Buddy Clark (July 26, 1912 - October 1, 1949) was an
American popular singer of the 1930s and 1940s. In the late 1940s, after his
return from service in World War II, his career blossomed and he became one of
the nation's top crooners. He died in a plane crash in 1949.
Clark was born Samuel Goldberg to Jewish parents in
Dorchester, Massachusetts. At first he was headed for a career in law at
Northeastern University in Boston, but soon turned to what he really loved
which was singing which he had been doing on local radio. He made his Big Band
singing debut in 1932 as a tenor, with Gus Arnheim's orchestra, but was not
successful. Singing baritone, he gained wider notice in 1934, with Benny
Goodman on the Let's Dance radio program. In 1936 he began performing on the
show Your Hit Parade, and remained until 1938. In the mid-1930s he signed with
Vocalion Records, having a top-20 hit with "Spring Is Here". He
continued recording, appearing in movies, and dubbing other actors' voices
until he entered the military, but did not have another hit until the late
1940s.
Meanwhile Buddy Clark continued to be a large presence on
network radio with "Here's To Romance" with the orchestra of David
Broekman on NBC Blue beginning in 1942. That year Clark had a small role in the
movie musical comedy "Seven Days Leave" which starred Victor Mature
and Lucille Ball. Soon Buddy did his part for Uncle Sam and the United States
entering the armed forces. After his discharge at wars end he returned to
network radio with a starring role on "The Contented Hour" sponsored
by Carnation with Jo Stafford and the orchestras of Victor Young and then Percy
Faith. Later radio appearances included "The Spike Jones Show" for
CBS in 1947, and "The Chesterfield Supper Club" for NBC in 1949.
Meanwhile Buddy had been signed by Columbia Records in 1947 for whom he had
charted as a featured vocalist ten years before.
In 1946 he signed with Columbia Records and scored his
biggest hit with the song "Linda" recorded in November of that year,
but hitting its peak in the following spring. "Linda" was written
especially for the six-year-old daughter of a show business lawyer, named, Lee
Eastman, whose client, songwriter Jack Lawrence, wrote the song at Lee’s
request. Upon reaching adulthood, Linda became famous as a photographer and a musician
as a member of Wings, the 1970s band headed by her husband, former Beatle Paul
McCartney.
1947 also saw hits for Clark with such titles as
"How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" (from the musical Finian's
Rainbow), which made the Top Ten, "Peg O' My Heart", "An Apple
Blossom Wedding", and "I'll Dance at Your Wedding". The
following year he had another major hit with "Love Somebody" (a duet
with Doris Day, selling a million and reaching #1 on the charts) and nine more
chart hits, and extended his success into 1949 with a number of hits, both solo
and duetting with Day and Dinah Shore. A month after his death, his recording
of "A Dreamer's Holiday" hit the charts.
On Saturday, October 1, 1949, hours after the 37-year-old
had completed a Club Fifteen broadcast on CBS Radio with The Andrews
Sisters—subbing for ailing host Dick Haymes. Clark's last radio broadcast found him in very
high spirits, clowning with Maxene, LaVerne, and Patty Andrews. He joined them
for a comical rendition of "Baby Face," during which Buddy amused the
CBS studio audience, as well as the famous swing trio of sisters, with his spot-on
Al Jolson impression.
Clark joined five friends in renting a small plane to
attend a Stanford vs. Michigan State college football game. On the way back to
Los Angeles after the game, the plane ran out of fuel, lost altitude, and
crashed on Beverly Boulevard in West Los Angeles.
Clark survived the initial crash by being thrown from the
plane, but died hours later in a hospital from his injuries, the only one on
the plane to have perished. And so one of the great stars of the post war years
had lost his life. In those short two and a half years, Clark had placed twenty
three records on the best seller lists, ten of which cracked the top ten, and
three of which were number one records. An unexpected and tragic death had
robbed America of one of its most talented and enduring singing stars.
For his contributions to the music industry, he has a
star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 6800 Hollywood Boulevard. (Info edited from Wikipedia & Interlude
Era)
2 comments:
For “Buddy Clark – Greatest Hits” go here;
http://www69.zippyshare.com/v/KMqQZhSF/file.html
1. Linda
2. K–K–K–Katy
3. When Day Is Done
4. Peg O' My Heart
5. How Are Things In Glocca Morra?
6. I'll Dance At Your Wedding
7. Just One More Chance
8. An Apple Blossom Wedding
9. That Old Gang Of Mine
10. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
11. (The Treasure Of) Sierra Madre
12. I'll See You In My Dreams
13. Girl Of My Dreams
14. If This Isn't Love
15. Ballerina
16. I'll Get By
17. Here I'll Stay
18. A Dreamer's Holiday
19. Chiquita Banana (The Banana Song)
20. You Don't Have To Know The Language
21. It’s a Big Wide Wonderful World
22. My Darling, My Darling
23. South America Take It Away
24. You’re Too Dangerous Cherie
25 Now Is The Hour
Here’s a little comp off the web with a few bonus tracks I added. (21 – 25)
Thanks!
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