30 Years Ago, Mel Torme Was Looking For Firepower In Utah

Today is Mel Tormé's birthday.

The late singer would have been 99-years-old.

Thirty years ago, the "Velvet Fog" came to Utah and the man known for hits like "Isn't It Romantic," and "I've Got You Under My Skin," was looking for some firepower.

Tormé told the Deseret News a few days before his concert in July of 1994, that he was an avid gun collector and made this unusual request.

He wanted people to bring their guns with them to his concert.

"Tell people I'm interested and if they have something to sell or trade to see me after the show,"

Tormé, a native of Chicago, professed a love for the Beehive State, admiring the beautiful scenery of our state as well as the its love for the Second Amendment ... and for clean living.

"I don't smoke. I don't drink hard liquor, and when I know I have an event coming up, I force myself to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night. That's the secret," he told the Deseret News. "I also exercise every day."

Torme passed away four years after his pistol-packing concert in Orem (stroke), but performed until the final weeks of his life. making at least three more stops in the state of Utah over that time.

Known for his love of Jazz music and his uncanny scatting ability (check out this video of Mel and Ella scatting together), the Jewish Torme also was known for a timeless Christmas classic -- he wrote "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting)."

By the way, Wiki defines scatting or scat singing as "Originating in vocal jazz, it is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice solely as an instrument rather than a speaking medium."

Happy birthday Mel, scatting around up there among the clouds somewhere.