Edward Evan Duncan Howard (September 12, 1914 – May 23, 1963) was an American vocalist and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

who was popular during the 1940s and 1950s.

Early years

Eddy Howard was born in

Woodland, California Woodland is a city in and the county seat of Yolo County, California, United States. Located approximately northwest of Sacramento, it is a part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population continues to grow every year, with a growth ra ...

, and after attending San Jose State College from 1931 to 1933, studied medicine at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

before dropping out to become a singer of romantic

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

on Los Angeles radio. Later he sang with bands led by

Ben Bernie Benjamin Anzelevitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 20, 1943),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P ...

and Dick Jurgens. His hits with Jurgens included "My Last Goodbye" and "Careless", which became his theme.

Career

Howard was a singer on a radio programme on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

in 1938. In 1939, Howard started his own band, and he was the regular vocalist on ''It Can Be Done'', Edgar A. Guest's 1941 radio programme on the Blue Network, from Wednesday to Friday. The first No. 1 single for Howard and his Orchestra, " To Each His Own", spent five non-consecutive weeks at the top of the U.S. pop chart in 1946. The song was a tie-in with the 1946 Paramount film, '' To Each His Own'', which brought

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...

and screenwriter

Charles Brackett Charles William Brackett (November 26, 1892 – March 9, 1969) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He collaborated with Billy Wilder on sixteen films. Life and career Brackett was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, the son of ...

. The recording by Howard was released by Majestic Records as catalog number 7188 and 1070. It first reached the ''

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 ...

'' chart on July 11, 1946 and spent a total of 19 weeks on the chart. The recording sold over two million copies by 1957, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. Howard's orchestra was heard on ''The Gay Mrs. Featherstone'' on NBC (April 18 - October 10, 1945)Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 127-128. and on NBC's ''The Sheaffer Parade'', sponsored by Sheaffer Pens (September 14, 1947 - September 5, 1948). In 1949, Howard signed to

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. His popularity continued into the 1950s with tracks such as "Maybe It's Because", and " (It's No) Sin", which became Howard's second No. 1 tune, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. It was also a million selling hit for

The Four Aces The Four Aces are an American male traditional pop quartet popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling songs include " Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", " Three Coins in the Foun ...

. Howard's last hit was "The Teen-Ager's Waltz", which peaked at No. 90 on the ''

'' Top 100 chart in 1955. In 1952–1953 he was heard on CBS on Thursday nights at 10:45pm, with further broadcasts on Tuesdays at 10pm in 1955–1956. The rise of

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

led to a decline in Howard's popularity. In a change of roles, Howard was the host on ''Just for You'', an hour-long variety program on NBC in 1954. The staff orchestra of WMAQ provided the music. Howard's star rose again during the 1960s, as part of the revival of interest in

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 ...

music and

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

that was collectively called "Nostalgia" in popular culture. Howard went into semi-retirement and his some-time saxophonist, vocalist-bandleader Norman Lee, procured the rights to use the Eddy Howard Orchestra name and the band's arrangements. Lee and the Orchestra became a dance-band staple throughout the U.S. Midwest. Based out of Wichita, Kansas, they toured extensively and recorded on their own label, Marian Records. By the late 1960s, Lee dropped the Eddy Howard name and led the orchestra under his own moniker, though several Howard standards remained featured in their repertoire. The organization dissolved in the wake of the murder of Lee and his wife by one of the band's former trumpet players on December 6, 1978.

Recognition

Howard has a star in the Recording section of the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 6724 Hollywood Boulevard. It was dedicated. February 8, 1960.

Death

Howard died in his sleep of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

in May 1963, in Palm Desert, California, aged 48. He was buried at

Desert Memorial Park Desert Memorial Park is a cemetery in Cathedral City, California, United States, near Palm Springs, California, Palm Springs. Opening in 1956 and receiving its first interment in 1957,The Palm Springs Cemetery District itself was covers 504 square ...

in Cathedral City, California.

Discography

Singles

References

Bibliography

* ''Who's Who in America'', Volume 26. Chicago: A.N. Marquis Company, 1950. ASIN B000GDEIKE

External links

"The Song Remains: Eddy Howard"

Eddy Howard Radio at Last.fm

Eddy Howard singing "To Each His Own"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Eddy 1914 births 1963 deaths Burials at Desert Memorial Park Big band singers People from Palm Desert, California People from Woodland, California Singers from California 20th-century American singers Majestic Records artists 20th-century American male singers American male jazz musicians San Jose State University alumni