Fred Waring's America

God's Trombones

The first DVD release from Fred Waring’s America, The Best of Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians: Volume 1 – God’s Trombones and other favorite Spirituals featuring Frank Davis, will premiere in the Penn State University Libraries at 2 p.m. on Feb. 11, in Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library. This DVD premiere is particularly significant as the featured baritone, Frank Davis, was first African American to perform on the Fred Waring Show.

Fred Waring television show on PBS

A special five-part series of The Fred Waring Television Show will premiere Saturday, August 2, 2008, at 7 p.m., on WPSU-TV, Penn State Public Broadcasting. The series will continue to air each consecutive Saturday at 7:00 pm through August 30.

Fred Waring—band leader, music publisher, entrepreneur and personification of patriotism, whose legendary show choir and orchestra, the Pennsylvanians, dominated radio and the concert stage throughout the Big Band era, was also a pioneer in television. The Pennsylvanians made their television debut in 1949 on The Fred Waring Television Show, a weekly award winning ‘musical spectacular’ that ran until 1954.

Waring's much-loved cartoons on display

Fred Waring, band leader, music publisher, entrepreneur, distinguished Penn State alumnus and personification of patriotism, whose legendary show choir and orchestra, The Pennsylvanians, dominated the Big Band era, was also a lifelong reader of newspaper comic strips and an admirer of the artists who created them.  

The Sunday following his death, a strip by cartoonist and close friend, Milt Caniff, ran in the newspapers that opened with the line, “You knew Fred Waring as the famous orchestra and choral leader who thrilled people for years as he and his Pennsylvanians interpreted the world’s music. You probably were not aware that Fred was one of the foremost newspaper cartoon buffs and collectors. On tour, late editions from every city were delivered to him on the bus, so he could follow the comics—all the comics!”

Waring movies premiere in Libraries

Two movies from Fred Waring's America Collection will premiere on Saturday, June 7, 2008, at 9:30 a.m., in Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library. Varsity Show and The Alma Martyr are free to public, but seating is limited.

Warner Brothers' Varsity Show, nominated for an Academy Award for best dance dirimage from Alma Martyr filmection in 1937, stars Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians as themselves, along with a supporting cast that includes Dick Powell, Ted Healy, and Rosemary and Priscilla Lane. With music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer and Richard Whiting, the dynamic selection of songs in this lively musical includes "Old King Cole," sung by Johnnie Davis; "We're Working Our Way Through College," sung by Dick Powell; "I'm Dependable," sung by Priscilla Lane and Fred Waring and written by Tom Waring and Don Raye; "Love Is on the Air Tonight," sung by Buck and Bubbles; among others. The highlight of Varsity Show is a memorable college finale, orchestrated by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians and choreographed by Busby Berkeley.