Dolly Dawn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Theresa Anna Maria Stabile February 3 1916 Newark, New Jersey, United States |
| Died | December 11 2002 (aged 86) Englewood, New Jersey, United States |
| Genres | Big Band |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1930s - 1981 |
| Labels | RCA Records |
Dolly Dawn (bornTheresa Anna Maria Stabile; February 3, 1916 – December 11, 2002)[1][2] was an Americanbig band singer. She was vocalist withGeorge Hall's Hotel Taft Orchestra in the 1930s, and later had a solo career.
Dawn was born Theresa Anna Maria Stabile inNewark, New Jersey on February 3 1916, and grew up inMontclair, New Jersey. Her parents were Italian immigrants; the jazz saxophonistDick Stabile was a cousin.[1]
Dawn initially usedstage nameBillie Starr, and appeared weekly on a local radio show. In 1935 she replacedLoretta Lee as vocalist withGeorge Hall's orchestra; she was given the name Dolly Dawn by Harriet Mencken, a writer for theNew York Journal-American. She and the band broadcast six days a week from the Grill Room of theTaft Hotel in New York viaCBS Radio, and became very popular. Her most successful song with the band was "You're a Sweetheart", released in 1938.[1][2][3]
On July 4, 1941, at theRoseland Ballroom in New York, George Hall officially turned the band over to her, and became her manager; the band was renamed "Dolly Dawn and Her Dawn Patrol".[1][4] From 1942 she continued without the band, whose members were drafted during the Second World War. She appeared in clubs and dance halls and in other engagements throughout the US, and continued to record into the 1950s.[1][2]
Resuming her career in 1976,[5] Dawn performed in nightclubs, reprising songs from the big-band era. A review inThe New York Times mentioned her "relaxed, unpretentious, straightforward manner of singing" as she performed with only a piano for accompaniment in 1978.[6] A 1980 review noted improvement after "several relatively unimpressive appearances" and the addition of bass and drums to the piano accompaniment. The review commended her technique of adapting her style to each song.[5]
A two LP compilation of Dolly Dawn's recordings with George Hall was issued by RCA Records in 1976, which led to appearances at jazz clubs and cabarets in New York. She recorded two new albums:Smooth as Silk, and in 1981Memories of You.[1][2]
Ella Fitzgerald said that Dawn was an influence on her own singing. On February 4, 1998, Dolly Dawn was inducted into the Big Band Hall of Fame inWest Palm Beach, Florida.[2] She did not marry; she said her music was her husband and children. She died on December 11 2002, aged 86, from kidney failure at theLillian Booth Actors Home inEnglewood, New Jersey.[1]
