Bea Wain | |
|---|---|
 Bea Wain in 1943 | |
| Born | Beatrice Ruth Wain[1] (1917-04-30)April 30, 1917 The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 19, 2017(2017-08-19) (aged 100) |
| Other names | Beatrice Wayne |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, radio personality |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Beatrice Ruth Wain[1] (April 30, 1917 – August 19, 2017) was an AmericanBig Band-era singer and radio personality born in theBronx, New York City. She had several hits withLarry Clinton and His Orchestra, including "My Reverie", "Deep Purple", and "Heart and Soul". Wain and announcerAndre Baruch, her husband, co-hosted radio programs from the 1940s to the 1980s.
Wain made her debut on radio at age 6 as a "featured performer" on theNBC Children's Hour.[2] As an adult, she sang regularly onThe Larry Clinton Show (NBC 1938),[3]Monday Merry-Go-Round (NBC Blue 1941–1942),[3]: 238 Starlight Serenade (Mutual 1944),[3]: 314 andYour Hit Parade.[3]: 362
She led the vocal group Bea and the Bachelors (withAl Rinker, Ken Lane, and John Smedberg).[4]
Her debut with Clinton was made in the summer of 1938 at the Glen Island Casino,New Rochelle, New York.[2]
On a 1937 recording withArtie Shaw, she was credited asBeatrice Wayne, which led some to assume that was her real name. On record labels, her name was shortened (without her permission) to "Bea" by the record company, ostensibly for space considerations. As she explained, "They cut it to 'Bea' Wain. They cut the 'Beatrice' out to 'Bea'. I was just a little old girl singer, but that's the truth. So that's how my name became 'Bea Wain'."[5]
Wain's recording ofMy Reverie (Victor 26006) with the Clinton orchestra stayed at the top of the chart for eight weeks in 1938.[6] Her other popular recordings included "Deep Purple", "Heart and Soul", and "Martha".[7]
In 1939, Wain was voted by Billboard Magazine as 'Female Band Vocalist of The Year', beating superstars such as Ella Fitzgerald to the title.
Wain was the first artist to record theHarold Arlen-Yip Harburg classic "Over the Rainbow" (forRCA Victor on December 7, 1938, with Clinton's orchestra),[8] butMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer forbade the release of the record untilThe Wizard of Oz (1939) had opened and audiences heardJudy Garland perform it.[9]
Wain rarely made recordings after she left the Clinton orchestra in 1939, focusing primarily on her work on radio,[10] but she did enjoy some chart success with:
Following World War II, Wain worked with her husband,Andre Baruch, as a disc jockey team in New York onWMCA, where they were billed as "Mr. and Mrs. Music". An article in the May 1949 issue ofRadio Best magazine noted, "In the trade she is looked upon as an accurate picker of hits and is a favourite song plugger of tunesmiths likeCole Porter,Johnny Mercer,Harold Arlen andHarry Warren."[12]
During the early 1980s, the pair hosted a syndicated radio recreation ofYour Hit Parade.[13] Baruch died in 1991.[14]
In a 2004 interview with Christopher Popa, Wain reflected: "Actually, I've had a wonderful life, a wonderful career. And I'm still singing, and I'm still singing pretty good. This past December, I did a series of shows inPalm Springs, California, and the review said, 'Bea Wain is still a giant.' It's something calledMusical Chairs. I did six shows in six different venues, and I was a smash. And I really got a kick out of it."[15]
Wain died ofcongestive heart failure at an assisted living home on August 19, 2017, inBeverly Hills, California, at the age of 100.[16][17]
Bea Wain.
