Imogene Lynn (1922 – 2003) was a 20th-century American jazz and pop singer.

Biography

Lynn was born September 9, 1922, in

Trenton, Missouri Trenton is a city in Grundy County, Missouri, Grundy County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,609 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Grundy County. The city used to be the world's largest producer ...

. She began singing professionally in 1940, singing with Emerson Gill and other bands on a national tour circuit of ballrooms and luxury hotel floorshows. In early 1942 she joined

Art Jarrett Arthur L. Jarrett Jr. (July 20, 1907 – July 23, 1987) was an American singer, bandleader and actor during the 1930s and 1940s. He was the son of stage actor and playwright Arthur L. Jarrett Sr. (1884–1960). Early career Near the end of th ...

's band, then later that year moved to

Ray McKinley Ray McKinley (June 18, 1910 – May 7, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader. He played drums and later led the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra in Europe. He also led the new Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956. ...

's band and recorded "Big Boy" and " Who Wouldn't Love You?". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' reviewed a 1942 appearance at the Commodore Hotel in New York with McKinley's band with "Imogene Lynn is the fem attribute and she graces the vocal department with a good pair of low-pitched pipes and a chic appearance." In 1944 Lynn joined

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

's band, with whom she toured and recorded " Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" and "

Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, is one of the most famous songs from their classic 1927 musical play ''Show Boat'', adapted from Edna Ferber's 1926 novel. Its musical composition entered ...

". After two years with Shaw, Lynn briefly became female lead vocalist for the

Merry Macs The Merry Macs were an American and British close-harmony pop music quartet who were active from the 1920s until 2000. They were best known for the hits " Mairzy Doats", " Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" and " Sentimental Journey". The g ...

vocal group. She left the Merry Macs to join the Smart Set vocal group in 1947, then in 1949 she became lead singer for the Starlighters ( Pauline Byrns had retired in 1947). As a Starlighter she sang backing vocals for

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classical tr ...

, and other stars. From 1947 to 1967 Lynn dubbed vocals for movies. She dubbed Mona Freeman's singing voice in ''

Mother Wore Tights ''Mother Wore Tights'' is a 1947 American Technicolor musical film starring Betty Grable and Dan Dailey as married vaudeville performers, directed by Walter Lang. This was Grable and Dailey's first film together, based on a book of the same n ...

'' and ''

Isn't It Romantic? "Isn't It Romantic?" is a popular music, popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It has a 32-bar chorus in A–B–A–C form. Alec Wilder, in his book ''America ...

'',

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

in '' Mother Is a Freshman'',

Leslie Parrish Leslie Parrish (born Marjorie Hellen; March 13, 1935) is an American actress, activist, environmentalist, writer, and producer. She worked under her birth name for six years before changing it in 1959. Early life As a child, Parrish lived in Mas ...

in ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' was a satirical American comic strip that appeared in multiple newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies living in the impoverished fictional mountain village of Dogpatch, ...

'', and

Vera Miles Vera June Miles (née Ralston; born August 23, 1930) is an American retired actress. She is known for appearing in John Ford's Western films ''The Searchers'' (1956) and '' The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'' (1962), and for playing Lila Crane ...

in ''

Beau James ''Beau James'' is a 1957 American drama film directed by Melville Shavelson and starring Bob Hope, Vera Miles, Paul Douglas (actor), Paul Douglas and Alexis Smith. It is based on a non-fiction book of the same name by Gene Fowler. The film featu ...

''. She provided the singing voice for the title character in the

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (; February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of America ...

cartoon ''

Red Hot Riding Hood ''Red Hot Riding Hood'' is an animated cartoon short subject, directed by Tex Avery and released with the movie '' Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case'' on May 8, 1943, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1994, it was voted number 7 of The 50 Greatest Cartoon ...

'' and sang in other cartoons, and also appeared singing and dancing on screen in '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes''. Lynn was married to musician Mahlon Clark. She died February 24, 2003, in

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the popul ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynn, Imogene 1922 births 2003 deaths People from Trenton, Missouri American women pop singers American women jazz singers American jazz singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers Jazz musicians from Missouri 21st-century American women