Bea Wain

Bea Wain Beatrice Weinsier The Bronx New York City April 30 1917 - August 19 2017 Was An American Big Band-Era Singer. She Had A Number Of Hits With Larry Clinton And His Orchestra. After Her Marriage She And Her Husband Became Involved In Radio As A Husband-And-Wife Disc Jockey Team. On A 1937 Recording With Artie Shaw She Was Credited As Beatrice Wayne Which Led Some To Assume That Was Her Real Name. On Record Labels Her Name Was Shortened Without Her Permission To "Bea" By The Record Company Ostensibly For Space Considerations. As She Explained "They Cut It To 'Bea' Wain. They Cut The 'Beatrice' Out To 'Bea.' I Was Just A Little Old Girl Singer But That's The Truth. So That's How My Name Became 'Bea Wain'." She Led The Vocal Group Bea And The Bachelors With Al Rinker Ken Lane And John Smedberg And The V8 Seven Boys And A Girl On The Fred Waring Show. In 1937 Wain Joined Former Tommy Dorsey Arranger Larry Clinton And His Orchestra Which She Joined After Doing Chorus Work With Fred Waring And Ted Sttraeter. Her Debut With Clinton Was Made In The Summer Of 1938 At The Glen Island Casino New York. She Was Featured With Clinton On A Number Of Hit Tunes Including "Martha" And "Heart And Soul". In 1939 She Was Voted The Most Popular Female Band Vocalist In Billboard Annual College Poll And That Same Year She Began Her Solo Career. Her First Theater Tour As A Solo Led To Her Being Signed For The Your Hit Parade And RCA Victor Records. Wain Made Her Debut On Radio At Age Six As A "featured Performer" On The NBC Children's Hour. Wain Had Four No. 1 Hits "Cry Baby Cry" "Deep Purple" "Heart And Soul" And Her Signature Song "My Reverie". On May 1 1938 Wain Married Radio Announcer André Baruch. Their Honeymoon In Bermuda Was Cut Short When Fred Allen Called Baruch Asking Him To Return To New York To Substitute For His Ailing Announcer Harry Von Zell. They Were Married For 53 Years. Baruch Died In 1991. The Couple Had Two Children Bonnie And Wayne. Following Her Musical Career The Couple Worked As A Husband-And-Wife Disc Jockey Team In New York On WMCA Where They Were Billed As "Mr. And Mrs. Music". In 1973 The Couple Moved To Palm Beach Florida Where For Nine Years They Had A Top-Rated Daily Four-Hour Talk Show From 2 Pm - 6 Pm On WPBR Before Relocating To Beverly Hills. During The Early 1980s The Pair Hosted A Syndicated Version Of Your Hit Parade Reconstructing The List Of Hits Of Selected Weeks In The 1940s And Playing The Original Recordings. In A 2004 Interview With Christopher Popa Wain Reflected "Actually I've Had A Wonderful Life A Wonderful Career. And I'm Still Singing And I'm Still Singing Pretty Good. This Past December I Did A Series Of Shows In Palm Springs California And The Review Said "Bea Wain Is Still A Giant." It's Something Called Musical Chairs. I Did Six Shows In Six Different Venues And I Was A Smash. And I Really Got A Kick Out Of It." read less