Tony Martin: Farewell to the Last of My 'Disney Princes'

There have been several entries about the five men that I call my "Disney Princes." They're all singers. They're all tenors with that high, dream-like quality of the first three princes in Disney's full-length fairy tales. The five men are Kenny Baker, Dennis Morgan, Allan Jones, Gordon MacRae and Tony Martin. That isn't to say that every song recorded by any of them rates that "princely" rating, as some of them only sang the style when they were younger, but they all have that dreamy sound that kind of melts my heart to listen to it.



Tony Martin was the last surviving of my princes, and we just found out about one hour ago that he died on Friday at his home in California. He was 98 years old. I don't think that leaves many (if any!) singers from the golden age of crooning --- the 1930s through the 1950s. That was back when music was beautiful and romantic and the singer, not the percussion, was the "star" of the song.

So, all of my princes are gone now. That's rather sad to me, though ninety-eight is quite a long time on earth. Especially since he had survived his wife of sixty years since 2008. He did leave a beautiful legacy of music that will not be equaled, and we can all be thankful that we live in the age of recordings that can be enjoyed and appreciated long after the artist no longer sings.