Bea Wain born 30 April 1917

Bea Wain (April 30, 1917 - August 19, 2017) was a American Big Band-era vocalist.

Bea Wain (born Beatrice Weinsier) was considered by many to be the best vocalist of her era. Born in new York, Wain sang with bandleader Gene Kardos in the mid 1930's. She also appeared on NBC's Children's Hour and as a member of Ted Straeter's Choir as well as with her own Bea and the Bachelors. The Bachelors consisted of Al Rinker, Ken Lane, and John Smedberg. The quartet performed on Fred Waring's radio program as part of the vocal group V-8, a combined effort with the Modernaires, before joining Kay Thompson in 1937, where they formed part of Thompson's Rhythm Singers.

Later that same year, while she and the Bachelors were working on Kate Smith's radio show, bandleader Larry Clinton offered Wain a job in his newly-formed orchestra based solely on the strength of an eight-bar solo he had heard her sing on Thompson's radio program. She accepted and quickly emerged as the band's star attraction, singing on their biggest hits, including "Martha" and "Heart and Soul".

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'."

In 1939, she was voted the most popular female band vocalist in a Billboard, and that same year she began her solo career. She 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 recording ban of 1942 marked the end of her commercial recording career. She continued to sing, perform, and appear on radio, however, throughout the 1940s. Bea and her husband worked as a 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 they did a top-rated daily four-hour talk show for nine years before relocating to Beverly Hills.

The couple had two children: Bonnie Baruch and her husband, Mark Barnes, operate a vineyard in Northern California and run the Daisy Foundation, an organization which recognizes nurses for their critical role in patient care and supports research towards the cure of auto-immune diseases. Wayne Baruch has a career in the music and theatre business, and his wife, Shelley Baruch, is a theatrical producer and filmmaker.

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.

In a 2004 interview with Christopher Popa, she 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.  

Wain died of congestive heart failure at a retirement home on August 19, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 100.

(Info edited from Wikipedia & Parabrisas)