Tony Sandler, born Lucien Joseph Santelé on August 18, 1933 in Lauwe, Belgium, began performing with the choir les petits chanteurs des sept croix in Mouscron before recording his first hit "Song of the Sea" in 1954 while serving in the Belgian Air Force. After gaining popularity across Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Britain, he toured with the Café Roma in Alassio and joined the cast of the Casino de Paris revue in Las Vegas in 1963. In 1965 he formed the duo Sandler and Young with Ralph Young; the pair headlined major Las Vegas venues and released several albums, including The Christmas World Of Tony Sandler & Ralph Young (1968). Following Young’s retirement in the mid‑1980s, Sandler continued solo, hosting PBS programs and touring with productions such as Sandler sings Jacques Brel.
