Savoring songs by women who sounded good
Savoring songs by women who sounded good
By: Bill Mead
Topics:
Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 608 times
2 responses 0 comments Remember Bea Wain? Of course you don't, unless you were born before Hitler took power in Germany.
Bea was one of an army of women who brought American music to a pinnacle from which it has steadily dropped. These days, most women singers mumble, screech or make other noises that only adolescents would consider musical.
Bea Wain is no longer a household name outside of senior centers because she was a big band singer of the 1930s. She was a member of a melodic sisterhood that included Doris Day, Dinah Shore, Jo Stafford, Peggy Lee, Helen Forrest, Carole Landis, Dorothy Lamour, Billie Holliday and dozens of other female vocalists who did so much to further the fortunes of band leaders such as Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Harry James and countless other dance orchestras of the swing era, which lasted from the depths of the Great Depression through World War II. It's no wonder you don't know what I'm talking about.
The last I heard, Bea was still alive and still sounding like an angel at the mike. I can get a little emotional about this because my cousin Audrey, another amazing vocal talent from the big band era, is now in her eighties and still brings audiences to their feet around our home town of Des Moines when she feels up to performing between chemotherapy sessions.
I remember Bea Wain when she was in her prime and my recollection is that she was sensational. Thanks to Amazon.com I recently was able to buy a CD of her hits, of which there were many. I know we are apt to look at the past through rose colored glasses but when I played Bea's CD I was thrilled to find that she was even better than I remembered. When I heard her remastered version of “My Reverie” and “Deep Purple” I was even more baffled as to why today's young people are satisfied with the crudeness of current popular singers.
A lot of critics, including me, believe that Bea Wain was probably the best female singer of the swing era. Her father was a classical musician and instilled his love of highbrow music in his daughter. So when band leader Larry Clinton took a classical piece by Claude DeBussy and turned it into a popular number called “My Reverie,” Bea was a natural to send it to the top of the Hit Parade.
Bea never seemed cut out for the vagabond life of the typical big band singer. She was always in demand but she picked her jobs to suit her own convenience. Early on she fell in love with a star of radio named Andre Baruch who did voice-overs and other broadcasting chores when they needed somebody who sounded like God himself. Bea and Andre remained married until his death many decades later. For years they hosted local and network TV programs under the title “Mr. And Mrs. Music.”
To me, the fact that Bea and cousin Audrey are still with us is proof of His mercy.
| Send to a Friend | Report a Violation |
