Eugenie Baird (November 19, 1923 – June 12, 1988) was an American big-band, jazz, and radio singer.

Career

Baird was from Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Eugene Baird, whose obituary described him as a construction foreman, but another source said that she came "from a theatrical family." She sang in choral groups in grammar school.

Radio

Baird's early experiences in radio included a thrice-weekly program of her own on KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She gained that spot via audition as a high school student. For a year, Baird was Bing Crosby's singing partner on Kraft Music Hall on NBC. She hosted the radio program ''Eugenie Baird Sings'' on ABC in 1946 and she "was selected from more than 50 girls to sing the top tunes of all time." on Paul Whiteman's ''Forever Tops'' weekly program (also on ABC) that same year For the job, she moved from New York to Hollywood. The show debuted on January 21, 1946 and continued into 1947. She sang on ''

The Jack Smith Show ''The Jack Smith Show'' was a radio program of popular music in the United States. It was broadcast on CBS Aug. 21, 1945-Dec. 26, 1952. It first originated from New York, but production was moved to Hollywood in 1948 to allow more opportunities fo ...

'' on NBC on '' The Alec Templeton Show'' (1947–1948), and ''

Don McNeill's Breakfast Club ''Don McNeill's Breakfast Club'' was a long-running morning variety show on NBC Blue Network/American Broadcasting Company, ABC radio (and briefly on television) originating in Chicago, Illinois. Hosted by Don McNeill (performer), Don McNeill, the ...

''. Beginning February 12, 1949, she became the "featured female singer" on ''Sing It Again''. Also in 1949, she was one of a group of female vocalists who participated in a 13-disk series of

electrical transcriptions Electrical transcriptions are special phonograph recordings made exclusively for radio broadcasting,Browne, Ray B. and Browne, Pat, Eds. (2001). ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture''. The University of Wisconsin Press. . P. 263. which wer ...

that featured

Eddy Duchin Edwin Frank Duchin (April 1, 1909 – February 9, 1951), commonly known as Eddy Duchin or alternatively Eddie Duchin, was an American jazz pianist and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s. Early career Duchin was born on April 1, 1909 in Cambri ...

promoting the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

. Baird signed with Lang–Worth in 1950 and was part of the ''Remember When'' series of transcriptions. In 1954, she sang with Earl Wrightson on ''Musicland U.S.A.'' on CBS.

Big bands

In a 1944 review, jazz writer George T. Simon described Baird as "the prettiest girl I've ever seen in front of a band, and, in addition, the possessor of one of the prettiest voices I've ever heard in back of a microphone." Baird "got her start...with Maurice Spitalny and Benny Burton" and sang with

Jan Savitt Jan Savitt (born Jacob Savetnick; September 4, 1907 – October 4, 1948), known as "The Stokowski of Swing", from having played violin in Leopold Stokowski's orchestra, was an American bandleader, musical arranger, and violinist. Early life and ...

before joining

Tony Pastor Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes referr ...

for 1942-1943. In 1943 she became the vocalist for the Casa Loma Orchestra

Vaudeville and night clubs

In 1947, Baird was the featured vocalist with Henny Youngman's vaudeville show, "making her N.Y. vaude

ille The Ille (; br, Il) is a small river in Brittany, France, right tributary of the river Vilaine. It is long. It flows into the Vilaine in the city Rennes. The Ille is linked to the river Rance by the Canal d'Ille-et-Rance. By this canal, Ren ...

debut." She also appeared with

Ray Eberle Raymond Eberle (January 19, 1919 – August 25, 1979) was a vocalist during the Big Band Era, making his name with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. His elder brother, Bob Eberly, sang with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. Career Eberle was born in Mec ...

at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in August and September 1947. In September 1948, she was the headliner at the Copa nightclub in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Stage and film

Baird had the ingenue role in the Broadway production '' Angel in the Wings'' (1947–1948). With

Pee Wee Hunt Walter Gerhardt "Pee Wee" Hunt (May 10, 1907 – June 22, 1979) was an American jazz trombonist, vocalist, and bandleader. Hunt was born in Mount Healthy, Ohio. He developed a musical interest at an early age, as his mother, Sadie, played the ba ...

and

The Pied Pipers The Pied Pipers is an American popular singing group originally formed in the late 1930s. They had several chart hits through the 1940s, both under their own name and in association with Tommy Dorsey and with Frank Sinatra. Origins Originally ...

, she was in a

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

short subject, ''Smoke Rings'', that featured the Casa Loma Orchestra. Released on July 28, 1943, the film included the songs "Can't Get Stuff in Your Cuff", "That's My Affair", and "Little Man with the Hammer".

Jingles and commercial recordings

In 1950, Baird was active in making radio

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s that an article in ''

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 ...

'' magazine described as "songs which entertain." She and others worked for George R. Nelson to record jingles and (in the case of the

Pepsi-Cola Company PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manu ...

) records that the company could "distribute for home use" on phonographs. In October 1981, Baird sang at a jazz festival in New York City. An article in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that Baird, "who sang with Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra and who has been inactive for a number of years, will be making a return appearance."

Discography

* ''The Bells of San Raquel'' with Tony Pastor (Bluebird, 1941) * '' So Near and Yet so Far'' with Tony Pastor (Bluebird, 1941) * '' My Heart Tells Me'' with Glen Gray (Decca, 1943) * ''Suddenly It's Spring'' with Glen Gray (Decca, 1944) * '' I Fall in Love Too Easily'' with Mel Tormé and His

Mel-Tones The Mel-Tones was an American vocal group of the 1940s and 1950s, formed and led by Mel Tormé. They are sometimes credited as The Meltones. The Mel-Tones appeared on several radio programs and released several records on their own, and also as th ...

(Decca, 1945) * ''

Baby, It's Cold Outside "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser in 1944 and popularized in the 1949 film '' Neptune's Daughter''. While the lyrics make no mention of a holiday, it is commonly regarded as a Christmas song owing to its winter ...

''/''

The Hucklebuck "The Hucklebuck" (sometimes written "The Huckle-Buck") is a jazz and R&B dance tune first popularized by Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers in 1949. The composition of the tune was credited to Andy Gibson, and lyrics were later added by Roy ...

'' with

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

(Hi-Tone, 1949) * ''Blue Room'' with Bob Curtis Quartet (Hi-Tone, 1949) * '' Candy Kisses'' with Bob Curtis Quartet (Hi-Tone, 1949) * ''How It Lies, How It Lies'' (Hi-Tone, 1949) * ''Hurry, Hurry, Hurry'' (Hi-Tone, 1949) * ''Eugene Baird Sings, Duke's Boys Play Ellington'' (Design, 1959)

References

External Links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Eugenie 1923 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers American women jazz singers American jazz singers American radio personalities Big band singers Decca Records artists