Wink Martindale

Brenda Lee's astoundingly successful career began at the early age of three, when she won a singing contest. At the age of 15 her career was well underway, drawing comparisons to the legendary Judy Garland and accumulating fans all over the world.
She is perhaps best known for her 1960s single, "I'm Sorry," which she recorded at the age of just 14. Lee sat down with host Wink Martindale to discuss her captivating musical career. She speaks about...

Jo Stafford and Paul Weston both had successful careers in their own rights, but also enjoyed success as a duo and earning a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 1961. The pair sat down with host Wink Martindale to discuss their successful careers, musical work and personal lives. Stafford performed as lead singer of The Pied Pipers and performed back-up vocals for Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra and went on to perform as a solo artist. Weston's career...

When Kenny Rogers started singing in high school, he went through numerous gimmicks and phases trying to find a way to make his voice identifiable. Audiences didn't respond to what he was doing, and on the advice of a friend, he dropped the gimmicks and started to embrace his own sound. Many awards, hit songs and decades later, and there is no doubt of his gift for storytelling and distinctive sound. In an interview with host Wink Martindale, Rogers...

Lou Rawls got his start as a church choir boy. He performed a wide variety of musical styles including gospel, soul, R&B, jazz and blues for movies, TV shows, commercials and numerous successful albums. In an interview with host Wink Martindale, Rawls discusses the many changes in the way music was created and performed throughout his career, his plentiful awards and accolades and his early life growing up in Chicago.

The Beach Boys started in the Wilsons' garage with members Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. Their first hit was in 1962 and was considered a "surf" song that had distinct vocal harmonies. History will show the progression of the Beach Boys songs that permeated the culture of the day. The harmonies, melodies and arrangements provided a new soundtrack in the culture of the 60s, 70s, 80s and into the new millennium....

Before the daughter of Nat "King" Cole ever sang for an audience, she was lip-syncing in front of her bedroom mirror to the Supremes. Natalie Cole, the second of five children said her parents raised her to work hard for what she wanted. The award-winning artist sat down with Wink Martindale to discuss what it was like growing up in a house filled with music. In this intimate conversation from the 1970s, she also reflects on her good friend Stevie...

Ella Fitzgerald's career began at various amateur nights around New York City, most famously at the Apollo Theater in 1934. From those early days, Fitzgerald grew to be an iconic jazz singer and the First Lady of Song. In the spring of 1983, Fitzgerald sat down for a conversation with Wink Martindale. She discusses how her career began and some of her first hits including "A-Tistket, A-Tasket." We also hear about some artists she's a fan of and hear...

Bobby Goldsboro describes the first song he ever wrote with a laugh as "one of the worst you've ever heard." Though those first attempts at songwriting weren't exactly successful, he went on to enjoy a wildly successful career including the chart-topping hit "Honey," which sold more than a million copies in the United States. In the height of his popularity in 1973, Goldsboro sat down with Wink Martindale to discuss his wildly successful career that...

Andy Williams got his start doing anonymous voice tracks for movies in the 1940s. He got his start singing at teas with his brother, and then made a move to singing on radio in Des Moines, Iowa and Chicago. Finally, Williams found his way to New York where he started to really focus on his singing career. Television played an instrumental role in Williams' success. His big breakthrough came as a singer on The Tonight Show starring Steve Allen. In...

Sammy Davis Jr. was, quite literally, born into show business. As part of a well-known vaudeville family, he began performing when he was just four years old and never seemed to slow down. From stage to studio to screen the singer, dancer, musician and actor travelled all over the world entertaining millions. Wink Martindale spoke with the charming Davis at his Beverly Hills home in 1976. Davis reflects on his experiences as a performer, his success...