Edythe Wright

Edythe "Dee Dee" Wright (born August 16, 1914 in Bayonne , New Jersey ; † October 27, 1965 in Point Pleasant , New Jersey) was an American swing singer , known from her time from 1935 to 1939 with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

Life

Wright went to school in New Brunswick . She graduated from high school in 1933 and later studied acting at the New Jersey College for Women in New Brunswick. During a summer stay in 1935 on the New Jersey coast in Sea Girt , she was asked by band leader Frank Dailey to fill in as a singer. There she heard the agent Tommy Dorseys, who later hired her. From September 1935 to September 1939 she sang with Dorsey, with whom she made many recordings, appeared on the radio and also arranged. She also made recordings with Dorsey's Clambake Seven. Sometimes she sang accompanied by the vocal trio Three Esquires (singer Jack Leonard , arranger Axel Stordahl , trumpeter Joe Bauer ). There were frequent arguments with Dorsey as she had an equally violent temper. Dorsey forced her to sing “ corny” songs in her opinion , partly with the singer Arthur “Skeets” Herfurt. In 1939 she left Dorsey's band and was replaced there by Anita Boyer and then Connie Haines and Jo Stafford . The good-looking, glamorous singer remained friends with many Dorsey musicians and is said to have indirectly influenced the band.

She was in California during World War II. It was not until 1950 that she returned to New York or New Jersey. She married the mechanic John T. Smith and devoted herself to amateur theatrical productions. She lived in Manasquan, New Jersey, and died of pancreatic cancer.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ All Music Guide, see web links

personal data
SURNAME	Wright, Edythe
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Wright, Dee Dee
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American swing singer
DATE OF BIRTH	August 16, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bayonne , New Jersey , United States
DATE OF DEATH	October 27, 1965
Place of death	Point Pleasant , New Jersey , United States

[1] All Music Guide, see web links