Johnny Desmond, born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone on November 14, 1919, in Detroit, Michigan, United States, was an American traditional pop singer. After singing in a parish choir and on local radio, he formed the vocal group the Downbeats in 1939, which was renamed the Bob-O-Links after joining Bob Crosby's big band in 1940 and recording singles including “You Forgot About Me”. He left in 1941 to become lead vocalist for Gene Krupa's orchestra before joining Glenn Miller's Army Air Forces Orchestra during World War II, replacing Tony Martin. Postwar, Desmond recorded singles for RCA Victor, MGM Records, and Coral Records, including “C'est si bon” and “The Yellow Rose of Texas”. He also acted in feature films including Calypso Heat Wave and Escape from San Quentin in 1957, and performed on Broadway in Say, Darling in 1958 and Funny Girl. Desmond died of cancer in Los Angeles, California, on September 6, 1985, at age 65.
