Tony Bellus

Who is Tony Bellus?

Tony Bellus is a vocalist and musician whose first recording was with Shi-Fi Records in 1958. His greatest and best known recorded song is Robbin' The Cradle, a self-composed ballad he recorded in Chicago in 1959.

The recording of Robbin' The Cradle contained a number of styles and musical combinations. It combined an Italian pop singer playing an accordion à la Dick Contino, being backed with a basically country/rockabilly band augmented with a background Latino vocal group. Upon hearing Bellus perform the song in Chicago, NRC Vice-President Boots Woodall leased the master for the NRC label, and the song peaked at #25 on 17 August 1959 and stayed on the Hot 100 for 26 weeks, the most weeks for any Hot 100 entry all within the calendar year 1959.

Attempts at follow-ups were hampered when the original National Recording Corporation went bankrupt 27 April 1961. The company reappeared in 1962 under the aegis of Georgia theatre magnate Frederick Storey. The reorganization and a stint in the Army took the momentum from Bellus' career. Many critics incorrectly thought that Bellus was a one shot artist who never again recorded anything after his 1959 hit.