David Somerville

David Troy Somerville (October 2, 1933 – July 14, 2015) was a Canadian singer operating primarily in the United States, best known as the co-founder, and original lead singer, of The Diamonds, one of the most popular vocal groups of the 1950s. Born in Guelph, Ontario, Somerville grew up in a musical family in the nearby farming village of Rockwood, 50 miles west of Toronto. In 1947, at the age of 14, he moved to Toronto with his parents and brother Marc, where he entered Central Tech to study architecture and building construction. He changed the focus of his studies to radio, and in 1952, at the age of 19, secured a position at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in the engineering department as a radio operator while concurrently studying voice with Dr. Ernesto Vinci at the University of Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music.