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Fred Waring is known to generations as the "Man Who Taught America How To Sing," "America’s Singing Master," and the man who helped make the popular song a classic American Art Form. He is one of the most fascinating figures in the history of show business. Through almost seven decades of sharing his distinctive brand of beautiful music, he was always up-to-date and actually ahead of his time. His fans, young and old, are awed by his contributions to the music industry via vaudeville, movies, radio, recordings, Broadway, television, and the concert stage. It all began on June 9, 1900 in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, when Frederic Malcolm Waring was born. From his first stage appearance at the age of five to becoming leader of the Boy Scout Drum Corps in his home town of Tyrone, Fred Waring made music. As a teenager he and neighbor Freddie Buck formed the "Waring-McClintock Snap Orchestra" with Fred’s younger brother Tom and his partner/drummer Poley McClintock. The quartet became "Waring’s Banjo Orchestra" and toured colleges playing fraternity parties, proms, and local dances. The exciting new band was unique in that they sang together and played faster rhythms. Engagements poured in. Waring finally put aside his pursuit of an architectural engineering degree at Penn State and became leader of the band. In the twenties the group adopted the name "Waring’s Pennsylvanians" and played movie theatres from coast to coast, for weeks at a time. They became the rage in Hollywood, starring in the first musical motion picture, "Syncopation," then in "Varsity Show," and appearing in the first "talkie" shorts. In the thirties "Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians," as a 55-piece jazz orchestra, scored one of their greatest theatrical successes with an unprecedented six-month run at New York’s Roxy Theatre. Their first network radio program, "The Old Gold Show," was followed by the famous "Ford Dealers Show." Waring’s award-winning radio programs for Chesterfield and General Electric are remembered as classic chapters in the history of broadcasting. During World War II the Pennsylvanians added to their daily radio show a steady stream of appearances at war bond rallies, at their own New York Canteen, and at Army and Navy training camps. At the war’s end Fred and the group hit the road for their first concert tour in ten years. They drew tremendous crowds, and via "remotes" the Pennsylvanians were still being heard coast to coast on radio. April 1949 saw the start of the Pennsylvanians' television career, as Waring introduced weekly "spectaculars" for General Electric. The TV series captured numerous awards for Best Musical Show. Waring pioneered, also, in the recording industry. One of his first auditions was for Thomas Edison in the early 1920s, and his first recording was his theme song, "Sleep," for Victor Talking Machine Co. They later made one of the first electronic recordings and the first vocal dance recording. He was the first to use a girl singer, to feature vocalists with an orchestra, and to combine orchestra and glee club. The Pennsylvanians recorded over 1500 songs and 100 albums. Waring wrote songs about every imaginable subject, from his own theme song "I Hear Music" to college fight songs (over 90) and patriotic songs. During the war years, he composed nearly 30 stirring songs for branches and units of our armed services. In addition, his compositions include dozens of patriotic songs, his last contribution being his beautiful love song to America, called "My America." Fred Waring was recognized as one of the nation’s leading music educators. He was honored by the Association of Professional Vocal Ensembles (now known as Chorus America), the Music Educators National Conference, and the American Choral Directors Association. To foster better singing techniques, he organized the Fred Waring Choral Workshop in 1947. He taught and supervised his staff of "working show business professionals" for 39 years, literally right up to the day he died. To share his wealth of choral arrangements, he established Shawnee Press, Inc., which became one of the world’s largest publishers and sellers of choral music. During the 1960s and 70s, Waring became known as the "King of The Road," touring some 40,000 miles every year, mostly by bus. He completed 69 years with his performing group, a record unequalled in the entertainment field. On December 15, 1983, President Ronald Reagan, in a White House ceremony, presented Fred Waring the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest award to a civilian. The medal, up to that time, had only been awarded to five entertainers in its 100-year history. Inscribed on the medal was this statement: "Medal of Congress presented to Fred Waring expressing the Music was not the sole interest in the life of this dynamic man. He was married to the lovely former concert pianist Virginia Morley and had five children, fourteen grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. With his early background in architectural engineering at Penn State, Waring developed the famous Waring Blendor and the instant steam-iron. His favorite sport was golf, and he played as frequently as possible, often between shows. His tournament, the Fred Waring 4-0f-a-Kind-4-Ball, was held annually--first at Shawnee-on-Delaware and later in Palm Springs, California. The Fred Waring Memorial Golf Tournament is now held annually in Palm Desert. Fred Waring died July 29, 1984 at Penn State, just after videotaping
a concert with the Pennsylvanians and completing his summer workshops.
For a nice Tribute To Fred Waring which includes several recordings
from the Victor Talking Machine days (1923-1932) go to: His huge collection of memorabilia, library, photographs, and recordings spanning seven decades is preserved at Penn State for use in teaching, research and service in the University Libraries' Special Collections Library.
For further information contact: Fred Waring’s America |
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