Richard Smith Vaughn (April 12, 1919 – September 26, 1991), known as Billy Vaughn, was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, orchestra leader and A&R man for Dot Records.
Vaughn was born in Glasgow, Kentucky, United States, where his father, Alvis Radford Vaughn, was a barber who loved music and inspired Billy to teach himself to play the mandolin at the age of three, while suffering from measles.
He went on to learn several other instruments. Vaughn charted a total of 42 singles on the Billboard charts, often based on the sound of two alto saxophones. He also charted thirty-six albums on the Billboard 200, beginning with 1958’s Sail Along Silv’ry Moon and ending with 1970’s Winter World of Love.
The Billy Vaughn Orchestra began touring in 1965 with numerous sell-out tours throughout Japan, Brazil, and South Korea. On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Billy Vaughn among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire. The Billy Vaughn Orchestra, co-owned and managed by his son, Richard Smith Vaughn Jr., is still a touring big band.
The Billy Vaughn Orchestra, produced by the Tate Corporation, Japan, toured Japan in 2013, 2014, and again in 2018 to sell-out audiences.
99 recordings by Billy Vaughn you can hear at Instrumentals Forever:
12th Street Rag • A String Of Pearls • After Hours • Aloa Oe • Amazing Graze • Becuase They’re Young • Beyond The Sunset • Blue Hawaii • Brazil • Bridge Over Trouble Water • Cherokee • Dancing In The Dark • El Choclo • El Condor Pasa • Estrellita • Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool • Fernando • Green Green Grass Of Home • Greenfields • Greensleeves • Have You Ever Been Mellow • Hawaiian Wedding Song • He’ll Have To Go • Hernando’s Hideaway • High Noon • Hotel California • Just A Closer Walk With Thee • La Cumparsita • La Golondrina • La Montana • La Paloma • Little Brown Jug • Look For A Star • Love Is A Many Splendored Thing • Love Is Blue • Love Story • Magic Moments • Marta • Mexicali Rose • Mona Lisa • Moonlight Bay • My Sweet Lord • Never On Sunday • No Name Jive • O Sole Mio • Oh! • Old Cape Cod • One O’Clock Jump • Only Yesterday • Opus One • Paloma Blanca • Paper Roses • Patricia • Perfidia • Peter Gunn • Petite fleur • Petticoats Of Portugal • Red River Valley • Red Roses For A Blue Lady • Red Sails In The Sunset • Remember When • Sail Along Silv’ry Moon • Say Si Si • Sloop John B • Snowfall • Solitaire • Somewhere My Love • Song Of India • Spanish Eyes • Stardust • Stranger On The Shore • Strangers In The Night • Summit Ridge Drive • Sweet Caroline • Tequila • The Chipmunk Song • The Church’s One Foundation • The Elks’ Parade • The Green Leaves Of Summer (Theme from ”The Alamo”) • The Hustle • The Peanut Vendor • The Windmills Of Your Mind • Theme from ”A Summer Place” • Theme from ”Mr Lucky” • Theme from ”The Apartment” • Theme from ”The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs” • Theme from ”The Sundowners” • Time Was • Tippin’ In • Topsy II • Tuxedo Junction • Volare • Walk, Don’t Run • Wheels • When I Need You • Wonderland By Night • Woodchopper’s Ball • Yesterday Once More • Yours •
