Helen Ward (singer)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Helen Ward (born September 19, 1916 in New York City , † April 21, 1998 in Arlington / Virginia ) was an American singer of swing .

Live and act

Helen Ward was a self-taught singer ; she received piano lessons from her father. After high school time during which she & a. worked with the composer Burton Lane , she sang early in her career in various dance orchestras such as Nye Mayhew and the Sweet bands of Eddy Duchin , Eric Madriguera , David Rubinoff and Will Osborne . She was best known for her work in Benny Goodman's first band, of which she was a member from 1934 to 1936. In January 1935 Ward had a hit with the Goodman Orchestra with Blue Moon , which reached number 2 on the charts. Goodman and John Hammond had chosen her because she specialized in the medium to fast 4/4 tempo that the band practically always used. "With quarter notes and diatonic intervals she works so confidently that it sounds uncomfortable when she sings something else," wrote Will Friedwald .

She left the band, which then went on tour regularly, because in 1937 she married the jazz impresario Albert Marx. However, she continued to record with Teddy Wilson , Gene Krupa , Bob Crosby, and Joe Sullivan . In 1941 and again in 1944 she performed with Harry James ; From 1942 to 1943 she was a member of the Hal McIntyre Orchestra and recorded with Red Norvo's Overseas Spotlite Band . In 1946 and 1947 she worked as a producer of music programs for a New York radio station. In the 1950s she worked again with Benny Goodman, with whom she went on tour one last time, but was also active with Wild Bill Davison and Peanuts Hucko . She also recorded records with Larry Clinton and Hucko.

She retired from the music scene in 1960, but had a brief comeback in the late 1970s. She sang in various clubs in New York City in 1979; in 1981 her album The Helen Ward Song Book was released .

Writer Will Friewald calls Helen Ward a role model for a generation of band singers in the 1930s because of the role she played in Benny Goodman; "Her lively demeanor inspired not only her younger counterparts in the other bands, but also those who came before her, such as Ivie Anderson , singer in the Ellington band ." The two singers who owed Helen Ward the most were them Song stylists Martha Tilton and Edythe Wright , but they were never serious competitors.

Selection discography

  • The Eddie Condon Floor Show, Vol. 1 (contains recordings by Helen Ward with Peanuts Hucko, and Bobby Hackett And His All Stars)
  • Roy Eldridge: Heckler's Hop (Hep, 1936–39)
  • Benny Goodman: The Complete Small Combinations, Vol. 1/2 (1935-37, "All my life", "Too good to be true"); Planet Jazz - Benny Goodman (RCA)
  • Harry James: 1941 (Classics)
  • Gene Krupa: 1935-1938 (Classics)
  • Joe Sullivan: 1933-1941 (Classics)
  • Teddy Wilson: 1935-1936 , 1942-1945 (Classics)

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Quoted from W. Friedwald, p. 76 f.
  2. ^ Obituary in Jazz House
  3. ↑ According to Friedwald, p. 77.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ward, Helen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer of swing
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH April 21, 1998
Place of death Arlington, Virginia