Search - Regis Philbin :: When You're Smiling

He?s one of TV?s most popular personalities, host of one of the most popular game shows in history, and a bestselling author, but what Regis Philbin has always wanted to do most is sing. Among the songs he croons on the new disc, produced by acclaimed producer/ singer Steve Tyrell (A New Standard, Rod Stewart), is Bing?s "Pennies From Heaven," which Regis performed live on at least two memorable, life-changing occasions. Once was for his shell-shocked parents, who had traveled through a midwestern thunderstorm to visit him at his graduation from Notre Dame. They were expecting to hear about the great life plans their son, who they?d struggled to put through school, had made. He surprised them with, "what I want to do with the rest of my life ?is to be a singer." Confronted with his parents? disappointment and respectful of their sacrifices, Regis made a fateful, responsible choice ? he would be a talker on television. The second time was an impromptu performance for Bing Crosby during the legendary singer?s appearance on The Joey Bishop Show, where Philbin was the comic's sidekick. That performance led directly to his first album, a recording for Mercury Records. It gave him a taste of the music business and led to his developing a nightclub act, but the responsibility and demands of his family and career precluded further recordings. Both a favorite song and a lucky charm throughout Regis? life, he?s included a new version of "Pennies From Heaven" on When You?re Smiling, completing the cycle. Regis has performed his singing and comedy nightclub act through the years, initially opening for Steve and Eydie, Tony Bennett and Don Rickles, and then becoming a headliner on his own in the big rooms.