Dolly Dawn (born Theresa Anna Maria Stabile; February 3, 1916 – December 11, 2002) was an American

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

singer. She was vocalist with George Hall's Hotel Taft Orchestra in the 1930s, and later had a solo career.

Biography

Dawn was born Theresa Anna Maria Stabile in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

on February 3 1916, and grew up in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

. Her parents were Italian immigrants; the jazz saxophonist Dick Stabile was a cousin. Dawn initially used

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Billie Starr, and appeared weekly on a local radio show. In 1935 she replaced Loretta Lee as vocalist with George Hall's orchestra; she was given the name Dolly Dawn by Harriet Mencken, a writer for the ''

New York Journal-American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 ...

''. She and the band broadcast six days a week from the Grill Room of the Taft Hotel in New York via CBS Radio, and became very popular. Her most successful song with the band was "You're a Sweetheart", released in 1938. On July 4, 1941, at the

Roseland Ballroom The Roseland Ballroom was a multipurpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's Theater District, New York, theater district, on 52nd Street (Manhattan), West 52nd Street in Manhattan ...

in New York, George Hall officially turned the band over to her, and became her manager; the band was renamed "Dolly Dawn and Her Dawn Patrol". From 1942 she continued without the band, whose members were drafted during the Second World War. She appeared in clubs and dance halls and in other engagements throughout the US, and continued to record into the 1950s. A two LP compilation of Dolly Dawn's recordings with George Hall was issued by RCA Records in 1976, which led to appearances at jazz clubs and cabarets in New York. She recorded two new albums: ''Smooth as Silk'', and in 1981 ''Memories of You''.

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

said that Dawn was an influence on her own singing. On February 4, 1998, Dolly Dawn was inducted into the Big Band Hall of Fame in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

. She did not marry; she said her music was her husband and children. She died on December 11 2002, aged 86, from kidney failure at the

Lillian Booth Actors Home The Lillian Booth Actors Home of The Actors Fund is an American assisted living, assisted-living facility, in Englewood, New Jersey, Englewood, New Jersey. It is operated by the Actors Fund, a nonprofit umbrella charitable organization that assi ...

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

References

External links

*
Dolly Dawn (vocalist)
at Discography of American Historical Recordings * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawn, Dolly 1916 births 2002 deaths American people of Italian descent Singers from Newark, New Jersey Big band singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers