Guy Mitchell (February 22, 1927-July 1, 1999) was a Croatian-American pop singer, was successful in his homeland as well in the United Kingdom and Australia. As an international recording star of the 1950s he achieved record sales in excess of 44 million units and this included six million-selling singles. He was born Albert George Cernik, son of immigrants from Croatia, in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 11, he was signed by Warner Brothers Pictures, to be groomed as a child star, and he also performed on the radio on Station KFWB in Los Angeles, California. After leaving school, he worked as a saddlemaker, but supplemented his income by singing whenever he could. At this point in his life, Dude Martin, who had a country music broadcast in San Francisco, noticed him and hired him to perform with his band. He served in the United States Navy for two years, and after leaving the service became a singer with Carmen Cavallaro's big band. In 1947 he made some recordings for Decca with Cavallaro's band, but had to leave due to a case of food poisoning. He eventually went to New York City, and made several records for King Records under the name Al Grant. He won on the radio show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts during this time.