Imogene Lynn (1922 – 2003) was a 20th-century American jazz and pop singer.

Biography

Lynn was born September 9, 1922 in

Trenton, Missouri Trenton is a city in Grundy County, Missouri, Grundy County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,609 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Grundy County. The city used to be the world's largest producer o ...

. She began singing professionally in 1940, singing with Emerson Gill and other bands on a national tour circuit of ballrooms and luxury hotel floorshows. In early 1942 she joined

Art Jarrett Arthur L. Jarrett Jr. (July 20, 1907 – July 23, 1987) born to stage actor and playwright Arthur L. Jarrett Sr. (1884–1960). Art Jr. was an American singer, actor, and bandleader in the 1930s and 1940s. Early career Near the end of the 19 ...

's band, then later that year moved to

Ray McKinley Ray McKinley (June 18, 1910 – May 7, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader. He played drums and later led the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra in Europe. He also led the new Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956. ...

's band and recorded "Big Boy" and " Who Wouldn't Love You?". ''

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 ...

'' reviewed a 1942 appearance at the Commodore Hotel in New York with McKinley's band with "Imogene Lynn is the fem attribute and she graces the vocal department with a good pair of low-pitched pipes and a chic appearance." In 1944 Lynn joined

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

's band, with whom she toured and recorded "

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" is a popular song which was published in 1944. The music was written by Harold Arlen and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was nominated for the "Academy Award for Best Original Song" at the 18th Academy A ...

" and "

Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, is one of the most famous songs from their classic 1927 musical play ''Show Boat'', adapted from Edna Ferber's 1926 novel. Context The song, written in a ...

". After two years with Shaw, Lynn briefly became female lead vocalist for the

Merry Macs The Merry Macs were an American close-harmony pop music quartet active from the 1920s till the 1960s and best known for the hits "Mairzy Doats", "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" and " Sentimental Journey". The group also sang on recordings ...

vocal group. She left the Merry Macs to join the Smart Set vocal group in 1947, then in 1949 she became lead singer for the

Starlighters The Starlighters were an American singing group of the mid 20th century. The group was formed in 1946, the members being Pauline Byrns, Vince Degen, Tony Paris, Howard Hudson, and future star Andy Williams, all alumni of Six Hits and a Miss. Wi ...

(

Pauline Byrns Pauline Byrns (May 6, 1917 – September 18, 1990) was an American singer who recorded successfully in the swing era of the late 1930s and 1940s, notably with Artie Shaw and the vocal groups Six Hits and a Miss and The Starlighters. She was of ...

had retired in 1947). As a Starlighter she sang backing vocals for

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

, and other stars. From 1947 to 1967 Lynn dubbed vocals for movies. She dubbed

Mona Freeman Monica Elizabeth "Mona" Freeman (June 9, 1926 – May 23, 2014) was an American actress and painter. Early years Freeman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in Pelham, New York. A lumberman's daughter, she was a model while in hig ...

's singing voice in ''

Mother Wore Tights ''Mother Wore Tights'' is a 1947 Technicolor musical film starring Betty Grable and Dan Dailey as married vaudeville performers, directed by Walter Lang. This was Grable and Dailey's first film together, based on a book of the same name by Miria ...

'' and ''

Isn't It Romantic? "Isn't It Romantic?" is a popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It has a 32-bar chorus in A–B–A–C form. Alec Wilder, in his book ''American Popular Song: ...

'',

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

in ''

Mother Is a Freshman ''Mother Is a Freshman'' is a 1949 American comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Loretta Young and Van Johnson. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design by Kay Nelson. Plot Abby Abbott lives in New York ...

'',

Leslie Parrish Leslie Parrish (born Marjorie Hellen; March 13, 1935) is an American actress, activist, environmentalist, writer, and producer. She worked under her birth name for six years, changing it in 1959. Early life As a child, Parrish lived in Massachu ...

in ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn ...

'', and

Vera Miles Vera June Miles (née Ralston, born August 23, 1929) is an American retired actress who worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock, most notably as Lila Crane in the classic 1960 film '' Psycho'', reprising the role in the 1983 sequel '' Psycho II''. ...

in ''

Beau James ''Beau James'' is a 1957 film based on a non-fiction book of the same name by Gene Fowler. The film stars Bob Hope in a rare dramatic role as Jimmy Walker, the colorful but controversial Mayor of New York City from 1926–32. Plot In 1925, New ...

''. She provided the singing voice for the title character in the

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American a ...

cartoon ''

Red Hot Riding Hood ''Red Hot Riding Hood'' is an animated cartoon short subject, directed by Tex Avery and released with the movie ''Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case'' on May 8, 1943, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1994, it was voted number 7 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons ...

'' and sang in other cartoons, and also appeared singing and dancing on screen in '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes''. Lynn was married to musician

Mahlon Clark Mahlon Clark (March 7, 1923 – September 20, 2007) was an American musician who was a member of the Lawrence Welk orchestra from 1962 to 1968. His primary instrument was the clarinet. Born and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia, Clark started out i ...

. She died February 24, 2003 in

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 173,51 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynn, Imogene 1922 births 2003 deaths People from Trenton, Missouri American women pop singers American women jazz singers American jazz singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers Jazz musicians from Missouri 21st-century American women