Dominic, 86

(2/3) “When I was about 16 and living in the Bronx, I would sing with a jazz band at a bar in the neighborhood. One time, on St. Patrick’s Day, we sang “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” and it brought the house down. I’ll never forget that. When I was 26, I met Earl Warren, a famous tenor sax player for the Count Basie Orchestra. He and four other musicians would take me up on stage with them and I learned a lot just by hanging out with them. When I went away to college, I sang with the Drones. We were an eight-man a capella group. We went around to all the ivy leagues and competed. That was wonderful, and I kept getting more confidence in my singing. Professor Miller said to me, ‘Dom, you should go into pop singing because you’re good at it.’”