Artie Shaw died a couple of years ago, at a ripe old age, as sharp, cantankerous and opinionated as ever. For no reason other than my eclectic buddy Denro sent me a CD with a couple of Artie Shaw tunes from 1939, let’s listen to both of those tunes. One of them swings, the other does not, but they’re equally good. If you don’t know who that is Artie was sitting with, please get a clue!
I had guessed “Helen Forrester” so I was CLOSE! I didn’t put it down because it didn’t “feel” right. Her hair is dyed blonde in the Wikipedia post; shoulda left it dark! What a set of pipes! I never knew that Benny Goodman was not kosher with his singers. I always associate him with that nice biopic starring Steve Allen and Donna Reed; that’s probably why.
Helen Forrest is the singer on this song, “Comes Love”. She has become my favorite Big Band “Girl” singer. She started with the Artie Shaw band when Billie Holiday was still with him and you can hear the influence on several of her performances. When Artie Shaw broke up his Band and took a short break, Helen went on to Benny Goodman’s Band. She soon tired of Benny Goodman’s handling of singers and moved on to Harry James’ Band.
She has to be the only singer who sang with three of the biggests of the Big Bands – and had huge hits with all of them, too! She then went on to a solo career in the mid-forties when the Big Bands encountered their wartime problems. She also had a string of successful duets with Dick Haymes. Her career as a hit maker faded in the late forties, probably because her voice was so identified with the Big Band era. Some band singers like Doris Day and Peggy Lee flourished as solo acts, but Helen Forrest seemed most comfortable surrounded by the best of the Big Bands.
For a bit more info, check: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Forrest
To hear her last interview, check: http://www.bigbands.org/forrestlastinterview.htm
Yes, Artie Shaw was notorious with the ladies. Rita Hayworth was another one, of course. Garland was plenty attractive, and her eyes and smile were particularly nice features.
OK, who’s the singer on this particular song? Dad? Any guesses?
Artie had the nerve of taking a VERY young Judy Garland out on a date once before hitching up with Lana Turner (shown above). Nothing happened, but the naive Judy felt that Artie returned her feelings of true love and was devastated by being “turned over” for “La Turner.” In her biographies, it also shows her being annoyed in general (she was ahead of her time of this line of thinking) that men were only interested at movie stars who had big boobs, blonde hair, and a perfect face. Garland had none of the above, but more talent than “all the stars in the heaven” that Louis B. Mayer said he assembled on his lot at the time. She blew everybody away. She could sing, act, and dance, and yes, was pretty in her own way.