Fred Allen and The Skylarks Judge For Yourself 1954

The Skylarks were an American jazz and pop music vocal group of the 20th century. The group was formed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, in 1942, by four servicemen serving in the American

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the ter ...

– Bob Sprague (first tenor), Harry Gedicke (second tenor), Harry Shuman (baritone), and arranger and lead singer George Becker. Under the name The Velvetones they toured bases in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

and appeared in a weekly program on

Armed Forces Radio Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

. After the end of the war and their discharge, the group relocated to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

and added a female lead singer, the lively and charismatic Gilda Maiken. The group appeared on national radio, and

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

engaged them to appear with his band. Upon joining Herman they changed their name to the Blue Moods. They recorded "

Stars Fell on Alabama "Stars Fell on Alabama" is a 1934 jazz standard composed by Frank Perkins with lyrics by Mitchell Parish. History The title of the song appears to have been borrowed from the title of the 1934 book of the same name by Carl Carmer. It refers to ...

" and toured with Herman, but Herman's band broke up in 1947, after which they recorded two songs with

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

, who changed their name to The Skylarks. In 1948 they joined and recorded with

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...

's orchestra, but Dorsey's band soon broke up, after which

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

hired them. In 1949 The Skylarks recorded with

Russ Morgan Russell Morgan (April 29, 1904 – August 7, 1969) was an American big band leader and arranger during the 1930s and 1940s. He was best known for being the one of the composers of the song "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", with Larry Stock ...

and had number one hits with "

Cruisin' Down the River ''Cruisin' Down the River'' is a 1953 American Technicolor musical film directed by Richard Quine. It stars Dick Haymes and Audrey Totter. The story is about a New York nightclub singer who inherits an old riverboat on the Chattahoochee River bet ...

" and " Forever and Ever". By this time The Skylarks had added a second female singer and consisted of original member George Becker, early member Gilda Maiken, and Chick Gale, Joe Pryor, and Gladys Vesely. By the 1950s lineup was Becker, Maiken, Joe Hamilton, Earl Brown, and female singer, Jackie Gershwin (later replaced by Carol Lombard; Donna Manners and Peggy Clark also later spent some time in the group). They sang backup for artists including

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

Eddie Fisher Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, ''The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress Eli ...

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; yi, דוד־דניאל קאַמינסקי; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and ...

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

Betty Hutton Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 11, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. Early life and education Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 2 ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

, and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

. On their own they had a number 28 hit in 1953 with " I Had the Craziest Dream" from the film '' Springtime in the Rockies'' (1942) starring

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

. The Skylarks toured with Dinah Shore and

Martin and Lewis Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1945 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin w ...

and appeared on TV variety shows in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s (''

The Danny Kaye Show ''The Danny Kaye Show'' was an American variety show, hosted by the stage and screen star Danny Kaye, which aired on Wednesday nights from September 25, 1963, to June 7, 1967, on the CBS television network. Directed by Robert Scheerer, it premi ...

'', '' The Dinah Shore Show'' (where they were regular performers, 1956–1957), ''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts i ...

'', ''

The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Har ...

'', ''

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' was an American variety show that starred American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was ...

''). Their 1957 album ''Ridin' On The Moon'' was described by musicologist

Todd Decker Todd Decker is an American musicologist. He is the Paul Tietjens Professor of Music at Washington University in St. Louis. Decker edited the journal American Music from 2020 to 2022. Decker was graduated from Fresno Pacific College in 1989, the ...

as "a forgotten masterpiece of jazz arranging and singing"; Decker described "

Ol' Man River "Ol' Man River" is a show tune from the 1927 musical '' Show Boat'' with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song contrasts the struggles and hardships of African Americans with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississi ...

", released from the album as a single, as "a kind of cubist assemblage of familiar elements made delightfully strange... Kern's angular bridge gets some spectacular chromatic remaking". The Skylarks farewell concert was in 1979, at the

Hollywood Palladium The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 ...

Discography

Album *''Ridin' On The Moon'' (1957, Verve MG V 2077)

References

External links

* * *
The Skylarks
at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skylarks (American band), The Musical groups from Detroit Musical groups established in 1942 American vocal groups Traditional pop music singers Vocal jazz ensembles American jazz ensembles Verve Records artists Jazz musicians from Michigan 1942 establishments in the Panama Canal Zone