Edythe Wright (August 16, 1916 – October 27, 1965) was an American singer who performed from 1935 to 1939 with the band led by

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

Early life

Wright grew up in

Highland Park, New Jersey Highland Park is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States in the New York City metropolitan area. The borough is located on the northern banks of the Raritan River, in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States Cens ...

Early career

Wright debuted on radio in March 1935, singing with Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Trio. That performance led to her becoming the singer in the Sunset Room of the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, New Jersey. By the end of that month, she was also singing "7 to 10 presentations a week" on WOR radio. She sang with Frank Crum's orchestra in the Sunset Room and later performed with Lennie Hayton's orchestra. In May 1935, while singing with Crum's orchestra, she made six recordings for

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

. Wright's early exposure on network radio came via appearances with the orchestras of Frank Dailey and

Joe Haymes Joseph Lawrence Haymes (February 10, 1907 – July 10, 1964) was an American jazz bandleader and arranger. Life and career Born in Marshfield, Missouri, United States, Haymes relocated with his family to Springfield, Missouri, after his railroad ...

. She won the job with Dailey out of 500 women who auditioned, enabling her to be heard six nights a week on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. Her network debut came on August 31, 1935, when she sang with Dailey's orchestra from the Meadowbrook Ballroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.

Big Band era

Wright became the first female singer with Dorsey's band after he left the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra to start his own group. Her career spanned from September 1935 through August 1939. Wright's acquaintance with an executive at

Brown & Williamson Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation was a U.S. tobacco company and a subsidiary of multinational British American Tobacco that produced several popular cigarette brands. It became infamous as the focus of investigations for chemically enhanc ...

tobacco company helped to secure a radio program for the Dorsey band. She was a fixture on radio (''

Jack Pearl Jack Pearl (born Jack Perlman; October 29, 1894 – December 25, 1982) was a vaudeville performer and a star of early radio. He was best known for his character Baron Munchausen. Vaudeville and early films Born in New York, Pearl debuted as a ...

Show'').

Post-Dorsey era

After Wright left Dorsey's group, she had a solo singing act. In September 1940, she was joined by

Ruth Lowe Ruth Lowe (August 12, 1914 – January 4, 1981) was a Canadian pianist and songwriter. She composed the first '' Billboard'' top 80 song "I'll Never Smile Again". Early life Born in Toronto but raised in Glendale, California, Lowe returned to ...

, forming a new act that debuted in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1943, she starred on ''Victory Caravan'', a variety show on radio station WIP in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Personal life

She married John T. Smith. They had a son, Patrick.

Death

Wright died at the Point Pleasant Hospital on October 27, 1965.

References

*U.S. Census 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 *Rose Shiffman, "The Edythe Wright Story" ''AfterBeat'' Summer 1972 *Peter Levinson, ''Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way''

External links

Edythe Wright recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Edythe 1916 births 1965 deaths New Brunswick High School alumni People from Highland Park, New Jersey People from Wall Township, New Jersey Musicians from New Brunswick, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni American women jazz singers American jazz singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers New Jersey Democrats American Roman Catholics