Editing Russ Columbo (section)

===Musician===
Columbo performed seven vocals while with Arnheim as a member of the string section, six for [[Okeh Records]] and only one for Victor ("A Peach of a Pair") on June 18, 1930, a few months before [[Bing Crosby]] joined the band along with [[Al Rinker]] and [[Harry Barris]] as "The Rhythm Boys".

Columbo ran a nightclub for a while, the Club Pyramid, but gave it up when his manager told him he had star potential.<ref name="Croon">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p_wjAAAAIBAJ&pg=5345,2605998&dq=russ+columbo&hl=en|title=Russ Columbo Doesn't Croon|date=November 1, 1931|work=Milwaukee Journal|access-date=June 24, 2010}}</ref> In 1931, he traveled to New York City with his manager, songwriter [[Con Conrad]], who secured a late-night radio slot with [[NBC]]. This led to numerous engagements, a recording contract with [[RCA Victor]] records, and tremendous popularity with legions of mostly female fans. Not long after arriving in New York, Columbo met actress [[Dorothy Dell]] at an audition for the [[Ziegfeld Follies]] and began seeing her. Conrad did his best to break the relationship up with a series of publicity-created "ruse romances" involving Columbo and actresses such as [[Greta Garbo]] and [[Pola Negri]]; it succeeded.<ref name="Kilgallen">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CTYuAAAAIBAJ&pg=2794,1043529&dq=russ+columbo&hl=en|title=Voice of Broadway|date=June 5, 1941|author=Kilgallen, Dorothy|work=The Miami News|access-date=June 24, 2010}}</ref> (Dorothy Dell died in an auto accident in June 1934—just months before Columbo's own fatal accident.)

The type of singing that was popularized by the likes of Columbo, [[Rudy Vallee]], and [[Bing Crosby]] is called [[crooning]]. Columbo disliked the label, but it caught on with the general public. It gained popular credence, despite its initial use as a term of derision for the singers employing their low, soothing voices in [[romantic love|romantic]] songs. Similarly, to reinforce his romantic appeal, he was called "Radio's [[Rudolph Valentino|Valentino]]".<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Guide/1931/Radio-Guide-1931-12-05.pdf |title=Radio's Valentino |journal=Radio Guide |location=New York |date=December 5, 1931 }}</ref>

Columbo composed the songs "Prisoner of Love" and "You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love)" with Con Conrad, Gladys Du Bois, and Paul Gregory; "Too Beautiful For Words", recorded by the Teddy Joyce Orchestra in 1935; "When You're in Love", "My Love", and "Let's Pretend There's a Moon", recorded by [[Fats Waller]] and [[Tab Hunter]]; and "Hello Sister". "[[Prisoner of Love (1931 song)|Prisoner of Love]]" is a standard that has been recorded by [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Jo Stafford]], [[Art Tatum]], [[Perry Como]], the [[Ink Spots]], [[Mildred Bailey]], [[Tiny Tim (musician)|Tiny Tim]], [[Teddy Wilson]] with [[Lena Horne]] on vocals, Bing Crosby, [[Billy Eckstine]], and [[James Brown]]. Perry Como had a number-one hit on ''[[Billboard Hot 100|Billboard]]'' with his recording. James Brown had a top-20 pop hit and performed the song on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' and in the concert movie ''[[The T.A.M.I. Show]]'' (1964).