Tuesday 9 June 2020

Fred Waring born 9 June 1900


Fred Waring (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was a popular musician, bandleader and radio-television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing." Waring and his group, the 
Pennsylvanians, recorded more than 2,000 songs, including rock
and spiritual hymns.  He was also a promoter, financial backer and eponym of the Waring Blendor, the first modern electric blender on the market.

Fredrick Malcolm Waring was born in Tyrone, Pennsylvania to Jesse Calderwood and Frank Waring. During his teenage years, Fred Waring, his brother Tom, and their friend Poley McClintock founded the Waring-McClintock Snap Orchestra, which evolved into Fred Waring's Banjo Orchestra. The band often played at fraternity parties, proms, and dances, and achieved local success. He attended Penn State University, where he studied architectural engineering. He also aspired to
be in the Penn State Glee Club, but he was rejected with every audition due to "college politics" and tension between him and the glee club's director, Dr. Clarence Robinson. His Banjo Orchestra eventually became so successful that he decided to abandon his education in order to tour with the band, which eventually became known as Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians.

From 1923 until late 1932, "Waring's Pennsylvanians" were among Victor Records best-selling bands. In late 1932, he abruptly quit recording, although his band continued to perform on radio. In 1933, "You Gotta Be a Football Hero" was performed on radio to great acclaim.


Adding a men's singing group to his ensemble, he recruited Robert Shaw, recently out of the Pomona College glee club, to train his singers. Shaw later founded the Robert Shaw Chorale, directed the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and became America’s preeminent conductor of serious choral music. The Waring glee club sound can be detected in some Robert Shaw Chorale recordings. Pembroke Davenport (1911–85) was Waring's pianist and arranger.

During World War II, Waring and his ensemble appeared at war bond rallies and entertained the troops at training camps. He composed and/or performed dozens of patriotic songs, his most famous being "My America." In 1943, Waring acquired the Buckwood Inn in Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania, and renamed the resort the Shawnee Inn. To promote the Inn, Waring cantered his musical activities at the Inn itself. He created, rehearsed and broadcast his radio programs from the stage of Shawnee's Worthington Hall throughout the 1950s.


                              

During the 1940s and early 1950s, Waring and His Pennsylvanians produced a string of hits, selling millions of records. A few of his many choral hits include "Sleep," "Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "Button Up Your Overcoat," "White Christmas," "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor" and "Dancing in the Dark."

In 1947, Waring organized the Fred Waring Choral Workshop at his Pennsylvania headquarters in Shawnee-on-the Delaware, which was also the home of Shawnee Press, the music publisher which he founded. At these sessions, talented musicians learned to sing with precision, sensitivity and enthusiasm. When these vocalists returned home and shared what they had learned with fellow musicians, Waring’s approach to choral singing spread throughout the nation. The first Fred Waring Music Workshop in the western 
United States was held in June of 1968 as part of the University of Nevada's Summer Session curriculum in Reno, Nevada. Waring taught and supervised these summer workshop for 37 years, continuing right until the day he died

Waring expanded into television with The Fred Waring Show, which ran on CBS Television from 20 June 1948 to 30 May 1954 and received several awards for Best Musical Program.  In the 1960s and 1970s, popular musical tastes turned from choral music, but Waring changed with the times, introducing his Young Pennsylvanians, a group of fresh-faced, long-haired, bell-bottomed performers who sang old favorites and choral arrangements of contemporary songs. In this way he continued as a popular touring attraction, logging some 40,000 miles a year.

Throughout his career, Fred Waring received many awards, but none was as illustrious as his last one. In 1983, the 83-year-old Waring — by now considered king of popular choral music — was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest honour for a civilian, by President Ronald Reagan.



Fred Waring died suddenly of stroke on July 29, 1984 at the place where it all began — Penn State University — just after videotaping a concert with his ensemble and completing his annual summer choral workshop. He conducted many such workshops at Penn State in his later years, and in 1984, designated Penn State to house his collection of archives and memorabilia. He also served his alma mater as a trustee and was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the University. (Edited mainly from Wikipedia)


Waring's Pennsylvanians play a very hot number from 1929 called "Jericho". Morton Downey and Dorothy Lee are featured as vocalists

5 comments:

boppinbob said...

For “Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians - We All Scream For Ice Cream!” go here:

https://www.upload.ee/files/11850573/Fred_Waring_-_Ice_Cream.rar.html

1. COLLEGIATE
2. DOES MY SWEETIE DO - AND HOW!
3. I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM
4. WHO'S BLUE NOW?
5. COLLEGIANA
6. NAVY BLUES
7. LET ME SING AND I'M HAPPY
8. H'LO BABY
9. GOOD FOR YOU, BAD FOR ME
10. RED HOT CHICAGO
11. SO BEATS MY HEART FOR YOU
12. LITTLE WHITE LIES
13. LOVE FOR SALE
14. SING A LITTLE JINGLE
15. DANCING IN THE DARK
16. LET'S HAVE ANOTHER CUP OF COFFEE
17. I SAY IT'S SPINACH
18. HOW'M I DOIN'?
19. RHYMES
20. A PICNIC FOR TWO
21. YOU'LL GET BY
22. FIT AS A FIDDLE
23. YOUNG AND HEALTHY
24. SLEEP

In 2002, the Jasmine reissue label brought out a compilation containing 24 recordings made between 1925 and 1932 by Waring & His Pennsylvanians, a variously sugary, sentimental, funny, irreverent and exciting little ensemble.
Waring was recognised as one of the most outstanding and dynamic personalities in American show business and even if, as has sometimes been suggested, he made no mark on music history, he certainly knew what middle-America wanted. Millions tuned in to his radio and television shows to hear the lavish choral arrangements performed by the fabulous Glee Club, supported by a talented group of musicians known as The Pennsylvanians. His was the common man's approach. "We don't sing music," he told a New York Times reporter, "we sing songs.
(Jasmine notes 2002)

boppinbob said...

For “Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians
- Say it with Music - The Many Moods of Fred Waring” go here:

https://www.upload.ee/files/11850513/Fred_Waring_-_Many_Moods__1_.rar.html

1-1 I Hear Music 1:52
1-2 Greensleeves 3:36
1-3 Say It With Music 3:24
1-4 The Rose Of Tralee 3:34
1-5 Din Skol, Min Skol 2:09
1-6 Sleep 1:24
1-7 In The Still Of The Night 4:17
1-8 You And I 2:32
1-9 Dear Hearts And Gentle People 2:04
1-10 Zorro 1:54
1-11 Blueberry Hill 2:59
1-12 Loch Lomond 3:33
1-13 The Unconstant Lover 2:44
1-14 Sleigh Ride 2:35
1-15 Bringing In The Sheeves 2:02
1-16 Were You There When They Crucified My Lord 4:03
1-17 Ezekiel Saw The Wheel 1:48
1-18 Blessed Assurance 2:03
1-19 Li'l David, Play On Your Harp 3:53
1-20 I Love To Tell The Story 2:25
1-21 Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit 2:40
1-22 Sweet Hour Of Prayer 1:47
1-23 Seventy-Six Trombones 3:09
1-24 God Bless America 2:46
1-25 America The Beautiful 3:10
1-26 This Is My Country 2:31
1-27 Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor 2:57
1-28 Battle Hymn Of The Republic 3:49


https://www.upload.ee/files/11850527/Fred_Waring_-_Many_Moods__2_.rar.html


2-1 Say It With Music 3:05
2-2 The Loveliest Night Of The Year 3:06
2-3 Outside Of Heaven 3:18
2-4 High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me) 3:21
2-5 Silk Stockings 2:28
2-6 On Top Of Old Smoky 2:51
2-7 Tulips And Heather 2:52
2-8 Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye 3:02
2-9 Lollytoodum 2:41
2-10 I Have To Tell You 2:35
2-11 Be Kind To Your Parents 1:41
2-12 Ike Mr. President 3:27
2-13 Mamie 2:37
2-14 Where In The World (But In America) 2:55
2-15 God Bless America 2:58
2-16 Grandma's Thanksgiving Part 1 3:10
2-17 Grandma's Thanksgiving Part 2 4:02
2-18 Twas The Night Before Christmas Part 1 3:09
2-19 Twas The Night Before Christmas Part 2 3:32
2-20 Easter Parade 3:25
2-21 The Song Of Easter 13:05
2-22 When I Survey The Wondrous Cross 3:20
2-23 O Day Of Rest And Gladness 2:57


Fred Waring was one of Radio's earliest stars who brought his skilled group to television and was one of the 20th Century's great choral conductors. Disc one consists of their later choral works - recorded in Stereo - including such great titles as 'Say It With Music', 'I Hear Music', 'The Rose of Tralee', 'Sleep', 'Dear Hearts and Gentle People', 'Blessed Assurance', '76 Trombones' and 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic'. Disc two is comprised of some of his best single releases of the 1950s: 'High Noon', 'Silk Stockings', 'On Top of Old Smokey', 'God Bless America' and many more!

Say It with Music presents Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians at their very best and is a must for those interested in owning one of the greatest Fred Waring compilations ever released! (Jasmine notes 2013)

whymamacries said...

thank you for this!

TheSiren said...

im looking for The Sounds Of Christmas album from 1959. i was given an LP from my aunt's old collection and id like to have a digital copy for my phone.

boppinbob said...

Hello Siren,

For “Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians – The Sounds Of Christmas” go here:

https://krakenfiles.com/view/NQum8xYrvJ/file.html

1. Ring Those Christmas Bells; Caroling, Caroling; Carol, Brothers, Carol; O Hearken Ye; Christmas; The Star Carol; Rise Up Shepherd An' Foller; Go Where I Send Thee; Jesu Parvule; Gesu Bambino
2. O Come All Ye Faithful; Come Dear Children; Bright, Bright The Holly Berries; Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town; While By Our Sleeping Flock We Lay; Jingle Bells; Caroling, Caroling (Reprise); I Wonder As I Wander; Silent Night; O Holy Night; Finale; We Wish You A Merry Christmas.

Regards, Bob.