Eugenie Baird

Eugenie Baird (November 19, 1923 – June 12, 1988) was an American big-band singer.[1][2]

Eugenie Baird
Eugenie Baird in 1950
Background information
Born(1923-11-19)November 19, 1923
Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJune 12, 1988(1988-06-12) (aged 64)
Brewster, New York
Occupation(s)Singer
Associated actsPaul Whiteman

Career

Baird was from Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.[3] She was the daughter of Eugene Baird, whose obituary described him as a construction foreman,[4] but another source said that she came "from a theatrical family."[5] She sang in choral groups in grammar school.[6]

Radio

Baird's early experiences in radio included a thrice-weekly program of her own on KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She gained that spot via audition as a high school student.[3][6]

For a year, Baird was Bing Crosby's singing partner on Kraft Music Hall on NBC.[7] She hosted the radio program Eugenie Baird Sings on ABC in 1946 and she "was selected from more than 50 girls to sing the top tunes of all time."[8] on Paul Whiteman's Forever Tops weekly program (also on ABC) that same year[9] For the job, she moved from New York to Hollywood. The show debuted on January 21, 1946[10] and continued into 1947.[1] She sang on The Jack Smith Show on NBC[11] on The Alec Templeton Show (1947–1948), and Don McNeill's Breakfast Club.[12]

Beginning February 12, 1949, she became the "featured female singer" on Sing It Again. Also in 1949, she was one of a group of female vocalists who participated in a 13-disk series of electrical transcriptions that featured Eddy Duchin promoting the United States Navy Reserve.[13]

Baird signed with Lang–Worth in 1950 and was part of the Remember When series of transcriptions.[14] In 1954, she sang with Earl Wrightson on Musicland U.S.A. on CBS.[15]

Big bands

In a 1944 review, jazz writer George T. Simon described Baird as "the prettiest girl I've ever seen in front of a band, and, in addition, the possessor of one of the prettiest voices I've ever heard in back of a microphone."[16] Baird "got her start...with Maurice Spitalny and Benny Burton"[17] and sang with Jan Savitt before joining Tony Pastor for 1942-1943.[1] In 1943 she became the vocalist for the Casa Loma Orchestra

Vaudeville and night clubs

In 1947, Baird was the featured vocalist with Henny Youngman's vaudeville show, "making her N.Y. vaude[ville] debut."[18] She also appeared with Ray Eberle at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in August and September 1947.[19] In September 1948, she was the headliner at the Copa nightclub in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[3]

Stage and film

Baird had the ingenue role[15] in the Broadway production Angel in the Wings (1947–1948).[20]

With Pee Wee Hunt and The Pied Pipers, she was in a Universal Studios short subject, Smoke Rings, that featured the Casa Loma Orchestra. Released on July 28, 1943, the film included the songs "Can't Get Stuff in Your Cuff", "That's My Affair", and "Little Man with the Hammer".[21]

Jingles and commercial recordings

In 1950, Baird was active in making radio jingles that an article in Billboard magazine described as "songs which entertain."[22] She and others worked for George R. Nelson to record jingles and (in the case of the Pepsi-Cola Company) records that the company could "distribute for home use" on phonographs.[22]

In October 1981, Baird sang at a jazz festival in New York City. An article in The New York Times reported that Baird, "who sang with Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra and who has been inactive for a number of years, will be making a return appearance."[23]

Discography

References
  1. Rayno, Don (2003). Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 415–. ISBN 978-0-8108-8204-1. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  2. DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2.
  3. "Eugenie Baird Comes to Copa". Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Post Gazette. September 20, 1948. p. 16. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  4. "Father of Singer Dead". Pennsylvania, Hazleton. The Plain Speaker. January 19, 1951. p. 31. Retrieved November 9, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Radio Roundup from KEI" (PDF). Radio Life. December 17, 1944. p. 9. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  6. "KECA mike memos" (PDF). Radio Life. March 31, 1946. p. 10. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  7. "They Sing While Templeton Plays". Connecticut, Naugatuck. Naugatuck Daily News. July 19, 1947. p. 1.
  8. Vale, Virginia (September 25, 1946). "Star Dust". New Jersey, Hopewell. The Hopewell Herald. p. 3. Retrieved November 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Terrace, Vincent. Radio programs, 1924–1984. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. pp. 510–511. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
  10. "Eugenie Baird Pacted For New Whiteman Show". Variety. January 16, 1946. p. 30. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  11. Jose (June 11, 1947). "Radio Reviews: Jack Smith". Variety. p. 38. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  12. Sies, Luther F. (2008). Encyclopedia of American radio, 1920-1960 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. pp. 17, 90. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4.
  13. "Inside Stuff-Radio". Variety. January 26, 1949. p. 43. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  14. "Magical Fifth". Broadcasting. April 24, 1950. p. 52. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  15. Herman, Pinky (July 8, 1952). "Television -- Radio". Motion Picture Daily. p. 4. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  16. Simon, George T. (1981). The Big Bands (4th ed.). New York: Schirmer. p. 122. ISBN 978-0028724300.
  17. Cohen (October 8, 1941). "Stanley, Pitt". Variety. p. 46. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  18. "House Reviews: State, N.Y." Variety. August 20, 1947. p. 49. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  19. "Atlantic City Readies for Swan Song; Race Meet Under '46, Nitery Biz Dived". Variety. August 27, 1947. p. 46. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  20. "Eugenie Baird". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  21. "Smoke Rings (Univ.)". Motion Picture Herald. August 7, 1943. p. 1472. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  22. "Pepsi-Cola" (PDF). Billboard. February 13, 1950. p. 74. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  23. Palmer, Robert (October 9, 1981). "Jazz Swings Through Night at St. Peter's Marathon". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  24. Idol, W. Chase Jr. (October 19, 1941). "Records". North Carolina, High Point. The High Point Enterprise. p. 7. Retrieved November 9, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. Idol, W. Chase Jr. (September 14, 1941). "Records". North Carolina, High Point. The High Point Enterprise. p. 12. Retrieved November 9, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. "Music Popularity Chart". Billboard. September 1, 1945. p. 23. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  27. "Big Design April Issue". Billboard. April 25, 1960. p. 14. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
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