Margaret Whiting | |
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Margaret Whiting in New York, 1940s |
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Background information | |
Born | July 22, 1924 Detroit, Michigan, United States |
Died | January 10, 2011[1] Englewood, New Jersey, United States |
(aged 86)
Genres | Jazz, traditional pop, country |
Occupations | Singer |
Years active | 1942–2010 |
Labels | Capitol, Dot, Verve, London, Audiophile, DRG |
Website | Musical biography of Margaret Whiting |
Margaret Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was a singer of American popular music and country music who first made her reputation during the 1940s and 1950s.
Contents |
Whiting was born in Detroit and her family moved to Los Angeles in 1929. Her father, Richard A. Whiting, was a composer of popular songs ("Hooray for Hollywood," "Too Marvelous for Words"). Her sister, Barbara Whiting, was an actress (Junior Miss, Beware, My Lovely) and singer. An aunt, Margaret Young, was a singer and popular recording artist in the 1920s. In her childhood, Whiting's singing ability had already been noticed, and at the age of only seven she sang for singer-lyricist Johnny Mercer, with whom her father had collaborated on some popular songs. In 1942, Mercer co-founded Capitol Records and signed Margaret to one of Capitol's first recording contracts. [2]
Whiting's first recordings were as featured singer with various orchestras:
In 1945, Whiting began to record under her own name, making such recordings as:
Until the mid-1950s Whiting continued to record for Capitol, but as she ceased to record songs that charted as hits, she switched to Dot Records in 1957 and to Verve Records in 1960. Whiting returned to Capitol in the early 1960s and then signed with London Records in 1966. On London, Whiting landed one last major hit single in 1966, "The Wheel of Hurt", which hit #1 on the Easy Listening singles chart. Her final solo albums were made for Audiophile (1980, 1982, 1985) and DRG Records (1991). Her distinguished conductors and musical arrangers through the years included Frank DeVol, Russell Garcia, Johnny Mandel, Billy May, Marty Paich, Nelson Riddle, Pete Rugolo, and Paul Weston.
Margaret and Barbara Whiting starred as themselves in the situation comedy Those Whiting Girls. The show, produced by Desilu Productions, aired on CBS as a summer replacement series (in place of I Love Lucy) between July, 1955 and September, 1957.
Margaret Whiting was a regular guest on variety shows and talk shows throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including The Big Record, The Bob Hope Show, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Tony Martin Show, The David Frost Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The George Jessel Show, The Guy Mitchell Show, The Jonathan Winters Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Nat King Cole Show, Over Easy, The Pat Boone Show, The Patti Page Show, The Red Skelton Hour, The Steve Allen Show, The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, The Texaco Star Theater, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Virginia Graham Show, and The Voice of Firestone.
In the 2000s, she appeared in several documentaries about singers and songwriters of her era, including Judy Garland: By Myself (2004), Fever: The Music of Peggy Lee (2004), Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer (2007), Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me (2009), and Michael Feinstein's American Songbook (2010).
Whiting died on January 10, 2011, aged 86, from natural causes at the Lillian Booth Actors' Home in Englewood, New Jersey. Burial Brookside Cemetery Englewood Bergen County New Jersey, USA.
Year | Album | US Pop LPs | Label |
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1950 | Margaret Whiting Sings Rodgers and Hart | Capitol | |
1954 | Love Songs by Margaret Whiting | ||
1956 | Margaret Whiting Sings for the Starry-Eyed | ||
1957 | Goin' Places | Dot | |
1958 | Margaret | ||
1959 | Margaret Whiting's Great Hits | ||
Ten Top Hits | |||
1960 | Just a Dream | ||
Margaret Whiting Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook | Verve | ||
Broadway, Right Now! (with Mel Tormé) | |||
1961 | Past Midnight | MGM | |
1967 | The Wheel of Hurt | 109 | London |
Maggie Isn't Margaret Anymore | |||
1968 | Pop Country | ||
1980 | Too Marvelous for Words | Audiophile | |
1982 | Come a Little Closer | ||
1985 | The Lady's in Love with You | ||
1991 | Then and Now | DRG |
Year | Single | Contributing Artist | Chart Positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pop | Country | AC | |||
1942 | "That Old Black Magic" | Freddie Slack & His Orchestra | 10 | - | - |
1943 | "My Ideal" | Billy Butterfield & His Orchestra | 12 | - | - |
1944 | "Silver Wings In the Moonlight" | Freddie Slack & His Orchestra | 19 | - | - |
1945 | "Moonlight In Vermont" | Billy Butterfield & His Orchestra | 15 | - | - |
"It Might as Well Be Spring" | Paul Weston & His Orchestra | 6 | - | - | |
1946 | "All Through the Day" | Carl Kress orchestra | 11 | - | - |
"In Love In Vain" | Carl Kress orchestra | 12 | - | - | |
"Come Rain or Come Shine" | Paul Weston orchestra | 17 | - | - | |
"Along With Me" | Jerry Gray orchestra | 13 | - | - | |
"Passe" | Jerry Gray orchestra | 12 | - | - | |
"Guilty" | Jerry Gray orchestra | 4 | - | - | |
"Oh, But I Do" | Jerry Gray orchestra | 7 | - | - | |
1947 | "Beware My Heart" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 21 | - | - |
"Old Devil Moon" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 11 | - | - | |
"Ask Anyone Who Knows" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 21 | - | - | |
"Little Girl Blue" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 25 | - | - | |
"You Do" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 5 | - | - | |
"Lazy Countryside" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 21 | - | - | |
"Pass That Peace Pipe" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 8 | - | - | |
1948 | "Let's Be Sweethearts Again" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 22 | - | - |
"But Beautiful" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 21 | - | - | |
"Now is the Hour" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 2 | - | - | |
"What's Good About Goodbye" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 29 | - | - | |
"Please Don't Kiss Me" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 23 | - | - | |
"A Tree in the Meadow" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 1 | - | - | |
"Far Away Places" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 2 | - | - | |
1949 | "Forever and Ever" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 5 | - | - |
"A Wonderful Guy" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 12 | - | - | |
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" | Johnny Mercer | 3 | - | - | |
"Slippin' Around" | Jimmy Wakely | 1 | 1 | - | |
"Wedding Bells" | 30 | 6 | - | ||
"Dime a Dozen | Frank DeVol orchestra | 19 | - | - | |
"I'll Never Slip Around Again" | Jimmy Wakely | 8 | 2 | - | |
1950 | "Broken Down Merry Go Round" | 12 | 2 | - | |
"The Gods Were Angry With Me" | 17 | 3 | - | ||
"I Said My Pajamas (and Put on My Prayers)" | Frank De Vol | 21 | - | - | |
"Let's Go to Church (Next Sunday Morning)" | Jimmy Wakely | 13 | 2 | - | |
"My Foolish Heart" | Frank DeVol orchestra | 17 | - | - | |
"Blind Date" | Bob Hope | 16 | - | - | |
"A Bushel and a Peck" | Jimmy Wakely | 6 | 6 | - | |
1951 | "When You and I Were Young, Maggie, Blues" | 20 | 7 | - | |
"Good Morning, Mr. Echo" | Lou Busch orchestra | 14 | - | - | |
"I Don't Want to Be Free" | Jimmy Wakely | - | 5 | - | |
1952 | "I'll Walk Alone" | Lou Busch orchestra | 29 | - | - |
"Outside of Heaven" | Lou Busch orchestra | 22 | - | - | |
1953 | "Why Don't You Believe Me?" | Lou Busch orchestra | 29 | - | - |
1954 | "Moonlight In Vermont" new version | Lou Busch orchestra | 29 | - | - |
1956 | "The Money Tree" | Billy May orchestra | 20 | - | - |
1958 | "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" | Billy Vaughn orchestra | 74 | - | - |
1966 | "Somewhere There's Love" | - | - | - | 29 |
"The Wheel of Hurt" | Arnold Goland orchestra | 26 | - | 1 | |
1967 | "Just Like a Man" | - | 132 | - | 29 |
"Only Love Can Break a Heart" | Arnold Goland orchestra | 96 | - | 4 | |
"I Almost Called Your Name" | - | 108 | - | 4 | |
1968 | "I Hate to See Me Go" | - | 127 | - | 27 |
"It Keeps Right On a Hurtin'" | - | 115 | - | 28 | |
"Faithfully" | - | 117 | - | 19 | |
"Can't Get You Out of My Mind" | - | 124 | - | 11 | |
1969 | "Where Was I" | - | - | - | 24 |
1970 | "(Z Theme) Life Goes On" | - | - | - | 14 |
"Until It's Time For You to Go" | - | - | - | 32 |