Singer and entertainer
"Free", Leonetti's 1956 single, has been described as a US one-hit wonder peaking at number 23 on Billboard magazine's pop charts. He also had a minor hit with his version of "I Cried" which reached number 30 in 1954. Your Hit Parade (1957–1958), The Steve Allen Show (1958–1959) and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1971–1973) featured performances by Leonetti. He also hit in the US with the only charted version of the spiritual "Kum Ba Yah" in early 1969, which hit No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 while topping at No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart (Billboard Hot 100 January 1, 1969, and the Adult Contemporary Chart on 12/18/68 (both from Joel Whitburn presents Across the Charts The 1960s). Tommy also hit the Adult Contemporary charts on 12/16/67 with his Columbia single "You Knew About Her All the Time" and again on 7/27/68 with "All the Brave Young Faces of the Night." On 1/4/64 Tommy's recording of "Soul Dance" (RCA) hit the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 at No. 105 where it remained for 5 weeks (all info from Across the Charts 1960s, Joel Whitburn, Record Research, Menomonee Falls, WI). While in Australia, Leonetti hosted his own talk-show from 1968 to 1970 for ATN-7, and provided the basis for the parody character Norman Gunston (according to creator Garry McDonald).
His final US chart record was "When I Needed You Most Of All", which, in 1974, reached Record World No. 120 in a 6-week chart run.
He had a number 4 hit in Melbourne in 1968 with "Let’s Take a Walk" (In an interview, his stepdaughter Kimberly Beck claimed she wrote "Let's Take a Walk" when she was 9 years old and recorded it with her stepfather Tommy at age 11 while residing in Sydney, Australia. Leonetti's rendition of "My City of Sydney" (written by Leonetti and Bobby Troup, was used by ATN7 for nightly sign-off can be viewed on Video on YouTube. Sydney punk rockers XL Capris (with lead vocalist Johanna Pigott) provided their version in 1979 (also on Video on YouTube), this promo includes blue-tinged portions from Leonetti's TV sign-off. Other versions were performed by yodeler Mary Schneider, 1990s punk rockers Frenzal Rhomb and James Valentine on his radio show in February 2008. "My City of Sydney" was usually followed by a cartoon of a kangaroo putting its joey to sleep on a bed made from the words "ATN Channel 7," and was in use as late as 1984, when it was replaced by animator Debbie Glasser's cartoon about Sydney.
