Biography of Rosemary Clooney

Her imaginative choice of material made Rosemary Clooney a household word during the 50s. Clooney and her sister Betty sang over a Cincinnati radio station before joining Tony Pastor's orchestra. Signing with Columbia in 1949, Clooney hit with the inviting #1 smash "Come On-A My House," cowritten by Ross Bagdasarian (soon to unleash a trio of electronically created Chipmunks on the world as David Seville). Subsequent chart-toppers included "Half As Much" in 1952 and "Hey There" and the country-based "This Ole House" in 1954 (the same year she married actor Jose Ferrer). Clooney also starred in several movies, most notably Bing Crosby's White Christmas in 1954. Today Clooney sings in a jazzier vein, as alluring as ever. ~ Bill Dahl