One of the most durable and successful of the second generation of crooners who came to prominence in the early forties, Como’s warm baritone earned the singer twenty million-selling records and cumulative disc sales of over 30 million units. Stylistically influenced by Bing Crosby, ‘Mr C’, as Como was known in the fifties, smoothly managed the transition from big band singer to solo performer and weathered the storm of rock’n’roll with the help of covers such as ‘Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)’ and singalongs like ‘Catch a Falling Star’. His career was helped along by a relaxed, natural manner which suited television.

The son of Italian immigrants, Como planned to be a barber before joining Freddie Carlone’s band as featured singer in 1934. He toured the Midwest for three years with Carlone and then in 1937, joined Ted Weems’ band. After five years with the band, Como left to work as a solo singer and signed with RCA in 1943. Popular on radio for his rounded even tone, seen at its best in his ballad singing, he attempted a career in Hollywood, before recording success came in 1945. His first million-seller was ‘Till the End of Time’. Then came ‘If I Loved You’, ‘A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba’, and ‘Temptation', originally recorded by Como’s mentor Bing Crosby, this inaugurated a policy of reviving past hits. Others in this vein included ‘Prisoner of Love’, ‘When You Were Sweet Sixteen', ‘Because’  and ‘If’.
   In contrast to Dick Haymes and Frank Sinatra, balladeers whose sales fell in the early fifties as a new breed of harder voiced singers like Frankie Laine and Johnnie Ray, emerged, and whose records were highly produced, Como continued to sell vast quantities of records throughout the decade. Promoted on his television show, his hits included a mix of novelty songs, such as ‘Papa Loves Mambo’, ‘Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)’, ‘Chee Chee Oo Chee (Sang the Little Bird)’, a duet with Jaye P. Morgan, and ‘Delaware’.                             
   He also recorded an unlikely slick cover of the R & B hit ‘Ko Ko Mo’, formula ballads, such as ‘The Girl with the Golden Braids’ and relaxed numbers like ‘Catch a Falling Star’ and ‘Magic Moments’. In semi-retirement in the sixties and seventies, he recorded less frequently, but still had the occasional international success with romantic ballads like ‘If’ and restricted his performing to Las Vegas clubs and to television.