud Lucky Seven" "Chicka Boom"

Side 2 "Pretty Little Black Eyed Susie" "Side by Side" (not previously recorded by Mitchell) "Music, Music, Music" (not previously recorded by Mitchell) "The Rovin' Kind" "My Heart Cries for You" "My Shoes Keep Walking Back" "Call Rosie on the Phone" "My Truly, Truly Fair" "Knee Deep in the Blues" "Singin' the Blues"