Edward Evan Duncan Howard (September 12, 1914 – May 23, 1963) was an American vocalist and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues o ...

who was popular during the 1940s and 1950s.

Early years

Eddy Howard was born in

Woodland, California Woodland is a city in and the county seat of Yolo County, California, located approximately northwest of Sacramento, and is a part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 61,032 at the 2020 census. Woodland's origins date to 1 ...

, and after attending

San Jose State College San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

from 1931 to 1933, studied medicine at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

before dropping out to become a singer of romantic

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

on Los Angeles radio. Later he sang with bands led by

Ben Bernie Benjamin Anzelwitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 23, 1943),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...

and

Dick Jurgens Richard Henry Jurgens (January 9, 1910 – October 5, 1995) was an American swing music bandleader and composer who enjoyed great popularity in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Life and early career Dick Jurgens was born in Sacramento, Californ ...

. His hits with Jurgens included "My Last Goodbye" and "Careless", which became his theme.

Career

Howard was a singer on a radio programme on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

in 1938. In 1939, Howard started his own band, and he was the regular vocalist on ''It Can Be Done'',

Edgar A. Guest Edgar Albert Guest (20 August 1881 – 5 August 1959) was a British-born American poet who became known as the People's Poet. His poems often had an inspirational and optimistic view of everyday life. Early life Guest was born in Birmingham ...

's 1941 radio programme on the Blue Network, from Wednesday to Friday. The first No. 1 single for Howard and his Orchestra, " To Each His Own", spent five non-consecutive weeks at the top of the U.S. pop chart in 1946. The song was a tie-in with the 1946 Paramount film, '' To Each His Own'', which brought

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

and screenwriter

Charles Brackett Charles William Brackett (November 26, 1892 – March 9, 1969) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He collaborated with Billy Wilder on sixteen films. Life and career Brackett was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, the son of ...

. The recording by Howard was released by

Majestic Records Majestic Records was a mid-20th century record label based in New York City, incorporated in 1945 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Majestic Radio & Television. The label enjoyed its greatest commercial success in the 1940s until expansion and supp ...

as catalog number 7188 and 1070. It first reached the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' chart on July 11, 1946 and spent a total of 19 weeks on the chart. The recording sold over two million copies by 1957, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. Howard's orchestra was heard on ''The Gay Mrs. Featherstone'' on NBC (April 18 - October 10, 1945)Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 127-128. and on NBC's ''The Sheaffer Parade'', sponsored by Sheaffer Pens (September 14, 1947 - September 5, 1948). In 1949, Howard signed to

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

. His popularity continued into the 1950s with tracks such as "Maybe It's Because", and "

(It's No) Sin "(It's No) Sin" is a 1951 popular song with music by George Hoven and lyrics by Chester R. Shull. This song should not be confused with "It's a Sin", another popular song of the same era. First recordings Popular recordings of the song wer ...

", which became Howard's second No. 1 tune, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. It was also a million selling hit for

The Four Aces The Four Aces are an American male traditional pop quartet popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling songs include " Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", " Three Coins in the Fou ...

. Howard's last hit was "The Teen-Ager's Waltz", which peaked at No. 90 on the ''

'' Top 100 chart in 1955. In 1952–1953 he was heard on CBS on Thursday nights at 10:45pm, with further broadcasts on Tuesdays at 10pm in 1955–1956. The rise of

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

led to a decline in Howard's popularity. In a change of roles, Howard was the host on ''Just for You'', an hour-long variety program on NBC in 1954. The staff orchestra of WMAQ provided the music. Howard's star rose again during the 1960s, as part of the revival of interest in

Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

music and

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

that was collectively called "Nostalgia" in popular culture. Howard went into semi-retirement and his some-time saxophonist, vocalist-bandleader Norman Lee, procured the rights to use the Eddy Howard Orchestra name and the band's arrangements. Lee and the Orchestra became a dance-band staple throughout the U.S. Midwest. Based out of Wichita, Kansas, they toured extensively and recorded on their own label, Marian Records. By the late 1960s, Lee dropped the Eddy Howard name and led the orchestra under his own moniker, though several Howard standards remained featured in their repertoire. The organization dissolved in the wake of the murder of Lee and his wife by one of the band's former trumpet players on December 6, 1978.

Recognition

Howard has a star in the Recording section of the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

at 6724 Hollywood Boulevard. It was dedicated. February 8, 1960.

Death

Howard died in his sleep of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in May 1963, in

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...

, aged 48. He was buried at

Desert Memorial Park Desert Memorial Park is a cemetery in Cathedral City, California, United States, near Palm Springs. Opening in 1956 and receiving its first interment in 1957,The Palm Springs Cemetery District itself was covers 504 square miles, including Palm Spr ...

Cathedral City, California Cathedral City, colloquially known as "Cat City", is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. Situated between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, the city has the second larg ...

Discography

Singles

References

Bibliography

* ''Who's Who in America'', Volume 26. Chicago: A.N. Marquis Company, 1950. ASIN B000GDEIKE

External links

"The Song Remains: Eddy Howard"

Eddy Howard Radio at Last.fm

Eddy Howard singing "To Each His Own"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Eddy 1914 births 1963 deaths Burials at Desert Memorial Park Big band singers People from Palm Desert, California People from Woodland, California Singers from California 20th-century American singers Majestic Records artists 20th-century American male singers American male jazz musicians