She sent me an email telling me about him but because I'm not into "opera" type singers....and tenors (?) dont really do much for me....I wasnt that interested.

I never gave him much thought after that, until I went to youtube searching for a song that my mom used to love and I can still hear her singing it to herself. 

I have been collecting video clips of my mom's favorite songs and singers for a while now. It is the one out of many things I treasured most about her...her love of music, and movies and singers and beautiful songs.

My dad used to sing Volare to her in Spanish or Italian...I'm not quite sure....it was a long time ago....and I knew there was an English version of it so I went looking for the words and I found this....Russell Watson singing Volare.

I remembered my girlfriend's email and how excited she was when she told me about him, so I played the clip...and loved it and I know my mom would have too.

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Russell Watson was not a classically trained singer. He was a "layabout" lad from Manchester, England. He left school with no degrees or credits to his name and started his working life earning 90 pounds a week on a youth training scheme as a bolt cutter. In Manchester, England that's about as rough as it gets.

Here's an excerpt of his story....source...Russell Watson From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Then married with a baby, to help support his young family he began to earn extra cash singing Elvis Presley and MC Hammer covers in north-west clubs.

The turning point in his career came at an engagement at Wigan Road working men's club one night, when the secretary suggested he try singing "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's Turandot. Although Russell Watson was not a classically-trained singer he continued to perform the aria, and was encouraged to try other classical pieces.

His career took off like a rocket from there. He had a few "legal" problems with the music industry but continued his singing and went on concert tours around the world.

In 2005, Watson began having headaches, which he described as "like a knife being pressed into the bridge of my nose". He consulted a specialist who told him there was nothing to worry about as he was suffering from stress and should find ways of relaxing. When his peripheral vision began to be affected in late 2006, he visited another specialist who also said he was suffering from stress. Watson told him, "The only thing that's stressing me is this pain in my head."

In September 2006, Watson flew to Los Angeles, California, to record his album That's Life. On the flight, he told his producer that he was experiencing terrible pressure inside his skull. When they landed, his producer suggested a game of tennis to clear his head. Watson could not see the ball at all. After a visit to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and an MRI scan, he was advised that he had a developing pituitary adenoma, which was the size of two golf balls. According to Watson, "Since an early age I've had an in-built premonition, a vision that I wouldn't make 40. For the previous seven years I'd have a recurring nightmare in which my head exploded. And here I was with a brain tumour on the eve of my 40th birthday; I thought, 'This is it, I was right, I knew it'." Watson recalled that the tumours were "like a figure of eight, one filling the frontal cavity ofmy skull, the other forced through into the top of my nose." He stayed in Los Angeles for two days and continued recording his album while tests confirmed whether the tumour was malignant or not – it turned out to be benign.

Watson then returned to the UK, and had a five-hour emergency operation to remove the eight-centimetre lump at St George's Hospital in Tooting, South London, on Monday, 24 September 2006. As the tumour was pressing against his optic nerve, the surgeon removed the tumour through his nose.

After the operation, Watson could barely walk, and the tumour had affected his pituitary gland which controls hormone levels: "My mood swings went from ecstatic to suicidal. I remember one night standing on the balcony, full of dark thoughts and self-pity, thinking 'God, this is f**king terrible, why me?' I went back to bed, couldn't sleep, got up again. I thought I'd had enough. If it hadn't been for the girls [his daughters]..." His energy levels were very low and he did not leave his house for two months: "I couldn't deal with more than one person at a time or with multitasking and I cried easily."Watson was readmitted to hospital in Manchester for tests on 6 October 2006 after complaining of dizziness, headaches and blurred vision.

Upon recovering, Watson returned to the recording studio to finish his album That's Life. Originally due out in November 2006, it was subsequently released on 5 March 2007. On the advice of his doctors, his latest UK tour, which had been due to start in late October 2006, was also postponed until March 2007 to coincide with the album release.[15] The rescheduled tour met with huge approval throughout the country, with night after night of standing ovations to a visibly-moved Watson. On 19 May 2007, Watson sang the UK's National Anthem at the 2007 FA Cup Final.

Second pituitary tumour:

Whilst in the middle of the studio recording of his album Outside In on 24 October 2007 Watson suddenly became incapacitated, with multiple symptoms including a dramatic deterioration of vision. An MRI scan showed he had a regrowth of his tumour with bleeding into his brain. He underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumour at the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, and was for a while in critical condition in the hospital's Intensive Therapy Unit. On 26 October a hospital spokesman said that Watson was "recovering well" from his surgery and was in a stable condition, although the recovery process might be "a long haul".

Watson was discharged from hospital on 31 October, telling reporters "I'm just happy to be alive and be with my children at the moment", and paying tribute to messages of support from his fans, calling them "amazing". A statement from Watson's management added: "We would like to pass on Russell's heartfelt thanks for the overwhelming amount of messages and gifts from his fans." Watson later underwent an extensive rehabilitation programme including radiotherapy. He released his sixth studio album, Outside In, on 26 November 2007.

If/when you watch this video, remember he started off singing Elvis Presley and MC Hammer...no classical training.

I've heard of the three Tenors....Pavarotti is the only name I seem to be able to remember...but I've never been "cultured" enough I guess, to appreciate this genre of music.

After listening to this guy and watching these few clips, I think I've become a fan of this genre. Now I can appreciate that he's probably nowhere near as good as The Three Tenors....and Mario Lanza....I remembered Mario Lanza...lol....thanks Mom.....but he will do nicely for me.

Here's a few more of his songs...if you want to watch...I think he's wonderful, a little bit cute...and funny too.  Not all these songs are in the "opera" style...that's what I like about him...he can sing in a beautiful tenor (?) voice...or just a normal voice...they're all good.

Russell Watson sings:

"Nessun Dorma.......https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XvorezqM9Y

"Music Of  The Night"....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHLXrDZUwaY

"You Raise Me Up"......https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvy_igCOmU8

"Bridge Over Trouble Waters"......https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3IrFc9yzRo

He is not the best tenor in the world.....but as I said...he'll do just fine for me, thank you very much!!!!