Mitchell Torok

Mitchell Torok (born October 28, 1929) is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his 1953 hit, "Caribbean."

Biography

Torok was born in Houston, Texas to Hungarian immigrants Naclos and Irene Torok. He was playing guitar by the age of 12, and attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas from 1948 through 1952. He minored in world history and graduated with a degree in art and journalism. Torok played baseball with team from Garrison, Texas while in college.

In 1953, Jim Reeves' Abbott recording of Torok's "Mexican Joe" become a number one hit on all charts. Torok was signed with Abbott; and later that year, he had a number one hit in both the Billboard country and jukebox charts with his song "Caribbean." The song, which remained on the country chart for 24 weeks, also became a top five hit in both the Best Sellers and Jockey charts.

He became a member of Louisiana Hayride on KWKH-AM Shreveport. In 1954, his song "My Arabian Baby" appeared as the B-side of Hank Snow's hit "I Don't Hurt Anymore." Torok gained a number nine country hit with "Hootchy Kootchy Henry (From Hawaii)," and in 1956-7, he had success on the United Kingdom pop charts with his songs "When Mexico Gave Up The Rhumba" and "Red Light, Green Light." This success led to him to tour the UK in 1957. Torok made further recordings for Mercury, RCA, and Starday, and his last US chart entry was "Instant Love" for the Reprise label in 1967.

He had two later hits on the Billboard Hot 100; "Pledge of Love" hit number 25 in 1957, and "Caribbean" hit again in 1959, peaking at number 27. In 1960, "Pink Chiffon" peaked at number 60.

Torko continued to write songs, usually working in partnership with his wife (who has used both Gayle Jones and Ramona Redd as pseudonyms), and some were recorded by artists including Skeeter Davis, Kitty Wells, Glen Campbell and Dean Martin. Hank Snow recorded "The Mysterious Lady From Martinique" on one of his last RCA albums, and "Redneck" was a top 20 hit for Vernon Oxford in 1976.

Torok joined Cedarwood Music in the late 1970s and worked on a recording project telling the history of Nashville from 1780 to 1980. He is also a painter who painted a mural on display in the Elvis Presley Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

Discography

• Caribbean - 1960 (Guyden)
• Guitar Course (Instant Fun) - 1966 (Reprise)

References

• "Mitchell Torok". Muze UK, Ltd. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
• David Pike (2007-11-28). "Mitchell Torok". The Generations Network. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
• Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7th edn, 2000