They walked the harbor together across weeks. Jerry asked questions and wrote. He learned that Berto, who mended nets under a green awning, remembered the harbor's busiest summer as the one when his son shipped out and never returned. Mrs. Hargreaves, who had run the sweet shop for forty years, kept a ledger of recipes and notes in a tin box. Each story Jerry recorded added a layer of color he hadn't known the town contained.

Jerry Vale's impact on American popular music extends beyond his own body of work. He played a significant role in influencing a younger generation of crooners, including Michael Bublé and Josh Groban, who have cited Vale as an inspiration. His devotion to the Great American Songbook has also helped to ensure the continued relevance of these timeless classics.

, a longtime admirer of Vale's "velvet" voice, has used his music to set the tone in several films.