Frances Wayne (born Chiarina Francesca Bartocci or Clara Bertocci, August 26, 1924 – February 6, 1978) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

vocalist. She was best known for her recording of "Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe."

Early years and career

Wayne was born in Boston and graduated from Somerville High School. She moved to New York City in her teens, where she sang in an ensemble led by her brother, saxophonist Nick Jerret. A 1942 review in '' Billboard'' magazine described her as "a striking brunette with a true contralto, perfect rhythm, and, most interesting, a brand-new style...of deep understanding and feeling for the spirit of what she sings." Early in the 1940s, she recorded with

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", " Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffl ...

's big band, and in 1943 sang with

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

's band. After her husband,

Neal Hefti Neal Paul Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for '' The Odd Couple'' movie and TV series and for the ''Batman'' TV series. He began arranging professionally in his ...

, formed his own big band in 1947,Simon, George T. (1981). ''Simon Says, 4th Edition''. Schirmer Books. P. 36. Wayne soloed in this ensemble as well. She sang with Hefti into the 1950s, and later sang with smaller ensembles, which featured Hank Jones,

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

Jerome Richardson Jerome Richardson (November 15, 1920 – June 23, 2000) was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played soprano sax, alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto flute and piccolo. He played with C ...

Richie Kamuca Richie Kamuca (July 23, 1930 – July 22, 1977) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Musical career Kamuca was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and, like many players associated with West Coast jazz, grew up in the East befo ...

, John LaPorta, Billy Bauer, and

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist ...

. On

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

, Wayne was the female vocalist on ''The Woody Herman Show''. She received the 1946 '' Esquire'' Award as Best New Female Vocalist.

Personal life

On November 2, 1945, in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area o ...

, Wayne married musician Neal Hefti, who played trumpet and

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

material for Herman. They remained together until her death.

Death

On February 6, 1978, Wayne died in Boston at age 58 after suffering from cancer over an extended period.

Discography

* ''

That Old Black Magic "That Old Black Magic" is a 1942 popular song written by Harold Arlen (music), with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. They wrote it for the 1942 film '' Star Spangled Rhythm'', when it was sung by Johnny Johnston and danced by Vera Zorina. The song ...

'' with the Charlie Barnet Orchestra (

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 ...

, 1943) * ''The Music Stopped'' with the Woody Herman Orchestra (Decca, 1944) * ''Songs for My Man'' with the Neal Hefti Orchestra ( Epic, 1956) * ''Frances Wayne'' (Brunswick, 1957) * ''The Warm Sound of Frances Wayne'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1957)

References

External links

Frances Wayne Collection at Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wayne, Frances 1924 births 1978 deaths American jazz singers Singers from Massachusetts 20th-century American singers Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Exclusive Records artists