Music / Film & TV
Guy Mitchell
1927–1999 · pop singer, actor
Detroit-born son of Croatian immigrants who became one of the top-selling pop singers of the 1950s with “Singing the Blues”.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Las Vegas, Nevada
aged 72- Birth name
- Albert George Cernik
- Detroit years
- 1927–1930s
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Guy Mitchell was born Albert George Cernik in Detroit to Croatian immigrant parents and spent his early childhood in the city before the family moved west to California. As a boy he sang on radio and was spotted by a film studio; after service in the U.S. Navy he sang with Carmen Cavallaro's band. Columbia Records producer Mitch Miller gave him his stage name, and from 1950 he became one of the era's biggest hitmakers with bright, upbeat records. “My Heart Cries for You” sold a million in 1950, “Singing the Blues” topped the charts for weeks in 1956, and “Heartaches by the Number” reached No. 1 in 1959. He also hosted his own ABC television show and acted in films such as Red Garters. His hits were equally popular in Britain and Australia, and he sold an estimated 44 million records.
Highlights
- Estimated 44 million records sold, including six million-sellers
- “Singing the Blues” (1956), a long-running US No. 1
- “Heartaches by the Number” reached No. 1 (1959)
- Hosted The Guy Mitchell Show on ABC (1957)