Fred Waring

Born on 9 June 1900 in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, Fred Waring's isn't a name that rings a lot of bells these days. But back in the Roaring Twenties he was commonly known and enormously popular. Waring formed the Waring-McClintock Snap Orchestra as a teenager with his brother, Tom (piano), and drummer, Poley McClintock. That trio to work together for years to come, the Snap Orchestra became Fred Waring's Banjo Orchestra which Fred led as a student at Penn State University. That band was such a success that Waring exchanged his aspiration to become an architect for music, forming Waring's Pennsylvanians in 1923. His recording career would last several decades as he shifted from the college crowd — popular music throughout the Roaring Twenties a heavy spray of college-themed music — toward easy listening. Though Waring's music could be a little jazzy, and he had his own methods percussive and otherwise to stimulate hop, the Pennsylvanians were in general a well-disciplined orchestra with every note accounted for, to oft incorporate vocal sections, purposed to popular dance. Later assisting their fame on radio would be major collaborator, arranger and pianist, Pembroke Davenport.

Waring first recorded with his Pennsylvanians on October 15, 1923: 'Sleep' (Victor 19172) with 'That's My Baby' (Victor 19209). October 16 witnessed 'Stack O' Lee Blues' (Victor 19189) with 'The West, a Nest and You' (Victor 19172). 'Sleep' topped the charts at #1 in December of 1923. 'Stack O' Lee Blues' reached #14 in February of 1924. Of the 32 releases that Waring and his Pennsylvanians placed in the Top Ten from 1923 to 1932, four more reached the #1 tier: 'Memory Lane' in August of 1924, 'Laugh, Clown, Laugh!' in 1928, 'Little White Lies' in 1930 and 'I Found a Million Dollar Baby (In a Five-and-Ten-Cent Store)' in 1931. Sessions of multiple takes were the usual for Waring. 'Sleep' below went through eight takes before the ninth was accepted. Most session data herein is from DAHR (ADP).

'Sleep'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

First recording to issue 15 Oct 1923 in Camden NJ    Victor 19172   Charts: #1

Composition: Earl Lebieg

'Memory Lane'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 26 March 1924 in Camden NJ   Victor 19303   Charts: #1 Aug 1924

Piano: Con Conrad   Vocal: Tom Waring

Music: Con Conrad / Larry Spier   Lyrics: Buddy DeSylva

'Maytime'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 2 June 1924 in NYC   Victor 19367   Charts: #7 Nov 1924

Celeste: Nathaniel Shilkret

Composition: Vincent Rose

'June Night'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 6 June 1924 in Camden NJ   Victor 19380   Charts: #7 Oct 1924

Composition: Abel Baer

'Nashville Nightingale'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 19 Sep 1924 in Camden NYC   Victor 19492

Composition: Abel Baer

'Annie Dear'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 9 Dec 1924 in Camden NYC   Victor 19554

Composition: Clare Beecher Kummer

'Collegiate'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 4 April 1925 in Camden NYC   Victor 19648   Charts: #3 July 1925

Composition: Nat Bonx / Moe Jaffe

'Freshie' (as in college freshman)  Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 7 Sep 1925 in Los Angeles   Victor 19784   Charts: #8 Jan 1926

Music: Jesse Greer   Lyrics: Harold Berg

'After I Say I'm Sorry'  Tom Waring vocal at piano

Recorded 30 March 1926 in Camden NJ   Matrix BVE-34736   Victor 20004

Composition: Walter Donaldson / Abe Lyman

'In the Middle of the Night'  Tom Waring vocal at piano

Recorded 30 March 1926 in Camden NJ   Matrix BVE-34739   Victor 20004

Composition: Walter Donaldson / Billy Rose

'Cherie, I Love You'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 1 June 1926 in Camden NJ   Victor 20074   Charts: #14 Oct 1926

Vocal: Tom Waring

Composition: Lillian Rosedale Goodman

Waring's drummer, Poley McClintock, had a gravelly voice leading some to speculate if he ever voiced the 'Popeye' cartoon (1933-83) which seems unlikely [Wikipedia].

'Any Ice To-Day, Lady?'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 2 June 1926 in Camden NJ   Victor 20083

Vocal: Poley McClintock

Composition: Pat Ballard

'To-Night's My Night with Baby'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 3 June 1926 in Camden NJ   Victor 20078

Vocal: Tom Waring

Composition: Bobby Buttenuth / Joseph Meyer / Irving Caesar

'It Made You Happy When You Made Me Cry'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 28 Oct 1926 in Camden NJ   Victor 20315   Charts: #2 1927

Vocal: Tom Waring

Composition: Walter Donaldson

'Just Another Day Wasted Away'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 2 June 1927 in Camden NJ   Matrix BVE-38269   Victor 20724   Charts: #3 1927

Vocal: Tom Waring

Composition: Roy Turk / Charles Tobias

'The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 2 June 1927 in Camden NJ   Matrix BVE-38271   Victor 20724   Charts: #3 1927

Vocal: Tom Waring

Composition: Roy Turk / Charles Tobias

'I Scream You Scream We All Scream for Ice Cream'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 30 Nov 1927 in Camden NJ   Matrix BVE-38271   Victor 21099   Charts: #3 1928

Vocals: Tom Waring / Poley McClintock

Composition: Howard Johnson / Billy Moll / Robert King

'Who's Blue Now?'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 14 Feb 1928 in NYC   Victor 21258

Music: Joseph Meyer   Lyrics: Irving Caesar

'Laugh! Clown, Laugh!'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 8 March 1928 in NYC   Victor 21308   Charts: #1 1928

Vocal: Fred Waring

Music: Ted Fio Rito   Lyrics: Sam Lewis / Joe Young

'Lila'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 23 March 1928 in NYC   Victor 21333

Vocal: Tom Waring

Composition: Maceo Pinkard / Archie Gottler / Charles Tobias

'Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 28 March 1928 in NYC   Victor 35921   Charts: #2 1928

Vocal: Tom Waring

Composition: Victor Herbert

'Glorianna'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 14 Dec 1928 in NYC   Victor 21836

Vocal: Clare Hanlon

Music: Lew Pollack   Lyrics: Sidney Clare

'Jericho'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

From the film 'Syncopation' starring Dorothy Lee released 24 March 1929

Vocal: Morton Downey

Music: Dick Myers   Lyrics: Leo Robin

'Love for Sale'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 24 Dec 1930   Victor 22598 / 25080   Charts: #14 1931

Violin: Murray Kellner   Vocals: Three Waring Girls

Composition: Cole Porter

'I Found a Brand New Baby'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 4 May 1931   Victor 22707   Charts: #1 1931

Vocals: Clare Hanlon / Stuart Churchill / Nelson Keller / Three Waring Girls

Music: Harry Warren   Lyrics: Billy Rose / Mort Dixon

Up to 1938 when Waring wished to perform a cappella glee-style songs he recruited singers from his orchestra. This changed when he met young Robert Shaw while filming 'Varsity Show' at Pomona College in Claremont, California, in 1937. Impressed with Shaw's abilities, Waring created a special Glee Club section apart from his Pennsylvanians and hired Shaw to lead its performances on 'The Fred Waring Show', a radio program hosted by Waring since 1933. This was a major move for Waring, as members of this vocal vessel were reportedly paid $25 a week, a major expense atop running an orchestra however many records one sold. Shaw would depart in a few years to form his own chorale, but the 'Fred Waring Show' continued to 1957.

As implied, Waring's career was a cascade of popularity earning him financially tidy sums. In 1938 he invested $25,000 in a patent filed by inventor, Frederick Osius, and the Waring Blendor, originally named the Miracle Mixer, was launched. Selling for $29.75, only hospitals and such could afford one in those days. Production was halted during World War II, but upon resumption in 1946, by the fifties, already wealthy from music, Waring's ownership of Waring Blendor made him a millionaire a few times over. Waring also owned the Shawnee Press music publishing company formed in 1939.

In 1943 Waring bought a resort in Shawnee, Delaware, that he renamed the Shawnee Inn, from which he aired performances throughout the fifties. In 1947 he began to teach choral singing, an occupation that he pursued until his death. It was November 1947 when Bing Crosby and Waring's Glee Club placed 'The Whiffenpoof Song' at #7 on Billboard's pop chart.

'The Whiffenpoof Song'   Fred Waring's Glee Club w Bing Crosby

Recorded 5 June 1947 in NYC   Decca 23990   Charts: #7 Nov 1947

Music: Harry Warren   Lyrics: Billy Rose / Mort Dixon

'Nutcracker Suite'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians

Recorded 18 Dec 1947 in NYC   Decca 23990   Charts: #7 Nov 1947

Music: Tchaikovsky   Lyrics: Daisy Bernier / Frank Cunkle / Fred Waring / Jay Johnson

Arrangement: Harry Simeone

From 1949 to 1954 Waring hosted the television program, 'The Fred Waring Show', one episode of which borrowed from the 1951 Broadway musical, 'Flahooley'. 'Flahooley' was a production with a political theme in which a fictional doll called a Flahooley is manufactured by a fictional toy company. Conflict arises when a genie produces so many Flahooleys for so many children that they lose their market value, thus must be destroyed by a mob antagonist. Come Santa Claus to this perspective on a "free" market versus capitalism.

'Flahooley'   Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians   Television   1951

Broadcast 20 May 1951

From the 1951 Broadway Musical 'Flahooley'

Including members of the Broadway cast: Bill & Cora Baird / Yma Sumac / et al

Music: Sammy Fain   Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg

Remaining popular into the seventies, Waring toured heavily into his later years. He died of stroke on 29 July 1984 after videotaping a performance during a choral workshop at the same place where he'd begun his lively career, Penn State [obit]. Beyond music and business Waring's big love had been cartoon strips, his collection of several hundred originals in the Fred Waring Collection at Penn State University.

DAHR (The Waring Girls 1930/31/32)

Tom Lord: 15 sessions 1923-1935

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