Bea Wain

Who is Bea Wain?

Bea Wain is an American Big Band-era singer born in New York City, New York. 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 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 and the V8 on the Fred Waring show. In 1937, Wain joined former Tommy Dorsey arranger Larry Clinton and His Orchestra, which she joined after doing chorus work with Fred Waring and Ted Sttraeter. Her debut with Clinton was made in the summer of 1938 at the Glen Island Casino, New York. 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 Billboard annual college poll, and that same year she began her solo career. Her first theater tour as a solo led to her being signed for the "Hit Parade" and Victor records. She was with the "Hit Parade" two years before taking on the NBC-Blue "Monday Merry-Go-Round" program, where she was the singing star. She had been in radio since the age of 6, where she was a favorite performer on the NBC Children's Hour.