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Bea Wain (born April 30, 1917 in New York City) was
a American Big
Band-era vocalist. 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. 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 a Billboard, and that same year she
began her solo career.
Wain had four #1 hits:"Cry, Baby. Cry," "Deep
Purple", "Heart and Soul" and her signature song, "My Reverie."
She is considered by many to be one of the best female vocalists of
her era, possessing a natural feel for swing-music rhythms not
often found among white singers of the day. With regard to
technique, she excelled in pitch and subtle utilization of
dynamics. She also communicated a feminine sensuality and sang with
conviction in an unforced manner.
On May 1, 1938, Bea Wain married veteran 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.
Mr. and Mrs.
Music
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 they did
a top-rated daily four-hour talk show for nine years before
relocating to Beverly Hills.
In a 2004 interview with Christopher Popa, she 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.[1]
In James
A. Michener's 1971 novel The Drifters, characters
discuss Bea Wain and her recording of "My Reverie" in two separate
chapters of the book. In 2002, her recording of "My Reverie" was
used in the Robin
Williams movie One Hour Photo.
The couple had two children: Bonnie Baruch and her husband, Mark
Barnes, operate a vineyard in Northern California and run the Daisy
Foundation, an organization which recognizes nurses for their
critical role in patient care and supports research towards the
cure of auto-immune diseases. Wayne Baruch has a career in the
music and theatre business, and his wife, Shelley Baruch, is a
theatrical producer and filmmaker.
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