Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians - Dancing In The Dark (1931)

Fredrick Malcolm Waring (June 9,1900 - July 29,1984)

was a popular musician, bandleader and radio-television personality,

sometimes he was referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing." He was also a promoter, financial backer and namesake of the Waring Blendor, the first modern electric blender on the market.

During his teenage years, Fred Waring, his brother Tom, and their friend Poley McClintock founded the Waring-McClintock Snap Orchestra, which evolved into Fred Waring's Banjo Orchestra. The band often played at fraternity parties, proms, and dances, and achieved local success.

He attended Penn State University, where he studied architectural engineering. He also aspired to be in the Penn State Glee Club, but he was rejected with every audition due to "college politics" and tension between him and the glee club's director, Dr. Clarence Robinson.

His Banjo Orchestra eventually became so successful that he decided to abandon his education in order to tour with the band, which eventually became known as Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians.

From 1923 until late 1932, "Waring's Pennsylvanians" were among Victor Records best-selling bands.

In late 1932, he abruptly quit recording, although his band continued to perform on radio. In 1933, "You Gotta Be A Football Hero" was performed on radio to great acclaim.


Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians - Dancing In The Dark (1931)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Fred
• Waring
• 1931
• 20s
• 30s

[chev6art]

@bigcity233 More proof that Fred Waring was not a Jew hater. Schwartz & Dietz were about as Jewish as you could get in the music world.

[SatchmoSings]

@chev6art Regarding how organized crime was during Prohibition, you might have a really good point there.

All this was related to me by a man in the music business who knew many of the old-timers from "The Jazz Age."

[chev6art]

@SatchmoSings Okay....Now about Tom Waring's homosexuality, that may be true. It's just that I never read about it or of Fred's rift with his brother over that. The Italians? That might have had something to do over his dealings with the Capones and the Costaglianos...

[SatchmoSings]

@chev6art Okay, maybe I'll take down that posting and just leave up the remark about Italians and how that his brother Tom's homosexuality drove him crazy.

[chev6art]

@SatchmoSings Waring had more than a few Jews in his orchestra! Plus he appeared several times on Jack Benny's and Fred Wynn's show; and he was good friend with George Burns--hardly the marks of a Jew-hater. What are you talking about??

[chev6art]

@SatchmoSings Not true about Jews

[SatchmoSings]

Waring hated Jews and Italians and his brother, Tom, who played trumpet and sang was a homosexual; this drove his brother crazy.

[bigcity233]

GREAT song - Schwartz and Dietz (lyricist) .... Nice arrangement.

[instamatic804]

An amazingly beautiful song; I adore it.

[tl9mile]

In the early days, Waring was famous for the fact that all the band members also sang, as you hear here. What a joy to listen to! Thanks.