Six Hits and a Miss was an American
swing-era
The swing era (also frequently referred to as the big band era) was the period (1933–1947) when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though this was its most popular period, the music had actually been aroun ...
singing group. The group consisted of six male singers and one female (thus the word "miss" in their name has a double meaning – the converse of the word "
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
", and
denotation of a young woman). They performed musical numbers in several Hollywood films of the 1940s, such as ''
Time Out for Rhythm
''Time Out for Rhythm'' is a 1941 musical comedy film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Rudy Vallée, Ann Miller and the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard). Six Hits and a Miss perform, as well as Glen Gray and His Ca ...
'', ''
The Big Store
''The Big Store'' is a 1941 American comedy film starring the Marx Brothers (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx and Chico Marx) that takes place in a large department store. Groucho appears as private detective Wolf J. Flywheel (a character name originatin ...
'', ''Hit Parade of 1941'', and ''
Girl Crazy
''Girl Crazy'' is a 1930 musical by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. Ethel Merman made her stage debut in the first production and co-lead Ginger Rogers became an overnight star. Rich in song, ...
''.
The group was formed in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in 1936 as a foursome, under the name Three Hits and a Miss, the members being
Martha Tilton
Martha Tilton (November 14, 1915 – December 8, 2006) was an American popular singer during America's swing era and traditional pop period. She is best known for her 1939 recording of "And the Angels Sing" with Benny Goodman.
Tilton was born ...
, Vince Degen, Marvin Bailey and Bill Seckler. In this configuration they appeared in the 1937 hit film ''
Topper'', singing
Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...
's "Old Man Moon". The quartet performed on ''
The Charlotte Greenwood Show'' on radio in the mid-1940s.
The group soon expanded to a septet. Members came and went, particularly due to wartime service, and included at various times
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 ...
, Howard Hudson, Tony Paris, Marvin Bailey, Jerry Preshaw, Lee Gotch, and Mack McLean. They were regulars on ''
The Pepsodent Show
''The Pepsodent Show'' is an American radio comedy program broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio. The program starred comedian Bob Hope and his sidekick Jerry Colonna along with Blanche Stewart and Elvia Allman as high-society crazies Brenda ...
Starring
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...
'' in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and recorded as backup singers for
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
,
Jimmy Durante
James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...
, and
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
, whom they backed on "
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" is a popular song written by Harry Warren with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1944, spanned the hit chart in mid-1945, and won the 1946 Academy Award for Best Original Song, the first ...
" which reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' magazine chart in 1945. They reached No. 11 (another source
says No. 16) on their own in 1943
[ with ]Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
"You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" is a popular song written by Cole Porter for the 1943 film '' Something to Shout About'', where it was introduced by Janet Blair and Don Ameche. The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Son ...
".
The group shrank to Four Hits and a Miss. This configuration briefly included a young Andy Williams
Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
. Under this name, they worked with 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 ...
, and recorded into the late 1940s on the Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
label.
Alumni Vince Degen, Tony Paris, Howard Hudson, Pauline Byrns and Andy Williams (soon replaced by Jerry Duane) went on to form The Starlighters in 1946.
''Six Hits and a Miss'' is also the name of a 1942 musical short
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
People
* Short (surname)
* List of people known as ...
in which the group appeared.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1936
Musical groups from Los Angeles
1936 establishments in California