Martha Tilton | |
|---|---|
 Tilton in 1933 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Martha Ellen Tilton |
| Also known as | The Liltin' Miss Tilton |
| Born | (1915-11-14)November 14, 1915 Corpus Christi, Texas,U.S. |
| Died | December 8, 2006(2006-12-08) (aged 91) Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Swing Jazz Traditional pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
| Years active | 1930s–1990s |
| Labels | Capitol,Coral,Tops |
| Website | marthatilton |
Martha Tilton (November 14, 1915 – December 8, 2006)[1] was an American popular singer during America'sswing era andtraditional pop period. She is best known for her 1939 recording of "And the Angels Sing" withBenny Goodman.
Tilton was born inCorpus Christi, Texas, United States.[2] Her family moved toEdna, Kansas, when she was three months old.[3] They relocated toLos Angeles when she was seven years old. While attendingFairfax High School in Los Angeles, she was singing on a small radio station when she was heard by an agent who signed her and began booking her with larger stations.
She then dropped out of school in the eleventh grade to joinHal Grayson's band. After singing with the quartetThree Hits and a Miss, she joined theMyer Alexander Chorus onBenny Goodman's radio show,Camel Caravan.[4] Goodman hired Tilton as a vocalist with his band in August 1937.[4] She was with Goodman in January 1938, whenthe band performed at Carnegie Hall. She continued to appear as Goodman's star vocalist until the end of 1939.[4] She had a No. 1 hit with Benny Goodman's recording of "And the Angels Sing" in 1939.[4][5][self-published source]
Tilton had a major success from 1942 to 1949 as one of the first artists to record forCapitol Records.[4] Her first recording for Capitol was "Moon Dreams", Capitol 138, with Orchestra and The Mellowaires, composed byJohnny Mercer and Glenn Miller pianistChummy MacGregor in 1942. "Moon Dreams" would be recorded byGlenn Miller in 1944 and byMiles Davis in 1950.
Among her biggest hits as a solo artist were "I'll Walk Alone", a wartime ballad which rose to No. 4 on the charts in 1944;[4] "I Should Care" and "A Stranger in Town," which both peaked at No. 10 in 1945; and three in 1947: "How Are Things in Glocca Morra" fromFinian's Rainbow, which climbed to No. 8; "That's My Desire", which hit No. 10; and "I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder", which reached No. 9.[4] After she left Capitol, Tilton recorded for other labels, includingCoral and Tops. Among her later albums wasWe Sing the Old Songs (1957, Tops), a mix of older songs and recent standards, recorded with baritoneCurt Massey.[4]
Reviewing the two-CD set,The Liltin' Miss Tilton, (Capitol, 2000), critic Don Heckman wrote:
There are those who would say that Martha Tilton wasn't a jazz singer at all. But swing-era fans won't have any doubts, remembering her for a rocking version of "Loch Lomond" at Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall concert.[6]
In 1941, Tilton sang onFibber McGee and Molly[7] and starred onCampana Serenade, a program of popular music on firstNBC and thenCBS in 1942–1944.[8] (Tilton sang on the later CBS version, with theLud Gluskin Orchestra.) A contemporary newspaper article called Tilton's role onFibber McGee and Molly "a milestone in her personal history ... Martha's biggest transcontinental [broadcast] since her days as soloist with Benny Goodman."[9]
In the early 1940s, she also sang onRansom Sherman's program onCBS.[10] Massey and Tilton starred inAlka-Seltzer Time, a 15-minute radio series broadcast weekdays on both CBS and Mutual. Sponsored byAlka-Seltzer, this show began in 1949 asCurt Massey Time (sometimes advertised asCurt Massey Time with Martha Tilton) with a title change to highlight the sponsor's product by 1952. Prior to that, Tilton had co-starred onThe Jack Smith Show, another 15-minute radio musical program.[11]
By 1953, the series was heard simultaneously on Mutual (at noon) and later that same day on CBS (at 5:45pm). Ads described the show as "informal song sessions" by vocalists Massey and Tilton, who was often billed as "The liltin' Martha Tilton". The two Texan singers performed with Country Washburne and His Orchestra,[12] featuring Charles LaVere on piano. The series ended November 6, 1953. However, Massey and Tilton continued to appear together during the late 1950s on such shows asGuest Star andStars for Defense.
Her movies includeSunny (1941),Strictly in the Groove (1942),Swing Hostess (1944),Crime, Inc. (1945), andThe Benny Goodman Story (1956).[4] Her last film appearance was as the band vocalist in the TV movieQueen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975). Tilton's singing voice was used for other actresses includingBarbara Stanwyck,Martha O'Driscoll, andAnne Gwynne.[13]
She appeared in severalSoundies musical films of the 1940s.
Tilton once again worked with Massey in the late 1950s and early 1960s—this time onKRCA-TV inLos Angeles. They were reunited on that station'sCurt Massey Show.[14] In 1960, Tilton won a SouthlandEmmy Award as outstanding female personality for her work on KRCA.[15] In 1961, Tilton repeated as outstanding female personality, and the program won the Most Outstanding Musical or Variety Show award.[16] Tilton also appeared as a guest star onThe Jack Benny Program, on February 26, 1963 (Season 13, Episode 21) where they reminisce about their work entertaining soldiers for the USO.[17]
Tilton initially married Benny Goodman's manager Leonard Vannerson, and they had two sons.[18] She married James Brooks, a test pilot, in 1948.[19] They had a daughter.[18]
Tilton was aRepublican.[20]
On December 8, 2006, Tilton died of natural causes at her Brentwood home.[21]
| Year | Single | US Chart[22] |
|---|---|---|
| 1937 | "Bob White" | 15 |
| "Can't Teach My Old Heart New Tricks" | 14 | |
| "Loch Lomond" | 12 | |
| 1938 | "You Took the Words Right Out of My Heart" | 9 |
| "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" | 4 | |
| "'S Wonderful" | 7 | |
| "Please Be Kind" | 14 | |
| "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" | 1 | |
| "Feelin' High and Happy" | 11 | |
| "Why'd Ya Make Me Fall in Love?" | 12 | |
| "The Flat Foot Floogee" | 7 | |
| "(I've Been) Savin' Myself for You" | 12 | |
| "What Goes On Here in My Heart" | 3 | |
| "A Little Kiss at Twilight" | 7 | |
| "I've Got a Date with a Dream" | 4 | |
| "Could You Pass in Love?" | 20 | |
| "When I Go A-Dreamin'" | 11 | |
| "Is That the Way to Treat a Sweetheart?" | 15 | |
| "What Have You Got That Gets Me?" | 6 | |
| "This Can't Be Love" | 2 | |
| "I Have Eyes" | 6 | |
| "You're a Sweet Little Headache" | 6 | |
| "I Must See Annie Tonight" | 13 | |
| 1939 | "And the Angels Sing" | 1 |
WithBenny Goodman
| Year | Single | US Chart[22] |
|---|---|---|
| 1944 | "I'll Walk Alone" | 4 |
| "Texas Polka" | 24 | |
| 1945 | "Stranger in Town" | 10 |
| "I Should Care" | 10 | |
| 1947 | "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" | 8 |
| "I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder" | 9 | |
| "That's My Desire" | 10 | |
| 1948 | "That's Gratitude" | 22 |
| 1950 | "I'll Always Love You" | 23 |
