Vaughn Monroe

Vaughn Monroe led a sweet big band during the '40s -- a rarity for a vocalist at that time. His baritone croon sent a heap of recordings onto the charts but his vocal style was so unswingingly square that he made Perry Como sound like a feverish hepcat. During the '50s he made a surprising about-face and successfully retooled himself as a Country singer. Like such cowboy converts as Bing Crosby and Dean Martin, Monroe really sounded like he was sitting around a campfire singing to his horse under a canopy of stars.