Bea_Wain

Bea Wain

Bea Wain (born Beatrice Weinsier, April 30, 1917 in New York City) was a American Big Band-era vocalist. On a 1937 recording with Artie Shaw she was credited as Beatrice Wayne, which led some to assume that was her real name. On record labels her name was shortened (without her permission) to "Bea" by the record company, ostensibly for space considerations. As she explained, "They cut it to 'Bea' Wain. They cut the 'Beatrice' out to 'Bea.' I was just a little old girl singer, but that's the truth. So that's how my name became 'Bea Wain'."

She led the vocal group Bea and the Bachelors (with Al Rinker, Ken Lane, and John Smedberg), and the V8 (seven boys and a girl) on the Fred Waring show. In 1937, Wain joined former Tommy Dorsey arranger Larry Clinton and His Orchestra. She was featured with Clinton on a number of hit tunes, including "Martha" and "Heart and Soul". In 1939, she was voted the most popular female band vocalist in a Billboard poll. She began her solo career in 1939 with a number of hit songs, including "Deep Purple" and "My Reverie."

Wain is considered by many to be one of the best female vocalists of her era, possessing a natural feel for swing-music rhythms not often found among white singers of the day. With regard to technique, she excelled in pitch and subtle utilization of dynamics. She also communicated a feminine sensuality and sang with conviction in an unforced manner.

On May 1, 1938, Bea Wain married veteran radio announcer André Baruch. Their honeymoon in Bermuda was cut short when Fred Allen called Baruch asking him to return to New York to substitute for his ailing announcer, Harry von Zell. They were married for 53 years. Baruch died in 1991.

Mr. and Mrs. Music

Following her musical career, the couple worked as a husband-and-wife disc jockey team in New York on WMCA, where they were billed as Mr. and Mrs. Music. In 1973, the couple moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where they did a top-rated daily four-hour talk show for nine years before relocating to Beverly Hills.

In a 2004 interview with Christopher Popa, she reflected:

Actually, I've had a wonderful life, a wonderful career. And I'm still singing, and I'm still singing pretty good. This past December, I did a series of shows in Palm Springs, California, and the review said, "Bea Wain is still a giant." It's something called Musical Chairs. I did six shows in six different venues, and I was a smash. And I really got a kick out of it.

In James A. Michener's 1971 novel The Drifters, characters discuss Bea Wain and her recording of "My Reverie". In 2002, her recording of "My Reverie" was used in the Robin Williams movie One Hour Photo.

The couple had two children: Bonnie Baruch and her husband, Mark Barnes, operate a vineyard in Northern California and run the Daisy Foundation, an organization which recognizes nurses for their critical role in patient care and supports research towards the cure of auto-immune diseases. Wayne Baruch has a career in the music and theatre business, and his wife, Shelley Baruch, is a theatrical producer and filmmaker.