Bea Wain

Bea Wain
Bea Wain
Background information
Born	(1917-04-30) April 30, 1917 (age 95)
Origin	Bronx, New York
Genres	Big Band
Occupations	Singer
Associated acts	Larry Clinton

Bea Wain (born April 30, 1917) is an American Big Band-era singer born in New York City, New York. On a 1937 recording with Artie Shaw, she was credited as "Beatrice 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'."

She led the vocal group Bea and the Bachelors (with Al Rinker, Ken Lane, and John Smedberg) and the V8 (seven boys and a girl) on the Fred Waring show. In 1937, Wain joined former Tommy Dorsey arranger Larry Clinton and His Orchestra. She was featured with Clinton on a number of hit tunes, including "Martha" and "Heart and Soul". In 1939, she was voted the most popular female band vocalist in a Billboard poll, and that same year she began her solo career.

Wain had four #1 hits: "Cry, Baby, Cry", "Deep Purple", "Heart and Soul" and her signature song, "My Reverie". She is considered by many to be one of the best female vocalists of her era, possessing a natural feel for swing-music rhythms not often found among white singers of the day. With regard to technique, she excelled in pitch and subtle utilization of dynamics. She also communicated a feminine sensuality and sang with conviction in an unforced manner.

On May 1, 1938, Bea Wain married radio announcer André Baruch. Their honeymoon in Bermuda was cut short when Fred Allen called Baruch asking him to return to New York to substitute for his ailing announcer, Harry von Zell. They were married for 53 years. Baruch died in 1991. The couple had two children: Bonnie and Wayne.

Mr. and Mrs. Music

Following her musical career, the couple worked as a husband-and-wife disc jockey team in New York on WMCA, where they were billed as "Mr. and Mrs. Music". In 1973, the couple moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where for nine years they had a top-rated daily four-hour talk show on WPBR before relocating to Beverly Hills. During the early 1980s, the pair hosted a syndicated version of Your Hit Parade, reconstructing the list of hits of selected weeks in the 1940s and playing the original recordings.

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 in Palm Springs, California, and the review said, "Bea Wain is still a giant." It's something called Musical Chairs. I did six shows in six different venues, and I was a smash. And I really got a kick out of it."^[1]

Cultural legacy

In James A. Michener's 1971 novel The Drifters, characters discuss Bea Wain and her recording of "My Reverie" in two separate chapters of the book.

In 2002, her recording of "My Reverie" was used in the Robin Williams movie One Hour Photo.

Listen to

• Amanda Wilde's 2007 interview with Bea Wain
• Sara Fishko's 2007 interview with Bea Wain on WNYC Radio

References

Sources

• ArtistDirect.com: Bea Wain, accessed 17 October 2005.
• Bea Wain & Bea and the Bachelors at Solid!, accessed 18 October 2005.

External links

• Bea Wain at the Internet Movie Database
• American Big Bands: Larry Clinton, Bea Wain^{[dead link]}
• The Daisy Foundation
• Interview by Amanda Wilde