Fred Waring

Fredrick Malcolm Waring (Tyrone, Pennsylvania, June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984 in State College, Pennsylvania) was a popular musician, bandleader and radio-television personality, sometimes 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. Radio 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, and some recordings of this still exist. Adding a men's singing group to his ensemble, he recruited Robert Shaw, recently out of the Pomona College glee club, to train his singers. Shaw later founded the Robert Shaw Chorale, directed the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and became America’s preeminent conductor of serious choral music. The Waring glee club sound can be detected in some Robert Shaw Chorale recordings. During World War II, Waring and his ensemble appeared at war bond rallies and entertained the troops at training camps. He also composed and/or performed dozens of patriotic songs, his most famous being "My America." Throughout the 1940s and early 1950s, Waring and His Pennsylvanians produced a string of hits, selling millions of records. A few of his many choral hits include "Sleep," "Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "Button Up Your Overcoat," "White Christmas," "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor" and "Dancing In The Dark." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.