Sandler and Young
| Sandler and Young | |
|---|---|
 Performing on Kraft Music Hall, 1969 | |
| Background information | |
| Years active | 1965-1983 |
| Labels | Capitol Records |
Sandler and Young were a popular singing team from the 1960s through the 1980s, composed of Belgian-born Tony Sandler and native New Yorker Ralph Young.
First success
Sandler and Young appeared with Polly Bergen in her show at the Las Vegas Desert Inn Hotel and Casino, doing eleven minutes between her costume changes. This engagement was a smashing success and was the first of many the three would make together.[1] Sandler and Young's careers were further advanced by their performance at the Coconut Grove nightclub in the The Ambassador Hotel in Hollywood, where a long list of celebrities and movie stars, through word of mouth, attended their show. Among the people in attendance was Alan W. Livingston, then-president of Capitol Records, who immediately signed them to a recording contract.[2]
Fame
During the following ten years, they released several albums for Capitol, including Side by Side, Pretty Things Come in Twos, On the Move, Honey Come Back, Odds & Ends, More and More, The 'In Person' Album, and The Christmas World of Tony Sandler & Ralph Young. Their producer was future Capitol president David Cavanaugh, and their musical directors included Billy May, Jimmy Jones, Luther Henderson, and Sid Feller.
Later, on other labels including Pickwick Records and PIP, the duo released their albums Sandler & Young: LIVE and Love Stories.
During the release of their albums, Sandler & Young performed numerous concerts in clubs, showrooms, and concert halls throughout the US and Canada. In 1972 Sandler & Young appeared in an extended Christmas commercial from General Motors. This was part of a Canadian television special called "Two Christmases", sponsored by GM. They played Canada so often that people actually thought they were Canadians.
Starting in 1968, they returned frequently, and sometimes for several weeks, to Las Vegas, as headliners at the Sahara Hotel, The Dunes Hotel, The Flamingo Hilton (1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974), Caesars Palace (1969) and The Thunderbird Hotel (1976).
Guest shots followed on such national TV shows as The Ed Sullivan Show (7 episodes),The Mike Douglas Show (7 episodes), The Hollywood Palace, The Milton Berle Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (9 episodes), and The Today Show, and Sandler and Young became one of the most popular acts in show business. They were imitated by Martin Short (playing Sandler) and Eugene Levy (playing Young) on the comedy TV show SCTV.
In 1969, Sandler and Young hosted for 13 weeks the popular Kraft Music Hall from London for CBS.
In the early 1970s, Sandler and Young started their own label, RALTON Records, and released the following albums on it: Once More With Feeling, You've Got a Friend, Sandler & Young Go Country, The Many Moods of Tony Sandler & Ralph Young, Pause a While and Sandler & Young Thank Irving Berlin.
Retirement
In the mid-eighties, by the age of 65, Young decided to retire from the concert stage to spend more time with his family in Palm Springs and Los Angeles. Tony Sandler, the younger of the two by 16 years, wasn't ready to stop performing. Sandler actively toured the country with his interpretations of musical theatre and European repertoire, and his one man-show Chevalier, Maurice and Me.
In 1995 Capitol Records released the CD Sandler & Young, Great Gentlemen of Song.
On special occasions, Sandler and Young re-teamed to perform to sellout crowds. Their last appearance together was at the 2003 All Stars benefit show Let Freedom Ring in Palm Springs to honor the victims of 9/11.
Ralph Young died at his Palm Springs home on August 22, 2008 at the age of 90.[1]
Sandler and Young albums have been re-mastered and many of the Sandler and Young albums have been released on CD.
Accolades
In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to them.[3]
References
- 1 2 McLellan, Dennis (26 August 2008). "Vocalist, half of Sandler & Young singing team". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "Sandler & Young Years". Tony Sandler. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ↑ "Sandler & Young" (PDF). Palm Springs Walk of Stars. 1 April 1998.