Bob Grabeau(1928-2008)

Bob Grabeau was a professional singer at the age of 15 when he was given his own radio show in San Francisco. His work caught the attention of orchestra leader Jan Garber, who picked Bob to be his new vocalist, garnering him with a contract to record on the Capitol label. After touring the country, Bob was in high demand for recording demo songs in Hollywood for such popular composers as Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini. Bob did a demo for the song "Nature Boy" from "The Boy with Green Hair" (1948), mimicking Nat King Cole so proficiently that once Cole finally recorded the song, some trained ears couldn't tell the two singers apart. Bob Grabeau has also worked with Sammy Fain, Alfred Newman, Jule Styne, Nelson Riddle, and Dimitri Tiomkin on various film projects. He was also the featured singer on ABC's "Music Is My Beat" and "Strictly Informal". Other TV work includes songs for "Beggarman Thief", "Kill Me If You Can", and "The Last Convertible". In his later years, Bob was the vocal coach to much of the new talent coming out of the mid-1970s, including Kristy McNichol, Scott Baio, Phillip McKeon, and Rick Scott. A proposed documentary in 1997 on the Big Band resurgence (to be called "The Street of Dreams") was to feature Bob Grabeau prominently, however on-coming signs of the Alzheimer's disease forced Bob to retire from the spotlight, where he shined brightly for many years. Bob passed away from complications due to Alzheimer's on June 8, 2008 at 1:19 a.m. at the Motion Picture Home in Los Angeles County, California.