Margaret Whiting
| Margaret Whiting | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Margaret Whiting in New York, 1940s | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Margaret Eleanor Whiting |
| Born |
July 22, 1924 Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Died |
January 10, 2011 (aged 86) Englewood, New Jersey, United States |
| Genres | Jazz, traditional pop, country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1942–2010 |
| Labels | Capitol, Dot, Verve, London, Audiophile, DRG |
| Website | Musical biography of Margaret Whiting |
Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was a singer of American popular music and country music who first made her reputation during the 1940s and 1950s.
Biography
Youth
Margaret Whiting was born in Detroit, but her family moved to Los Angeles in 1929, when she was five years old. Her father, Richard, was a composer of popular songs, including the classics "Hooray for Hollywood", "Ain't We Got Fun?", and "On the Good Ship Lollipop". Her sister, Barbara Whiting, was an actress (Junior Miss, Beware, My Lovely) and singer.
An aunt, Margaret Young, was a singer and popular recording artist in the 1920s. In her childhood, Whiting's singing ability had already been noticed, and at the age of only seven she sang for singer-lyricist Johnny Mercer, with whom her father had collaborated on some popular songs ("Too Marvelous for Words"). In 1942, Mercer co-founded Capitol Records and signed Margaret to one of Capitol's first recording contracts.[1]
Recording career
Whiting's first recordings were as featured singer with various orchestras:
- "That Old Black Magic", with Freddie Slack and His Orchestra (1942)
- "Moonlight in Vermont", with Billy Butterfield's Orchestra (1943) It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.[2]
- "It Might as Well Be Spring", with Paul Weston and His Orchestra (1945)
In 1945, Whiting began to record under her own name, making such recordings as:
- "All Through the Day" (1945, becoming a bestseller in the spring of 1946)
- "In Love in Vain" (1945)
- (these two from the movie "Centennial Summer")
- "Guilty" (1946)
- "Oh, But I Do" (1946)
- "A Tree in the Meadow" (a number 1 hit in the summer of 1948)
- "Slippin' Around", a duet with country music star Jimmy Wakely (a number 1 hit in 1949)
- "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (duet with Johnny Mercer, 1949)
- "Blind Date", a novelty record with Bob Hope (1950)
- "Faraway Places (With Strange Sounding Names)"
- "Silver Bells" (duet with Jimmy Wakely, 1951)
Until the mid-1950s Whiting continued to record for Capitol, but as she ceased to record songs that charted as hits, she switched to Dot Records in 1957 and to Verve Records in 1960. Whiting returned to Capitol in the early 1960s and then signed with London Records in 1966. On London, Whiting landed one last major hit single in 1966, "The Wheel of Hurt", which hit #1 on the Easy Listening singles chart. Her final solo albums were made for Audiophile (1980, 1982, 1985) and DRG Records (1991). Her distinguished conductors and musical arrangers through the years included Frank DeVol, Russell Garcia, Johnny Mandel, Billy May, Marty Paich, Nelson Riddle, Pete Rugolo, and Paul Weston.
Radio career
Whiting co-starred on the 15-minute musical programs The Jack Smith Show[3] and Club Fifteen.[4] She also was a vocalist on The Eddie Cantor Show and was in the cast of The Philip Morris Follies of 1946 and The Railroad Hour.[4] Additionally, she was hostess on the Spotlight Revue[5] and a featured singer on the transcribed Barry Wood Show.[6] She also appeared in the part of a young Sophie Tucker, in the Lux Radio Theater production "No Time For Heartaches".
Television career
Margaret and Barbara Whiting starred as themselves in the situation comedy Those Whiting Girls. The show, produced by Desilu Productions, aired on CBS as a summer replacement series (in place of I Love Lucy) between July, 1955 and September, 1957.[7]
Margaret Whiting was a regular guest on variety shows and talk shows throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town, when the musical series focused on Whiting's hometown of Detroit; The Big Record, The Bob Hope Show, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Tony Martin Show, The David Frost Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The George Jessel Show, The Guy Mitchell Show, The Jonathan Winters Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Nat King Cole Show, Over Easy, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, The Patti Page Show, The Red Skelton Hour, The Steve Allen Show, The Ford Show Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, The Texaco Star Theater, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Virginia Graham Show, and The Voice of Firestone.
In 1960, Whiting appeared as Vinnie Berkeley in one of the last episodes, "Martial Law", of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Colt .45. Paul Picerni was cast in the same segment as Duke Blaine.
In 1984, Whiting appeared in the television musical movie Taking My Turn. It was basically a filmed version of the 1983 off-Broadway show in which she appeared. This ensemble show also included Marni Nixon, Tiger Haynes, and Cissy Houston among others. The music was composed by Gary William Friedman with lyrics by Will Holt. The revue was centered on issues regarding aging. The stage production opened at New York City's Entermedia Theatre on June 9, 1983. It went on to win the 1984 Outer Critic's Circle Award for Best Lyrics/Music and was nominated for the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Best Musical (losing to Stehpen Sondheim's Sunday In the Park With George). A cast recording of the stage production was released and subsequently re-released on CD.
In the 2000s, Whiting was cast in several documentaries about singers and songwriters of her era, including Judy Garland: By Myself (2004), Fever: The Music of Peggy Lee (2004), Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer (2007), Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me (2009), The Andrews Sisters: Queens of the Music Machines (2009) and Michael Feinstein's American Songbook (2010).
Marriages
- Hubbell Robinson Jr., a writer, producer, and television executive (December 29, 1948 - divorced August 18, 1949)[8]
- Lou Busch, a ragtime pianist known as "Joe 'Fingers' Carr" (divorced; one daughter, Deborah, born 1950)
- John Richard Moore, a founder of Panavision (married 1958 - divorced)
- Jack Wrangler (John Stillman), 1970s and 1980s gay pornography film actor; married when Whiting was 70 and he was 48 (1994 – April 7, 2009; his death from emphysema)
Death
Whiting died on January 10, 2011, aged 86, from natural causes at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey.[9]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | US Pop LPs | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | South Pacific (with Peggy Lee & Gordon MacRae) | 4 | Capitol |
| 1950 | Margaret Whiting Sings Rodgers and Hart | ||
| 1954 | Love Songs by Margaret Whiting | ||
| 1956 | Margaret Whiting Sings for the Starry-Eyed | ||
| 1957 | Goin' Places | Dot | |
| 1958 | Margaret | ||
| 1959 | Margaret Whiting's Great Hits | ||
| Ten Top Hits | |||
| 1960 | Just a Dream | ||
| Margaret Whiting Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook | Verve | ||
| Broadway, Right Now! (with Mel Tormé) | |||
| 1961 | Past Midnight | MGM | |
| 1967 | The Wheel of Hurt | 109 | London |
| Maggie Isn't Margaret Anymore | |||
| 1968 | Pop Country | ||
| 1980 | Too Marvelous for Words | Audiophile | |
| 1982 | Come a Little Closer | ||
| 1985 | The Lady's in Love with You | ||
| 1991 | Then and Now | DRG |
Singles
| Year | Single | Contributing Artist | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop | Country | AC | |||
| 1942 | "That Old Black Magic" | Freddie Slack & His Orchestra | 10 | - | - |
| 1943 | "My Ideal" | Billy Butterfield & His Orchestra | 12 | - | - |
| 1944 | "Silver Wings In the Moonlight" | Freddie Slack & His Orchestra | 19 | - | - |
| 1945 | "Moonlight In Vermont" | Billy Butterfield & His Orchestra | 15 | - | - |
| "It Might as Well Be Spring" | Paul Weston & His Orchestra | 6 | - | - | |
| 1946 | "All Through the Day" | Carl Kress orchestra | 11 | - | - |
| "In Love In Vain" | Carl Kress orchestra | 12 | - | - | |
| "Come Rain or Come Shine" | Paul Weston orchestra | 17 | - | - | |
| "Along With Me" | Jerry Gray orchestra | 13 | - | - | |
| "Passe" | Jerry Gray orchestra | 12 | - | - | |
| "Guilty" | Jerry Gray orchestra | 4 | - | - | |
| "Oh, But I Do" | Jerry Gray orchestra | 7 | - | - | |
| 1947 | "Beware My Heart" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 21 | - | - |
| "Old Devil Moon" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 11 | - | - | |
| "Ask Anyone Who Knows" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 21 | - | - | |
| "Little Girl Blue" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 25 | - | - | |
| "You Do" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 5 | - | - | |
| "Lazy Countryside" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 21 | - | - | |
| "So Far" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 14 | - | - | |
| "Pass That Peace Pipe" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 8 | - | - | |
| 1948 | "Let's Be Sweethearts Again" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 22 | - | - |
| "But Beautiful" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 21 | - | - | |
| "Now is the Hour" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 2 | - | - | |
| "What's Good About Goodbye" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 29 | - | - | |
| "Please Don't Kiss Me" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 23 | - | - | |
| "A Tree in the Meadow" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 1 | - | - | |
| "Far Away Places" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 2 | - | - | |
| 1949 | "Forever and Ever" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 5 | - | - |
| "A Wonderful Guy" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 12 | - | - | |
| "Baby, It's Cold Outside" | Johnny Mercer | 3 | - | - | |
| "Slippin' Around" | Jimmy Wakely | 1 | 1 | - | |
| "Wedding Bells" | 30 | 6 | - | ||
| "Dime a Dozen" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 19 | - | - | |
| "I'll Never Slip Around Again" | Jimmy Wakely | 8 | 2 | - | |
| 1950 | "Broken Down Merry Go Round" | 12 | 2 | - | |
| "The Gods Were Angry With Me" | 17 | 3 | - | ||
| "I Said My Pajamas (and Put on My Prayers)" | Frank De Vol | 21 | - | - | |
| "Let's Go to Church (Next Sunday Morning)" | Jimmy Wakely | 13 | 2 | - | |
| "My Foolish Heart" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 17 | - | - | |
| "Blind Date" | Bob Hope | 16 | - | - | |
| "A Bushel and a Peck" | Jimmy Wakely | 6 | 6 | - | |
| 1951 | "When You and I Were Young, Maggie, Blues" | 20 | 7 | - | |
| "Good Morning, Mr. Echo" | Lou Busch orchestra | 14 | - | - | |
| "I Don't Want to Be Free" | Jimmy Wakely | - | 5 | - | |
| 1952 | "I'll Walk Alone" | Lou Busch orchestra | 29 | - | - |
| "Outside of Heaven" | Lou Busch orchestra | 22 | - | - | |
| 1953 | "Why Don't You Believe Me?" | Lou Busch orchestra | 29 | - | - |
| 1954 | "Moonlight In Vermont" new version | Lou Busch orchestra | 29 | - | - |
| 1956 | "The Money Tree" | Billy May orchestra | 20 | - | - |
| 1958 | "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You)" | Billy Vaughn orchestra | 74 | - | - |
| 1966 | "Somewhere There's Love" | - | - | - | 29 |
| "The Wheel of Hurt" | Arnold Goland orchestra | 26 | - | 1 | |
| 1967 | "Just Like a Man" | - | 132 | - | 29 |
| "Only Love Can Break a Heart" | Arnold Goland orchestra | 96 | - | 4 | |
| "I Almost Called Your Name" | - | 108 | - | 4 | |
| 1968 | "I Hate to See Me Go" | - | 127 | - | 27 |
| "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'" | - | 115 | - | 28 | |
| "Faithfully" | - | 117 | - | 19 | |
| "Can't Get You Out of My Mind" | - | 124 | - | 11 | |
| 1969 | "Where Was I" | - | - | - | 24 |
| 1970 | "(Z Theme) Life Goes On" | - | - | - | 14 |
| "Until It's Time for You to Go" | - | - | - | 32 | |
References
- ↑ Vera, Billy (2000). From the Vaults Vol. 1: The Birth of a Label – the First Years (CD). Hollywood: Capitol Records. p. 7.
- ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 32. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ↑ "photo caption". St. Petersburg Times. August 28, 1949. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- 1 2 Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.
- ↑ Terrace, Vincent (1981), Radio's Golden Years: The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs 1930-1960. A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-498-02393-1. P. 248.
- ↑ Alicoate, Jack, Ed. (1946). The 1946 Radio Annual. Radio Daily Corp. P. 662.
- ↑ "Those Whiting Girls" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 11, 1955. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
- ↑ "The Museum of Broadcast Communications - Encyclopedia of Television". Museum.tv. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
- ↑ "Margaret Whiting, Fresh-Faced Singer of Jazz and Pop Standards, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
Sources
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Margaret Whiting. |
- Margaret Whiting at the Internet Movie Database
- Pop ranking from Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954, published in 1986 by Record Research Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
- Contributing artists from booklet with the "My Ideal" four CD set by Jasmine Records in 2007; confirmed by Time-Life Music tape set "Late 40's" released in 1991, and by Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Some Internet sources give Tex Beneke's orchestra as accompanying Whiting's hit, "A Wonderful Guy", but Beneke claimed Claire Chatwin was the singer on his version: see his album, "Here's To The Ladies Who Sang With The Band" - the latter can also be found here
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