PRIOR TO "BABS AND HER BROTHERS", THEY WERE "THE THREE RYANS"....
Above Left: BALTIMORE SUN, August 16, 1931.
Above Middle: STANDARD SENTINEL (Hazelton, PA), May 6, 1932.
Above Right: THE GAZETTE (Montreal, Canada), October 3, 1932.
DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE (Rochester, NY), April 4 1931: THEATER REVIEWS
Rochester Theater....Our audience liked the Three Ryans, brothers and a sister, considerably. They are breezy jazz singers who give everything they have to a number....
THE GAZETTE (Montreal, Canada), October 4, 1932:
....The Three Ryans offer a clever little singing act in which the lady of the team wins major honors....
THE GAZETTE (Montreal, Canada), October 8, 1932:
....The Three Ryans blend their voices in infectious rhythm and harmony....
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PRIOR TO "THE THREE RYANS", THERE WAS "THE TWO CADETS"....
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At Left: The Two Cadets (L-R) Charlie Ryan and Little Ryan in 1928. Starting in 1926, not yet teenagers, they would perform their vaudeville act, mostly singing in harmony, at various theaters and hotels in Chicago.
Above: "Two Cadets" clipping from the Chicago Tribune dated 9/5/27.
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BABS RYAN NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS....
Above Left: Republican And Herald, May 28, 1935:
Keeping harmony in the Ryan family is easy because Babs Ryan, above, and her two brothers comprise the singing trio who are known to radio and vaudeville as Babs And Her Brothers.
Above Middle Left: BALTIMORE SUN, July 29, 1935:
BABS RYANMiss Ryan and her two brothers have a featured singing act at the Century this week.
Above Middle: PITTSBURGH SUN TELEGRAPH, June 12, 1935:
BABS RYAN...with Hal Kemp...
Above Middle Right: PITTSBURGH SUN TELEGRAPH, December 30, 1935:
MISS BABS RYANThis popular radio singer will be married in January to Bobby Merritt, Baltimore jockey, he announced Saturday. The jockey will leave Baltimore soon to join Miss Ryan in Miami. Babs was divorced from Charles Ryan, who with his brother, Little, continues to costar with Babs as "Babs And Her Brothers".
Above Right: PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE, September 21, 1935:
Babs And Her Brothers are guests on Frank Parker's Tour radio show tonight at 7:00 on WABC.
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Above Left: SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER, November 10, 1935:
HERE'S BABS RYANOne-third of that gay trio of "Babs And Her Brothers"who feature their humorous novelties with Ray Noble and his orchestra on "Refreshment Time", heard over KFRC every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Above Middle Left: CHICAGO TRIBUNE, January 5, 1936:
Babs Ryan, red-haired singing girl, appears on the current program of Chez Paree, with her two brothers. They are a trio of southerners who won a reputation on Fred Waring's radio programs.
Above Middle: PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE, June 26, 1935:
Cool? Here is the way "Babs" Ryan kids away summer's heat.
Above Middle Right: PRESS AND SUN BULLETIN (Binghamton, NY), October 12, 1935:
Babs Ryan is the attractive feminine member of the Ryan trio, which includes her two brothers, Charles and Little, who are engaged in a "radio tour".
Above Right: PITTSBURGH SUN TELEGRAPH, May 8, 1935:
Hear Babs At EightKingpin of one of radio's most popular trios, pretty Babs Ryan sings with her brothers, Charlie and Little, on Hal Kemp's broadcasts. They're on the air tonight at 8 over KDKA.
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RADIO MAGAZINES (1935) ....
RADIO STARS, March 1935:
While the Fred Waring troupe is happy over its show being boosted to a full hour for the first time since Fred has been on the air, there is unrest within one unit of the organization. It centers about the trio known as Babs And Her Brothers.
To tell the story, it must be stated that the two boys of the unit are not Babs' brothers. One is Charlie Ryan, husband of Babs. The other is Little Ryan, brother of Charlie. Now it develops that Babs and husband Charlie are not getting along so well. A family disagreement, the nature of which is being closely guarded by the principals, started the trouble at least two months ago. Friends are said to be trying to help patch the wounded feelings.
RADIO MIRROR, May 1935: BABS RYAN CONFESSES
....Babs was Blanche Redwine, a senior in high school the day a friend of the family's, a woman who was a well-known figure in vaudeville, came to call at the home in Kansas City. Jokingly, Babs told the friend that she too could sing and in jest proved it.
The woman listened, impressed with the distinctive quality of Babs' voice. Later, before she left, she took Babs aside and whispered to her a moment. "Wait until I get back to Chicago. I think I can find you a job there. I'll wire you as soon as I hear anything".
Until the day the telegram arrived, Babs never gave it another thought. Then this wire. It was brief and to the point. Babs should come immediately to Chicago. The woman wanted to coach her, then put her in vaudeville. With the telegram was a train ticket. Her hopes running wildly high, Babs showed the telegram to her father. Could she go?
"What!" her father exclaimed. "Quit high school before graduation? Become a show girl? Certainly not!" ....That night, long past midnight, she sneaked down the stairs, her suitcase in one trembling hand. She had to be careful to show her father only the telegram and not the train ticket.
For two months, in Chicago, Babs rehearsed, trained, studied, under tutelage of this woman. At the end of this time, she met a seasoned trouper and they formed a team. A short engagement followed, but it wasn't a success. Babs learned that her voice would never be strong enough even for duets.
Came another period of training and study back in Chicago. Then she heard that two young boys, going on seventeen and eighteen, were auditioning for a girl who could play piano. Babs applied and was given an audition. She played the piano, reading at sight the tricky arrangements the boys gave her. It was fun, too. She liked the younger brother, Charlie. He was so nice to her, standing by her, explaining the notes over which she might stumble.
Suddenly an idea came to her. "Want me to sing a number with you?" she asked, smiling hopefully. The boys looked doubtfully at each other. Finally, Charlie spoke. "Why not?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders. After all, here was the only girl they had found in fifty auditions that could even play the piano the way they wanted. Babs sang and the trio was formed. From the first day it was her ideas for arrangements, her suggestions, her voice that became the real business property of the three.
....It wasn't long after that the trio went to Cleveland for a job and was heard by Fred Waring. The unusual style, the breaks which Babs put into the songs and made attractive with high, half squeaky notes, made a hit with Waring. He met them, found they could be put under contract, got a lawyer, some ink and a pen, and closed the deal.
RADIO MIRROR, May 1935:
....Babs (Ryan) explained "For four years Charlie and his brother and I have worked together. We have a library of three hundred pieces of music that we have specially arranged. Singing those songs with the trio is my only real happiness. "Already, now that I've left Fred Waring, I've auditioned for other programs, but never with the trio. And it's not the same. I just can't put my heart into it. That's why, really, I left Fred. When I finally decided that the marriage must end, Charlie quit the program. Little Ryan, his brother, followed him the next week.
"Since then, Waring has tried every possible arrangement for me. But it never sounded right. Fred knew it and I knew it, yet he was willing to keep me on, not sounding as good as I should, because he thought I'd be happier staying. The hardest thing I've ever done in my life was leaving his show. Why, he's done everything for uscoached us, given us suggestions, kept us working in wonderful harmony. But I had to leave. I couldn't stand it any longer, knowing that when I stepped to the mike, I wasn't as good as I could be.
"I can't sing solo. My voice isn't good enough to carry by itself. So I had to say goodbye. I don't think Fred will try to keep me. He knows as well as I, how much better I am when I'm with the trio.
RADIO MIRROR, December 1935:
Cincinnati: If you are a WLW follower, and it's pretty hard not to be one in a good part of this country, you are probably listening to the lilting rhythms of Babs And Her Brothers. And doubtless you are wondering if it is the same trio which made such a hit as a part of the Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians troupe. Well it isn'tnot entirely. The two boys, Charles and Little Ryan, are the same boys. They are real brothers. There never was a sister Babs. She was married to Charlie while the team was with Waring. Then the couple had that disagreement about which you may have read in Radio Mirror, and they parted, leaving the two Ryans without a girl singer. But the original Babs, now living in New York in temporary retirement, graciously gave permission for them to select another girl. So now the Babs you hear is Lillian Perron, known to intimates as "Buddy".
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EXTRA AUDIO #1 (Windows Media Player) SOME OTHER VERSIONS:
[Audio restoration by Dave Saviet.]
Above Left: Label image of Victor 25070-A recorded on June 8, 1935 and released shortly afterward. Vocal refrain is by The Freshmen.
Above Middle: DES MOINES REGISTER, October 27, 1935: Ray Noble.
Above Right: Label image of Victor 25105-A recorded on July 20, 1935 and released later in 1935. Vocal refrain is again by The Freshmen.
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Above: CHICAGO TRIBUNE, November 24, 1935:
A candid camera shot of Ray Noble and Babs Ryan during a pause in their rehersals for Refreshment Time. (8:30 p.m. Wednesdays on WBBM.)
(NOTE: Babs And Her Brothers were with the Ray Noble Orchestra in the fall of 1935. They had previously been with orchestras led by Fred Waring from 1933 to early 1935 and Hal Kemp in the spring of 1935. You'll see in Part Two that they, as The Smoothies and with a new Babs, joined Hal Kemp again in 1939. No concrete information about The Freshmen or their member's names was found.)
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Above Left: Label image of Decca 519 A recorded on August 1, 1935 and released shortly afterward. Vocal is by Kay Weber, Bob Eberle, And Trio. The Dorsey Brothers, Jimmy and Tommy, split up in 1935 and formed two separate orchestras. It is reported that, at that time, Tommy took over most of Joe Haymes Orchestra, with Haymes as arranger, and that Haymes subsequently formed another orchestra. (NOTE: Bob Eberle was also known as Bob Eberly.)
Above Middle Left: LOS ANGELES TIMES, February 29, 1936: DORSEY'S SEVENTH BIRTHDAY
Jimmy Dorsey is celebrating his seventh birthday today. The bandsman was a leap year baby and gets a birthday cake once every four years. His feminine vocal star, Kay Weber, and his headline crooner, Bob Eberle, are celebrating with him.
Above Middle Right: LOS ANGELES TIMES, January 27, 1936: FAIR VOCALIST FROM KANSAS
Kay Weber, feminine vocalist with Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra, is a Kansas girl who got her first radio "break" in Denver. Dial KHJ at 11 p.m.
Above Right: DES MOINES TRIBUNE, November 11, 1937: PRETTY GAL SINGS HER SONGS OVER KSO
Kay Weber sings with the Crosby music makers at 10:30 over KSO.
At Direct Left: Cropped photo of the Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra after Tommy Dorsey left. In front are Jimmy Dorsey and his two vocalists at the time, Martha Tilton and Bob Eberle.
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LISTEN (Windows Media Player): [Audio restoration by Dave Saviet.]
(NOTE: Babs And Her Brothers had versions of these three songs on the Decca label, also in 1935.)
1. "Let's Swing It" - Ray Noble And His Orchestra (Vocal by The Freshmen) - Victor 25070-A - 1935.
2. "Double Trouble" - Ray Noble And His Orchestra (Vocal by The Freshmen) - Victor 25105-A - 1935.
3. "My Very Good FriendThe Milkman" - Dorsey Brothers Orchestra (Vocal by Kay Weber, Bob Eberle And Trio) - Decca 519 A - 1935.
AL THREE SONGS played in sequence.
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Above: Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra, circa 1935. Jimmy is seated playing the saxophone (in front of the bass fiddle player). Tommy is standing next to the NBC microphone holding a trombone. Kay Weber is sitting in the front row next to Bob Crosby. Glenn Miller is playing the trombone (just above Kay's head in the photo).
Despite their success, the Dorsey brothers did not get along. Jimmy drank heavily then, and Tommy drove the band relentlessly in his quest for musical perfection. Glenn Miller left to join Ray Noble, and Tommy walked off the bandstand when Jimmy questioned his choice of tempo.
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EXTRA AUDIO #2 (Windows Media Player) IF I HAD RHYTHM IN MY NURSERY RHYMES:
[Audio restoration by Dave Saviet.]
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The above sheet music is from 1935. However, it seems that Babs Ryan never had a record featuring this song. Same for the Guy Lombardo and Al Collins orchestras (see their sheet music images at left). The sheet music states "Successfully Featured by..." or "Featured & Broadcast by...". Therefore, perhaps the song was sung on the radio by them.
Here is a list of at least some of the artists that did have this song on records:
Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra
Wingy Mannone Orchestra
Teddy Wilson Orchestra
Mound City Blue Blowers |
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Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
Joe Haymes Orchestra
Fats Waller Band
Bill Challis Orchestra
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Above: Joe Haymes And His Orchestra, circa late 1935. The female next to Haymes (far left) seems to be Honey Burns (see a 1936 image of Honey Burns with Joe Haymes just below).
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Above Left: NEWS HERALD, January 31, 1936: JOE HAYMES PLAYS FOR HIGHWAY DANCE AT FRANKLIN CLUB
....Added interest in this year's dance is the result of bringing in Joe Haymes and his C.B.S. orchestra of 15 versatile artists....Among the lovers of good dance music, Joe Haymes is voted the most popular leader in the field. He spent three years as pianist and arranger for Ted Weems, and since 1931, with his own band, has been the sensation of every hot dance spot on the Atlantic seaboard....
Above Middle: CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, August 16, 1936.
A moment of swing hotcha, caught in this scene, is a sample of what Honey Burns and Joe Haymes will offer at Coney Island's Moonlite Gardens starting tonight.
Above Right: PRESS AND SUN BULLETIN, July 31, 1936.
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Above Left: CENTRAL NEW JERSEY HOME NEWS, May 10, 1936: EDYTHE WRIGHT SOON TO BE AMERICA'S LEADING FEMININE SINGER, SAYS TOMMY DORSEY
Highland Park Girl Rated Highly By Popular Orchestra Pilot; Signs Her For Five Years
Sophisticated young songstress rises to fame in two years. Busy making Victor recordings, singing at Hotel Lincoln and planning movie.
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(NOTE: Look at which pictures are showing Edythe smiling.... maybe blondes do have more fun!)
WINGY MANNONE
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Above Middle Left: WILMINGTON DAILY PRESS JOURNAL, August 26, 1936:
"SWING" VOCALISTS HEARD WEEKLY
Edythe Wright, above, and Jack Leonard, appear at the microphone each Tuesday evening as featured vocalists with Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra. Broadcasting over the Columbia network from the Texas Centennial Exposition, Dorsey and his orchestra are taking the place of Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians on the Ford Dealers series during August.
Above Middle Right: KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL, August 2, 1936:
This is Edythe Wright, the singer with Tommy Dorsey's Band. She and Dorsey will be featured on WNOX Tuesday nights at 7 while Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians take a month's vacation. The substitution takes place this Tuesday. Miss Wright's songs and the Dorsey music will come from the Texas Centennial at Dallas.
Above Right: CENTRAL NEW JERSEY HOME NEWS, May 12, 1935:
EDYTHE WRIGHT MAKES SIX BRUNSWICK RECORDS IN ONE WEEK
Lovely Edythe Wright of Highland Park, whose star has been rising on the radio horizon during the past six months as the result of her vocal efforts with Frank Crum's orchestra at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, completed six phonograph records for the Brunswick Record Company last week.
Miss Wright, who has the advantage over other vocalists in the respect that her appearance is as striking as her voice, has been featuring a new song number, "Brother Seek And You Shall Find", written by one of Crum's orchestra members, and will have her picture on the cover of the sheet music for this popular selection when it is published this week.
According to present plans she expects to make a motion picture short subject at one of the New York studios within the next month. She is heard over WOR several nights weekly.
(NOTE: Research found no evidence of any of these Brunswick records. Perhaps she recorded some songs for Brunswick, but they weren't released.)
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Above: Label images for "(If I Had) Rhythm In My Nursey Rhimes". Jimmie Lunceford, who co-composed this song, had the first record of it, on Decca 572 A in 1935, with vocal by Willie Smith.
LEFT: Joe Haymes And His Orchestra, vocal by Cliff Weston And The Headliners, on Melotone 6-02-07, recorded on December 19, 1935 and released shortly afterward in 1936. It was also released on Perfect 6-02-07 and Banner 6-02-07.
MIDDLE: Tommy Dorsey And His Clambake Seven, vocal by Edythe Wright And Ensemble, on Victor 25201-B, recorded on December 9, 1935 and released shortly afterward in 1936.
RIGHT: Wingy Mannone And His Orchestra, vocal by Wingy Mannone And The Boys, on Vocalion 3158, recorded on January 28, 1936 and released shortly thereafter.
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Above Left: Victor 25866-B label image. The record was recorded on May 12, 1938 and released that year.
Above Right: VERDEN NEWS, September 18, 1936: PRINCIPALS OF FAMOUS ORCHESTRA THAT ENTERTAINS YOU
Tommy Dorsey's famous "swing" orchestra is seen each Tuesday at the Gulf Radio studios in the Texas Centennial grounds, Dallas, and is heard by a vast radio audience when it broadcasts over a nation-wide CBS network, appearing on the Ford dealer program in place of Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians, vacationing in August.
The principals of the Dorsey orchestra are shown here from left to right, front row, Dorsey, Edythe Wright, vocalist. In the rear are the "Three Esquires", Joe Bauer, Jack Leonard, and Allen Storr.
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LISTEN (Windows Media Player): [Audio restoration by Dave Saviet.]
1. "(If I Had) Rhythm In My Nursery Rhymes" - Joe Haymes Orchestra (Vocal by Cliff Weston And The Headliners) - Melotone 6-02-07 - 1936.
2. "(If I Had) Rhythm In My Nursery Rhymes" - Tommy Dorsey And His Clambake Seven (Vocal by Edythe Wright And Ensemble) - Victor 25201-B - 1936.
3. "(If I Had) Rhythm In My Nursery Rhymes" - Wingy Mannone Orchestra (Vocal by Wingy Mannone And The Boys) - Vocalion 3158 - 1936.
4. "All Through The Night" - Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (Vocal by The Three Esquires And Edythe Wright) - Victor 25866-B - 1938.
ALL FOUR SONGS played in sequence.
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