Divas of Old Time Radio

"Diva: ...a distinguished female singer; prima donna. Italian, Latin, feminine of divus god."
--The Random House Dictionary

In the tradition of classic opera, shows were often built around the company's prima donna, or "first lady." This is a basic example of the business of show business; everyone likes to see a pretty girl and audiences will pay more if she is prominently featured.This expansive collection of old time radio shows and musical appearances spans the time period from the 1930s-1950s with the radio shows and guest appearances of some of the well-known and influential female singers of their time.  

Predictably, not only were theater managers aware of this, so were the primadonnas who took advantage of the situation by elevating their status from "first lady" to Diva, or "Goddess". Although the Diva might be making a load of money for the company when she was performing, she and her entourage could become overly demanding offstage.

There was too much humility on "Radio Row" for true "Divas" to flourish. More likely, the Girl Singer wound up as a sort of second banana to the comedian starring in the show, but several of the girls on this list could be called Goddesses for their singing.

Alice Fay
Old Time Radio fans can be forgiven for thinking that Alice Faye was simply the wife of Jack Benny's bandleader. Alice was one of the hottest talents at 20th Century Fox but walked away from the film industry after a major snub from studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck.

The Andrews Sisters
LaVerne, Maxene, and Patty may not have been the voices of WWII, but they were certainly the type of girls every G.I. was fighting for! Little sister Patty, who became the group's lead singer, was just seven when the group formed, bt LaVerne set up a deal where they would sing along with silent movies in exchange for being able to watch the show.

Bea Wain
Ms. Wain was the first artist to record "Over the Rainbow" but the record's release was held until after The Wizard of Oz debuted. After WWII, she teamed with her husband, CBS Announcer Andre Baruch on the disc jockey program Mr. and Mrs. Music in New York.

Bette Davis
Arriving in Hollywood just as the Talkies were beginning to take off, Bette Davis was so influential in the film industry that she was dubbed "the Fourth Warner Brother." Her fabulous career spanned six decades.

Betty Hutton
After hearing her daughter sing in a school production, Betty Hutton's mother drug her around Detroit to sing for any group who would listen. Betty's career would take her to Broadway before moving to Hollywood where the arts she was assigned were popular but did not satisfy her creatively.

Carmen Miranda
Touted as "the Brazilian Bombshell", Carmen Miranda helped to familiarize American Film Audiences with Carnival Culture. She became notable for her huge smile and the fruit hat that she wore in her early movies.

Cass Daley
Featured in the Ziegfeld Follies as the "Cyclone of Syncopation", Cass Daley was often cast in movies as a comic foil to Dorothy Lamour. She was a popular guest on Radio Comedies and a frequent player on AFRS Programs.

Connee Boswell
The Boswell Sisters of Kansas City were a popular Jazz Singing Trio but the act broke up when the oldest and youngest sisters got married. Connee, who would always sing from a seated position after a childhood battle with polio, went on to costar on The Kraft Music Hall and had her own program on the Blue Network.

Connie Haines
Petite Connie Haines had a heckuva set of pipes for a girl who was less than five-feet tall, but she had enough staying power to keep up with Frank Sinatra when they both worked for Harry James and later for Tommy Dorsey. In 1942, Connie was signed for a 13-week stretch  that was extended for four years.

Dale Evans
After singing on local Nashville radio stations, Dale Evans landed a screen test at Fox and became the featured singer on the Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy program. After moving to Republic Studios, Dale fell in love with and married her leading man, Roy Rogers.

Deanna Durbin
MGM executives in 1936 were debating which girl singer they wanted to keep under contract, Judy Garland or Deanna Durbin. Louis B. Mayer decided to keep them both, but by then Deanna's contract had expired and she signed with Universal. Durbin took the top earnings spot from Bette Davis in 1947 but was never comfortable with fame. She retired from show business shortly after turning 29 when she married her third husband.

Dinah Shore
During the Big Band Era, Dinah Shore defied convention by making it as a solo recording artist. She rose to fame as the featured singer.

Doris Day
After her dreams of becoming a dancer were dashed when her leg was shattered in a car accident, Doris Day began taking voice lessons while recovering. She became the singer on Bob Hope's radio program after the War and her sunny good looks helped her to land roles in several "bedroom comedies".

Dorothy Lamour
If they gave an Academy Award for just being beautiful, Dorothy Lamour would walk away with the Statuette. A native of New Orleans, Ms. Lamour began as a Big Band Singer before moving to Hollywood where she progressed from 'sarong' pictures to up-staging Hope and Crosby in the "Road" series of films.

Edie Adams
After winning the "Miss US Television" beauty contest, Edie Adams was invited to audition for Ernie Kovacs' TV show. She not only got the part, but she also fell in love with and married the star.

Edythe Wright
Although the relationship is not completely clear, Edythe Wright was a distant cousin to the Barrymore acting clan. When Paul Whiteman was making a remote broadcast from New Jersey in 1935, Edythe got her radio debut. After the Dorsey Boys split their bands that year, Tommy Dorsey hired her to be his vocalist, a job she held until 1939.

Ethel Merman
Sure, Ethel Merman was loud, but she sang clearly and had excellent enunciation. If their songs were going to be belted, producers and composers knew that there were none better to do the belting than Merman, who became the most successful Musical Comedy Star of her time.

Ethel Waters
Rising from a poverty-stricken upbringing, Ethel Waters became one of the most successful Blues Singers of the Harlem Renaissance. She became the first African American actress to star in her own TV show in 1950 on "Beulah".

Francis Langford
A tonsillectomy shifted young Francis Langford's vocal register from soprano to a rich contralto, dashing her dreams of opera and forcing her into more pop and big band styles. Just before the War, she joined Bob Hope on The Pepsodent Program about the time he began doing camp shows.

Ginny Sims
Born in Texas and growing up in Fresno, California, in 1943 Ginny Simms began singing with Big Bands in San Francisco. Two years later, she began singing with Kay Kyser's outfit and eventually joined Kyser in the movies.

Harriet Nelson
A pretty young singer living the high life, Harriet Hilliard became a regular feature at the Cotton Club and despite some marital turmoil, appeared to be going places. Then, she met a saxophone player who was hired as the bandleader for The Red Skelton Show which eventually led to Harriet becoming the pretty half of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Helen Forrest
Arising from an abusive childhood situation in Brooklyn, Helen Forrest began singing at New York radio stations and would go on to define the role of "girl singer" in the Big Band Era. She sang with acts like Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and Harry James. When she began recording with the Harry James Orchestra, Helen made it clear that she was not singing with the band, the band was accompanying her singing.

Helen O'Connell
Dubbed "the quintessential big band singer of the 1940s", Helen O'Connell began singing duets with her sister Alice on Toledo radio stations and at hotel ballrooms. She joined Jimmy Dorsey's outfit in 1939 and recorded her signature number, "Green Eyes".

Jane Froman
A popular singer, movie star, and pin-up girl, Jane Froman was flying with a USO troupe when the plane crashed in a Portuguese river. As a result of the crash, Jane nearly lost both legs and would often perform from a wheelchair, but she continued to serve the troops who adopted her as one of their own.

Jane Powell
 After getting her start at Station KOIN in her native Portland and selling bonds as Oregon's Victory Girl, Jane Powell was signed by MGM without having to take a screen test. She went on to star in several post-War musicals and become a sensation on Broadway.

Jo Stafford
 Although she had trained as an opera singer, during the Great Depression Jo Stafford would lend her incredibly clear voice to popular music in an act with her two older sisters. While working at Fox Studios, Jo began singing with another group that went on to become The Pied Pipers, who were 'discovered/ by Tommy Dorsey and sang backup for Sinatra.

Judy Canova
To help put food on the table during the Great Depression, four of the Canova kids put together a vaudeville act. In 1931, Rudy Vallee offered still-teenaged Judy Canova a spot on his radio show, launching a career which would last more than five decades.

Judy Garland
Barely into her teens when she signed with MGM and catapulted to fame with 1939's The Wizard of Oz, Judy Garland struggled to make the transition from child to grown-up Movie Star. During her career, Judy faced abuse and substance abuse, as well as several unsuccessful marriages.

Kate Smith
 Although her rendition of "God Bless America" is considered a semi-National Anthem and she has been tagged "The First Lady of Radio" for her efforts at raising War Bond funds, recently Kate Smith's reputation has taken a beating when lost recordings with racist lyrics have surfaced.

Kay Starr
 An Oklahoma native from Native American stock, Kay Starr was happy with her reputation as a "Hillbilly" singer, but she had success in pop and jazz music as well. After singing with Bob Crosby and Glenn Miller's bands, Kay had success on the Popular and Country Charts.

Lena Horne
Starting out as a chorus girl at Harlem's Cotton Club at the age of 16, stunningly beautiful Lena Horne would overcome racial prejudice and the competitive Hollywood scene to dominate the entertainment industry for seven decades.

Margaret Whiting
Just six-years-old, Margaret Whiting got the chance to sing for the great Johnny Mercer in the family living room. Mercer took a keen interest in Maggie's career, in 1942 she recorded "That Old Black Magic" (written by Mercer), and in 1949 she recorded the duet "Baby It's Cold Outside" with Mercer.

Marilyn Maxwell
After years of following her mother in the road for years, Marilyn Maxwell got her own showbiz start singing on the radio with the Ted Weems Orchestra and soon signed with MGM. During the early 1950s, her affair with Bob Hope was an open secret in Hollywood.

Martha Tilton
ridging the span between the Swing Era and pre-Rock & Roll, Martha Tilton began singing on a local L.A. radio station before joining the Benny Goodman Orchestra. She had small roles in several films and was the featured singer on Fibber McGee and Molly during the 1941 season.

Mary Ford
A Nazarene minister's daughter, Mary Ford learned to play the guitar and began performing at local churches before appearing on KPPC Pasadena. She appeared on Melody Ranch before becoming romantically involved with and marrying guitar master Les Paul.

Mary Martin
Originally a dance instructor whose studio was burned done because she taught "sinful" dances, Mary Martin came to Broadway during the Depression. She replaced Connie Boswell on The Kraft Music Hall and worked on The Stage Door Canteen. Her popular Broadway roles included Peter Pan and "Nellie" in South Pacific.

Peggy Lee
Similar to the way male crooners learned to take advantage of electronic amplification, while singing at the Dollhouse in Palm Springs, Peggy Lee developed a style compared to a "sultry purr", allowing her to captivate a crowd with subtlety rather than trying to overpower them.

Risë Stevens
Americans are not generally known as huge Opera fans but they will pay a lot more attention if the show features a pretty girl like New York native Risë Stevens, who is best remembered for the Columbia recording of Bizet's "Carmen".

Rosemary Clooney
Best remembered for appearing with Bing Crosby in White Christmas, Rosemary Clooney could be considered the First Lady of Big Band Girl Singers.

Teresa Brewer
After being discovered by the Major Bowes Amateur Hour at the age of five, Teresa Brewer went on to enjoy a career as a novelty singer. When Rock and Roll began to dominate the charts, she reinvented herself as a Jazz Singer.

        ... and more!

Some highlights include a recording of Judy Garland as a 15 year old "newcomer" to MGM and the Dinah Shore Ford Show which later almost prevented her from getting Chevy as a TV sponsor. This music-variety collection assembles the most extraordinary and the most talented women entertainers of yesteryear. Many famous actresses such as Dale Evans, Judy Garland, and others got their start in these radio recordings.

Chronologically categorized, you can order highlights of your favorite era whether it be the early 1930s, entertaining our boys on the front in WWII, or beyond into the Eisenhower years of the 1950s. They are the best, the brightest, and the most beautiful divas gathered together for this very expansive collection (over 495 hours) which should keep you tapping your toes for over three weeks straight!

See also: Bombshells of Hollywood