Bob Johnstone, born Robert Morton Johnston (September 22, 1916 - May 6, 1994) was an American traditional pop music singer.

Johnstone was born Chattanooga, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, moving with his family to Atlanta, then to the family home town of Nashville

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, Tennessee, where he grew up. In 1938 he married Georgia Frances Byram; they were to have a son and two daughters.

Early career

Johnstone began singing professionally in Nashville in 1940 on radio and with the dance orchestras of Beasley Smith and Francis Craig. In 1943 he went to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 where the following year he was signed by Paul Whiteman

Paul Whiteman

Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...

 for his Philco

Philco

Philco, the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company , was a pioneer in early battery, radio, and television production as well as former employer of Philo Farnsworth, inventor of cathode ray tube television...

 Hall of Fame radio broadcast on NBC's Blue Network

Blue Network

The Blue Network, and its immediate predecessor, the NBC Blue Network, were the on-air names of an American radio production and distribution service from 1927 to 1945...

 (later ABC).

Post-war career

After service in the United States Merchant Marine

United States Merchant Marine

The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...

 in the last 18 months of World War II, he resumed his singing career (changing his name to Johnstone). In 1946 he rejoined the Whiteman orchestra for an all-Gershwin tour, along with singer Mindy Carson

Mindy Carson

Mindy Carson , an American traditional pop vocalist, was heard often on radio during the 1940s and 1950s.She was born in New York City. In 1946, still in her teens, she won an audition to the radio program, Stairway to the Stars. This gave her a chance to perform with Paul Whiteman's band and...

 and pianist Earl Wild

Earl Wild

Royland Earl Wild was an American pianist widely recognized as a leading virtuoso of his generation. Harold C. Schonberg called him a "super-virtuoso in the Horowitz class". He was known as well for his transcriptions of classical music and jazz...

. In 1946-7, Johnstone sang with the orchestras of Larry Clinton

Larry Clinton

Larry Clinton was a trumpeter who became a prominent American bandleader.-Biography:Clinton was born in Brooklyn, New York. He became a versatile musician, capable of playing trumpet, trombone, and clarinet...

 and Harry Soznick, and played an extended engagement at the Copacabana night club

Copacabana (nightclub)

The Copacabana is a famous New York City nightclub. Many entertainers, among them Danny Thomas, Pat Cooper and the comedy team of Martin and Lewis, made their debuts at the Copacabana. The 1978 Barry Manilow song "Copacabana" is named after, and is about the nightclub. Part of the 2003 Yerba...

 as featured singer for headliners such as Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

. In 1947-8 he was the male vocalist with Shep Fields

Shep Fields

Shep Fields was the band leader for the "Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm" orchestra during the Big Band era of the 1930s.-Biography:...

' "Rippling Rhythm" orchestra, joined by singer Toni Arden

Toni Arden

Toni Arden is an American traditional pop music singer.-Biography:Arden became a big band singer in the 1940s, singing with Al Trace, Joe Reichman, Ray Bloch and Shep Fields...

. He made a number of recordings in those years on the Decca and Musicraft labels. Johnstone left Shep Fields' orchestra in Los Angeles in the summer of 1948 and, for family reasons, returned to Nashville. He continued to sing in the 1950s-60s on WSM radio and television on their "Waking Crew" morning broadcasts and the televised "Noon Show." He also was the male vocalist with the dance orchestra of Owen Bradley. He began a second career as a commercial artist. From 1970-1990 he was the Vice President and Artistic Director for the National Poster Company in Chattanooga, retiring back to Nashville in 1990.

Sources

• Robert M. Johnstone, Jr. [son]