Steve March Tormé was born in New York City to the multi-talented Mel Tormé and the former model, Candy Tockstein. They were divorced when Steve was two-and-a-half years old. Shortly thereafter, Candy married the actor/comedian Hal March, who was the host of NBC-TV's The $64,000 Question Show and subsequently starred in Neil Simon's Come Blow Your Horn on Broadway.

 

An avid baseball player and fan growing up in Westchester County, N.Y., Steve dreamed of playing for the Yankees. While listening to games on the radio in the basement of their home, he discovered his love for music almost by accident. Following every game he'd switch to the Top 40 music stations and find himself singing along with such artists as The Four Seasons, Nat King Cole, The Temptations, and Gene Pitney. Though, with his natural ear for harmonies, his favorites quickly became and remain The Beatles. By the age of 12, he knew that he wanted to be a performer, and at 13, he earned his first paycheck playing in his own band. After his family moved to Beverly Hills, he formed friendships with other second-generation "show biz" kids like Desi Arnaz Jr., Dean Martin Jr., Miguel Ferrer, Carrie Fisher, and Liza Minnelli while attending high school. During this time, he continued to develop as a musician and his influences grew to include Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Todd Rundgren, and Steely Dan.

 

Following the early death of his stepfather, Steve rekindled his relationship with his father, Mel, and soon realized they had a great deal in common, including a love for music and performing, along with an avid interest in vintage planes, trains and automobiles.

 

In the late 1970s, Steve recorded his first LP, Lucky, for United Artists Records, supporting it with a well-received 20-city concert tour. Upon returning to California, he produced and sang on Liza Minnelli's Columbia Records release Tropical Nights. The record became a favorite in many New York dance clubs.

 

Honing his craft as a performer, Steve worked as an actor playing the male lead in a European mini-series for RAI Television, and appeared on numerous variety television shows. He spent two years as the featured vocalist on ABC-TV's $100,000 Name That Tune and also hosted two Los Angeles-based television shows, Video 22 (a precursor to MTV) and Box Office America.

 

On the recommendation of Quincy Jones, Steve was tapped to be one of the three featured singers for the vocal group, Full Swing, which had its debut release on Planet Records. After successful tours of the United States, Brazil and Japan, Steve left the group in order to focus on solo opportunities. That first project became his Swingin' at the Blue Moon Bar & Grille CD, which showcases a fun, dueling scat duet of "Straighten Up and Fly Right" with his father, Mel. He followed that up with The Night I Fell For You, highlighted by a wonderful arrangement of the Lerner and Loewe classic “On the Street Where You Live,” and a number of Steve's original tunes, many penned with longtime collaborator Steve Rawlins. In reviews of both CDs, critics favorably singled out a number of these new songs as contemporary yet timeless, combining a wry sense of humor and a natural feel for romance with classic melodies. Those two releases were followed by The Essence of Love, which features some of the most romantic, well-crafted standards ever written, including “Blue Skies,” “Stardust,” “Every Time We Say Goodbye,” and a playful duet with jazz icon Diane Schuur on “The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else.”

 

Steve has wooed audiences in everything from intimate jazz clubs to festivals and performing arts centers across the country. A natural interest exists in hearing Steve sing the songs his father was known for and because of this, he's just finished a tour for Columbia Artists Management Inc., a cross-country excursion entitled Tormé Sings Tormé. Steve is grateful to have had the opportunity to pay tribute to the father with whom he wished he'd had a longer, closer relationship. The show features a ten-piece band, extraordinary arrangements penned by Marty Paich exclusively for the Velvet Fog, and a multimedia presentation of never before seen photos and video clips of Steve and Mel singing together.

 

A limited (1000 copies), signed edition of Tormé Sings Tormé has been released on a two-disc DVD/CD by AIX Records and is available now. It won Best Music Dual Disc at the 2006 EMX DVD Awards Show in Los Angeles. Steve also performs a version of this show, called Totally Tormé, in which he's backed by a trio. A new CD entitled So Far is now available at Amazon.com.

 

Steve's own show is an evening that includes classic standards, original songs, and stories from his never boring life. Steve is working to launch his full 70-piece symphony concert, Bernstein to The Beatles: Songs I Love To Sing, a project he and Steve Rawlins have been developing for the past two years.

 

With a full, rich voice that's been described as “seductive” and “effortless,” Steve March Tormé is not just following a legacy… he has started one of his own.

 

Bio | Music | Schedule | Reviews | Scrapbook | Guestbook | Contact | Home

©2007 Steve March Tormé
All design elements & photos belong to Steve March Torme
and can not be reproduced without written permission.

Website design & maintenance Nancy McKarney - www.McKarney.com