2011-10-16

Mitchell Torok - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Mitchell Torok (born October 28, 1929, Houston, Texas) is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1953 hit, "Caribbean".

Contents

 [hide] 

Biography

Torok was born in Houston to Hungarian immigrants Naclos and Irene Torok.[1] He was playing guitar by the age of 12, and attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas from 1948 through 1952.[2] He minored in world history and graduated with a degree in art and journalism. Torok played baseball with team from Garrison, Texas while in college.[3]

In 1953, Jim Reeves' Abbott Records recording of Torok's penned, "Mexican Joe", become a number one hit. Torok was signed with Abbott; and later that year, he had a number one hit in both the Billboard country and jukebox charts with "Caribbean". The song, which remained on the country chart for twenty four weeks, also became a top five hit on both the Best Sellers and Disc Jockey charts.

Torok became a member of Louisiana Hayride on KWKH-AM Shreveport. In 1954, his song "My Arabian Baby" appeared as the B-side of Hank Snow's hit "I Don't Hurt Anymore".[4] Torok gained a number nine country hit with "Hootchy Kootchy Henry (From Hawaii)", and in 1956-7, he had success on the UK Singles Chart with his songs "When Mexico Gave Up The Rhumba" and "Red Light, Green Light".[5] This success led to him to tour the UK in 1957. Torok made further recordings for Mercury, RCA, and Starday, and his last US chart entry was "Instant Love" for the Reprise label in 1967.[6]

He had two later hits on the Billboard Hot 100; "Pledge of Love" hit number 25 in 1957, and "Caribbean" hit again in 1959, peaking at number 27.[7] In 1960, "Pink Chiffon" peaked at number 60.[8]

Torok continued to write songs, usually working in partnership with his wife (who has used both Gayle Jones and Ramona Redd as pseudonyms), and some were recorded by artists including Skeeter Davis, Kitty Wells, Glen Campbell and Dean Martin.[9] Hank Snow recorded "The Mysterious Lady From Martinique" on one of his last RCA albums, and "Redneck" was a top 20 hit for Vernon Oxford in 1976.[10]

Torok joined Cedarwood Music in the late 1970s, and worked on a recording project telling the history of Nashville from 1780 to 1980. He is also an artist who painted a mural on display at the Elvis Presley Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.[11]

Discography

  • Caribbean - 1960 (Guyden)
  • Guitar Course (Instant Fun) - 1966 (Reprise)

Notes

  1. ^ David Pike (2007-11-28). "Mitchell Torok". The Generations Network. http://genforum.genealogy.com/torok/messages/6.html. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
  2. ^ David Pike (2007-11-28). "Mitchell Torok". The Generations Network. http://genforum.genealogy.com/torok/messages/6.html. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
  3. ^ David Pike (2007-11-28). "Mitchell Torok". The Generations Network. http://genforum.genealogy.com/torok/messages/6.html. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
  4. ^ David Pike (2007-11-28). "Mitchell Torok". The Generations Network. http://genforum.genealogy.com/torok/messages/6.html. Retrieved 2009-06-28. .
  5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 562. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  6. ^ David Pike (2007-11-28). "Mitchell Torok". The Generations Network. http://genforum.genealogy.com/torok/messages/6.html. Retrieved 2009-06-28. .
  7. ^ Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7th edn, 2000
  8. ^ Chart Positions, Allmusic
  9. ^ "Mitchell Torok". Muze UK, Ltd.. http://www.nme.com/artists/mitchell-torok. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
  10. ^ "Mitchell Torok". Muze UK, Ltd.. http://www.nme.com/artists/mitchell-torok. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
  11. ^ "Mitchell Torok". Muze UK, Ltd.. http://www.nme.com/artists/mitchell-torok. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 

References

Persondata
Name Torok, Mitchell
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth 1929-10-28
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death
View page ratings
Rate this page

Trustworthy

Objective

Complete

Well-written

We will send you a confirmation e-mail. We will not share your address with anyone. (Privacy policy)

Submit ratings
Saved successfully
Your ratings have not been submitted yet

Your ratings have expired
Please reevaluate this page and submit new ratings.
An error has occured. Please try again later.
Thanks! Your ratings have been saved.
Please take a moment to complete a short survey.

Start survey Maybe later

Thanks! Your ratings have been saved.
Do you want to create an account?
An account will help you track your edits, get involved in discussions, and be a part of the community.
Create an accountorLog in Maybe later
Thanks! Your ratings have been saved.
Did you know that you can edit this page?

Edit this page Maybe later

via en.wikipedia.org

Posted via email from projectbrainsaver

Posted by at