Fred Waring

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Fredrick Malcolm Waring (Tyrone, Pennsylvania, June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984 in State College, Pennsylvania) was a popular musician, bandleader and radio-television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing." He was also a promoter, financial backer and namesake of the Waring Blendor, the first modern electric blender on the market.

Radio

From 1923 until late 1932, Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians were among Victor Records best-selling bands. In late 1932, he abruptly quit recording, although his band continued to perform on radio. In 1933, "You Gotta Be A Football Hero" was performed on radio to great acclaim, and some recordings of this still exist.

Adding a men's singing group to his ensemble, he recruited Robert Shaw, recently out of the Pomona College glee club, to train his singers. Shaw later founded the Robert Shaw Chorale, directed the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and became America’s preeminent conductor of serious choral music. The Waring glee club sound can be detected in some Robert Shaw Chorale recordings.

During World War II, Waring and his ensemble appeared at war bond rallies and entertained the troops at training camps. He also composed and/or performed dozens of patriotic songs, his most famous being "My America." Throughout the 1940s and early 1950s, Waring and His Pennsylvanians produced a string of hits, selling millions of records. A few of his many choral hits include "Sleep," "Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "Button Up Your Overcoat," "White Christmas," "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor" and "Dancing In The Dark."

Choral workshops

In 1947, Waring organized the Fred Waring Choral Workshop at his Pennsylvania headquarters in Shawnee-on-the Delaware, which was also the home of Shawnee Press, Inc., the music publisher which he founded. At these sessions, talented musicians learned to sing with precision, sensitivity and enthusiasm. When these vocalists returned home and shared what they had learned with fellow musicians, Waring’s approach to choral singing spread throughout the nation. He taught and supervised these summer workshop for 37 years, continuing right until the day he died.

Television

Waring expanded into television in 1949, with The Fred Waring Show on CBS. The program ran until 1955 and received several awards for Best Musical Program. In the 1960s and 1970s, popular musical tastes turned from choral music, but Waring changed with the times, introducing his Young Pennsylvanians, a group of fresh-faced, long-haired, bell-bottomed performers who sang old favorites and choral arrangements of contemporary songs. In this way he continued as a popular touring attraction, logging some 40,000 miles a year.

Waring Blendor

In the 1930s, inventor Frederick Jacob Osius went to Waring for financial backing for an electric blender he had patented. The Osius patent (#2,109,501) was filed March 13, 1937 and awarded March 1, 1938. Some $25,000 later, the "Miracle Mixer" debuted in 1937 at a Chicago trade show with a retail price of $29.75. The following year, the name was changed to Waring Blendor. The mixers became an essential appliance for every modern kitchen, and the name was eventually changed to Waring Blender. The special Waring Aseptic Dispersal Blendor was used by Jonas Salk while he was developing his polio vaccine.

Throughout his career, Fred Waring received many awards, but none was as illustrious as his last one. In 1983, the 83-year-old Waring — by now considered king of popular choral music — was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest honor for a civilian, by President Ronald Reagan.

Fred Waring died suddenly of stroke on July 29, 1984 at the place where it all began — Penn State University — just after videotaping a concert with his ensemble and completing his annual summer choral workshop. He conducted many such workshops at Penn State in his later years, and in 1984, designated Penn State to house his collection of archives and memorabilia. He also served his alma mater as a trustee and was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the University. Although many believe that Waring Commons at Penn State is named for him, it is actually named for his grandfather, William Waring. In Long Beach, California, there is a Fred Waring Drive named for him.

Comic strip collection

Waring was a cartoon and comic strip collector, and a small meeting room by the West Wing restaurant has dozens of cartoons drawn by artists such as Al Hirschfeld in Waring's honor.

Fred Waring was survived by five adult children; Dixie, Fred Waring Jr., William "Bill", Paul and Malcolm. Son Fred Jr. enjoyed a long and varied musical career as conductor and jazz trombonist. Grandson Jordan Waring is a critically acclaimed orchestral composer.

References

Media

External links

• Primarily A Cappella: Fred Waring

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