Robin Ward (singer)

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Singles

Wonderful summer   US 14th 11/02/1963 (10 weeks)

Robin Ward (* 1941 as Jacqueline McDonnell in Hawaii , USA ) is a solo and studio singer who was mainly active in pop music in the 1960s and 1970s .

Artistic career

Jacqueline McDonnell was born in Hawaii to a member of the US Navy , but grew up in a small town in Nebraska . Her family was musically attuned, and when she was still at school, Jacqueline and her two older sisters formed the trio The McDonnell Sisters. After the girls won a US-wide radio talent competition, the family moved to Los Angeles to give their daughters a musical career. Jacqueline attended high school in California , and from 1954 to 1958 she sang popular songs with her sisters in the music show Bandstand Revue on the TV station KTLA. After her sisters withdrew from the music scene, Jacqueline began working as a studio singer. At the same time she expanded her theoretical knowledge by studying music. As a studio singer, she mainly sang demo tapes for singers and songwriters who wanted to apply to the record companies. Her voice can also be heard on Pat Boone's 1962 hit song Speedy Gonzales , in which she sang the short refrains. After Jacqueline's marriage to the music clerk Ward and the birth of her daughter Robin, Jacqueline interrupted her career for a short time.

While working as a studio singer, she had several times with the composer Perry Botkin Jr. worked. In 1963 he asked her to record a demo version of his song Wonderful Summer for him . After completion, it was decided to offer Ward's version of the record company Dot Records . This agreed to publish the Ward version on a single . However, Jacqueline Ward felt that her youthful voice would not match her first name, so she adopted the stage name Robin Ward. Robin was her daughter's first name. The single titled Wonderful Summer was published in September 1963 by Dot and two months later already appeared in the Hot 100 music magazine Billbord . The title stayed in the charts for ten weeks and reached its best rating in 14th place. Wonderful Summer became a million-dollar success on the record market . The single success was followed by a long-playing record under the same title as well as another four singles in 1964, all of which had no major response. After that, Ward gave up her brief recording career.

She continued to work as a studio singer under her real name Jackie Ward and got together with great singers like Pat Boone , Jimmie Rodgers , Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole . Increasingly, she was also employed in television, so she was part of the regular musicians in the television shows Red Skelton Show , Danny Kaye Show and Carol Burnett Show . She gave the title songs her voice in numerous television productions, such as Flipper , Batman and Star Trek . In the 1970s she was a member of the background choir for the television series The Partridge Family . Her voice has also been featured in many commercials. She gave her voice to many actors in singing scenes in movies, she dubbed Natalie Wood in the films The Great Race Around the World and Damned, Sweet World or Janet Leigh in Murder , among others . In later years, Jackie Ward served as chair of the board of directors for the AFTRA actors' union .

Note

In 1962, a singer also released records under the name Robin Ward. However, it is the person who was born on August 25, 1945 in Brewster, New York .

US discography

Vinlyl singles

From page	Catalog no.	published
	Dot
Wonderful Summer / Dream Boy	16530	9/1963
Winter's Here / Bobby	16578	1/1964
Big Buildin '/ Why Don't They Understand (with Wink Martindale)	16597	3/1964
Johnny Come and Get Me / Where the Blue 0f the Night Meets The Gold of the Day	16599	3/1964
In His Car / Wishing	16624	5/1964

LP

Wonderful Summer Dot 3555, 1963

Tracks: A: 1 Wonderful Summer, 2 Moon River, 3 I Could Have Danced All Night, 4 Dream Boy, 5 Johnny Come and Get Me, 6 Why Don't You Believe Me / B: 1 I Will Love You, 2 My Foolish Heart, 3 Teach Me Tonight, 4 For all We Know, 5 Today I Fell in Love, 6 Where the Blue of The Night Meets the Gold of the Day

swell

1. ↑ Chart discography

Web links

• Robin Ward at Allmusic (English)
• Robin Ward at Discogs (English)
• Robin Ward in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Interview at cmongethappy.com