Perry Como - Ave Maria

About "Ave Maria"

Perry Como was a prolific American recording artist for RCA Victor Records from 1943 until 1987, and is credited with numerous gold records. Como had so many recordings achieve gold-record status that he refused to have many of them certified. Over the decades, Como is reported to have sold millions of records, including at least fifteen of his singles selling over a million copies, but he commonly suppressed these figures.Como was also well known for his recordings and performances in the intimate Easy listening style and religious music of Christian and Jewish faiths. His first religious recordings, "Ave Maria" and "The Lord's Prayer", were recorded in 1949 in a church, with Como asking his parish priest to sit in on the recording sessions, to make certain they were done in the proper reverential tone. While his performances of "Ave Maria" became traditional on his holiday shows, Como would not perform it for live concert appearances, despite the frequent requests of his audiences, saying, "It's not the time or place to do it." In 1953, Perry Como recorded "Eli, Eli" and "Kol Nidrei", and performed the latter on his television shows each year at the appropriate time on the Jewish calendar. His pronunciation and phrasing in both Hebrew and Yiddish were learned from a member of the Mitchell Ayres Orchestra, who was the son of a rabbi.Perry Como received five Emmys from 1955 to 1959, a Christopher Award (1956) and shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Posthumously, Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002; he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007. Como has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio, television, and music.