Who are your favorite big band singers?

[Rafter]

For the 'girl singers' it would have to be:
Helen Forrest

Martha Tilton

Doris Day!!!

For the 'gents',
Sinatra

**** Haymes

Andy Russell

 

[LizzieMaine]

A bunch I like, for a bunch of different reasons:

Gals:

Helen Ward
Kay Weber
Leah Ray
Vera Lynn

Guys:

Al Bowlly
Phil Harris
Harry Babbitt
Pinky Tomlin

 

[Rafter]

A bunch I like, for a bunch of different reasons:
Gals:Helen Ward, Kay Weber, Leah Ray, Vera Lynn
Guys:Al Bowlly, Phil Harris, Harry Babbitt, Pinky Tomlin

The only "gal" in you're list that I heard of was Helen Ward.... "You've Turned The Tables On Me".
Was Phil Harris a singer??...I just remember him as the stogie ole husband of
Alice Faye.

 

[Fletch]

Harris was also a bandleader and the employer of Leah Ray. This may be "before your time" of the truly "pop" big bands. Harris' heyday was the early to mid '30s and he had moved on to full time radio by the era most are aware of. But he still did lead the Benny show band.

Likewise, Kay Weber was most prominent in the '30s with the Dorsey Bros. and Bob Crosby bands. I believe she had retired by 1940 - without establishing a solo act career.

 

[Rafter]

I recently found out that that Ozzie Nelson was a famous big band singer in the 30's. He had many chart hits during that decade. It's hard for me to imagine that America's lamest TV dad was a swingin', jivin', cool big band dude. And his wife Harriet was also a big band singer to boot!!

The Nelson's also hold some kind of "record" !!!!
The Nelson clan had three generations of singers.
Starting with Ozzie & Harriet,

their son Ricky Nelson, the 50's-70's rockNroller

and the grandsons, 90's rockers ***nar and Matthew Nelson

]

 

[LizzieMaine]

Ozzie Nelson led the orchestra for Joe Penner's popular radio program in the mid thirties, with Harriet Hilliard the featured vocalist -- and the music featured on these shows could be quite a bit more adventuresome than the cutie-pie novelty songs the band tended to feature on its recordings. One of my all time favorite bizarre radio moments is a 1934 Penner broadcast which features Ozzie's own rendition of "Reefer Man." (Could this be why he was so mellow in the '50s?)

 

[Fletch]

Nelson's band was pretty good considering they played basically the same arrangement on every tune. They made quite a few ETs that came out on Lp in the 80s. These featured more straight ahead dance music.

I like Nelson's voice, tho it's a bit thin. He certainly didn't sound like Vall?©e the way people used to say.

 

[LizzieMaine]

He didn't sound like Will Osborne either, but not as much as he didn't sound like Vallee.

 

[52Styleline]

Ladies
Ginny Simms
Marion Hutton
****y Lee

Men
Vaughn Monroe
Der Bingle
Ray Eberlee

 

[Mike1939]

Ella Fitzgerald
Helen Forrest
****y Lee
Frank Sinatra
Cab Calloway

 

[Lotus Leroux]

Tex Beneke
Anita O'Day
Ella Fitzgerald