Ginny Mancini

Ginny Mancini always loved singing! When she had the chance to form a backup group for a 17 year old vocalist coming from Chicago to Los Angles for the first time in the 1940s, Ginny jumped at it. The group became known as the Mel-Tones and they became the backup group for Mel Torme for over 3 years. Years later she became the top vocalist for the Tex Beneke Orchestra, which forever changed her life as she met and fell in love with the band’s pianist, Henry Mancini. She supported her husband during his influential career as an Oscar-winning composer and she remained active as a singer on TV and in clubs for decades. In 1984 she brought several friends together to establish the Society of Singers, a non-profit organization that provides support for professional singers who never received royalties or medical insurance for their recordings. In November 2010, Ginny was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History Collection next to her daughter, Felice, who serves as the Executive Director for the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. Ginny lived to be 97 years old.