Katherine Joan Greer "New Jersey, Reclaim the Records, Geographic Birth Index, 1901-1929", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6N35-48NY : Mon Mar 11 00:28:14 UTC 2024), Entry for Katherine Greer, 3 Apr 1927. (April 3, 1927 – May 24, 2001), known professionally as Jo Ann Greer, was an American

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

and

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, known both for her long tenure as featured vocalist with

Les Brown and His Band of Renown Lester Raymond Brown (March 14, 1912 – January 4, 2001) was an American jazz musician who for over six decades (1938-2000) led his big band, later called Les Brown and His Band of Renown. Biography Brown was born in Reinerton-Orwin-Muir, Pen ...

and as

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer, and Pin-up model, pin-up girl. She achieved fame in the 1940s as one of the top stars of the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of ...

's most frequent onscreen singing voice. Others who borrowed her vocal stylings include

Kim Novak Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired actress and painter. Her contributions to cinema have been honored with two Golden Globe Awards, an Honorary Golden Bear, a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and a s ...

, Gloria Grahame,

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

, June Allyson and Claire Trevor.

Early life and career

Born on April 3, 1927, in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Greer was the daughter of William J. Greer and Florence M. Obenour. Following her graduation from John Marshall High School, Greer first worked as a secretary, then took a job as a

chambermaid A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids a ...

in Laguna so that she could spend her off-hours at the beach. Jo Ann Greer initially became known to Hollywood casting people from an early marriage to pianist Freddie Slack in the 1940s and later through her long employment with Les Brown and his Band of Renonging Down the Avenuewn. Following some early appearances with

Sonny Burke Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer. Early life and career Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Francis P. Burke and Rhoda Nihany, Burke grew up in D ...

and his orchestra, Greer recorded for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

and joined

Ray Anthony Ray Anthony (born Raymond Antonini; January 20, 1922) is an American retired bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor. He is the last living member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Biography Anthony was born to an Italian family in Bentleyv ...

's band, with whom she scored her two biggest hits, "Wild Horses" (No. 28 in ''

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 ...

'') and " The Hokey Pokey" in 1953.Eichler, Alan (2012)
"Jo Ann Greer"
''Hollywood's Secret Singing Star''. Jasmine Records (JASCD 228). p. 3. Retrieved March 31, 2025. "Jo Ann teamed with Ray Anthony in 1953, resulting in the chart hit 'Wild Horses' (No. 2 in Billboard), backed by a cover of the same label's country hit 'You're a Heartbreaker.' This was followed by her most famous recording—'The Hokey Pokey'—initially released as the 'B' side of Anthony's 'The Bunny Hop,' but destined to take its place as a perennial party favorite ..Jo Ann then joined forces with Les Brown and his Band of Renown, which she found to be a much more comfortable fit." She was unhappy here, and, in July 1953, she replaced Lucy Ann Polk as vocalist with Les Brown's band. They made numerous singles for

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head ...

and later

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

and toured internationally for nearly 40 years, well into the early 1990s. She won the 1956 ''

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' Readers Poll for "best girl band vocalist." Greer became increasingly associated with her distinctive version of Brown's hit song " Sentimental Journey", which he had originally recorded with

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

. Greer's other career was as a ghost singer for famous movie stars. In 1952,

had returned to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

following the break-up of her marriage to

Prince Aly Khan Prince Aly Salomone Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was an Ismaili sayyid, socialite and ambassador for Pakistan. He was the son of the Aga Khan III, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jocke ...

and began work on her comeback film, ''

Affair in Trinidad ''Affair in Trinidad'' is a 1952 American film noir directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. It was produced by Hayworth's Beckworth Corporation and released by Columbia Pictures. It is notable as Hayworth's "comeba ...

''. After several failed attempts to let Hayworth try to do her own singing, musical director Morris Stoloff brought in Greer, who was deemed a good vocal match and even had a slight lisp similar to Hayworth's. Greer's vocals on "Trinidad Lady" and "I've Been Kissed Before" helped the movie become a success, out-grossing '' Gilda'' by more than a million dollars. Greer was in demand as a dubber; especially at

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

, and went on to do the vocal tracks for such stars as Gloria Grahame (in ''

Naked Alibi ''Naked Alibi'' is a 1954 American film noir crime film directed by Jerry Hopper and starring Sterling Hayden, Gloria Grahame and Gene Barry. It was released on October 1, 1954 by Universal Pictures, Universal-International. Portions of the film ...

'',

Universal-International Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American film production and distribution company headquartered at the Universal Studios complex in Universal City, ...

(in '' 5 Against the House''), May Wynn (in ''

The Caine Mutiny ''The Caine Mutiny'' is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard two destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among its themes, it deals with the mo ...

''),

(in ''

Jupiter's Darling ''Jupiter's Darling'' is a 1955 American Eastman Color musical romance film released by MGM and directed by George Sidney filmed in CinemaScope. It starred Esther Williams as the Roman (by way of Greece) woman Amytis, Howard Keel as Hannibal, t ...

'',

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

''),'' June Allyson (in '' The Opposite Sex'',

), and Susan Kohner (in '' Imitation of Life'',

). Other dubbing work at Columbia included the Dan Dailey-starrer '' Meet Me at the Fair'' (for

Carole Mathews Carole Mathews (born Jean Deifel, also credited as Jeanne Francis; September 13, 1920 – November 6, 2014) was an American film and television actress. Early years Born in Montgomery, Illinois, near Chicago, Mathews lived with her grandmoth ...

) and

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

's '' Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder'' (for Charlotte Austin, daughter of entertainer/songwriter

Gene Austin Lemeul Eugene Lucas (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972), better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the early " crooners". His recording of " My Blue Heaven" sold over 5 million copies and was for ...

). Greer also sang for Hayworth in two more of her biggest successes, '' Miss Sadie Thompson'' and '' Pal Joey''. When the latter two soundtrack albums were released by

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 ...

and

respectively, however, Greer's name was not even listed, in order to preserve the illusion that it was Hayworth who sang. Greer and Hayworth enjoyed a good working relationship on all three of the films they did together. Hayworth would attend Greer's recording sessions and dance barefoot for her in front of the microphone so that Greer could follow her breathing and movements as she sang. Stoloff also utilized Greer's talents for two projects on the newly formed

Colpix Records Colpix Records was the first recording company for Columbia Pictures–Screen Gems. Colpix got its name from combining Columbia (Col) and Pictures (Pix). CBS, which owned Columbia Records, then sued Columbia Pictures for trademark infringement o ...

label, having her record " My Funny Valentine" (he supposedly had never liked the version done by another singer for Kim Novak in '' Pal Joey''), and Hayworth's signature song " Put the Blame on Mame" for the album ''Voices, Soundtracks and Themes From Great Movies'' (Greer's name was once more left off both the label and the jacket). The second Colpix album was more ambitious, an original

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

-style musical entitled '' The Naked City'', named to tie in with the popular film and TV series, with music by George Duning, text and lyrics by

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Be ...

and narration by veteran actor John McIntire. The singing was done by Greer, James Darren, and the Jud Conlon Singers. This time their names were listed in tiny print on the record label, but left off of the LP cover. It was released in stereo as Colpix SCP 505. Greer never got to record a vocal album of her own, but some of her many singles have been reissued on CD, most of her films are available on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and many CD collections have been released of her broadcasts and live performances with the bands of Anthony, Burke and Brown, including shows from the

Hollywood Palladium The Hollywood Palladium is a theater (building), theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and ...

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

's Elitch Gardens and the 1983 Aurex Jazz Festival in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan. She also made one on-screen appearance as herself in the 1957 Universal-International musical short ''Dance Demons'', in which she sings " Moonlight in Vermont" with the Les Brown band. In 1991, while still performing occasionally with the Brown band (now mostly led by Les, Jr.), she was part of a successful cabaret show called ''Voices'', which also featured two other prominent ghost singers, Annette Warren and

India Adams India Adams (March 5, 1927 – April 25, 2020) was an American singer, known as the playback singer who dubbed the singing voices of Cyd Charisse and Joan Crawford during the mid-1950s. Career She dubbed the singing voices for Charisse in ''T ...

. They were invited to perform at one of that year's

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

events by the Motion Picture Academy. A CD compilation of her work was produced by her last manager Alan Eichler and released in 2012 by Jasmine Records.

Personal life

On April 12, 1950, Greer married her employer, bandleader/

boogie woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, but already developed in African-American communities since the 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually ex ...

pianist Freddie Slack. On July 24 of the following year, she succeeded in obtaining a divorce, on the grounds that Slack had become abusive just days after the wedding, routinely swearing at—and/or demeaning—her on the bandstand, within easy earshot of the audience. "He was jealous, and I was afraid to talk to anyone," she continued, adding, "I think he's a genius, but one cannot cope with his eccentricities." In an interview conducted nine months after her divorce, when asked whether romance was in the offing with any of her male bandmates, Greer replied, "Gosh, no! I'm interested only in my work. Like my boss, Al Pearce, they're wonderful fellows to work with, but I'm strictly a career girl. Definitely!" The interviewer pressed further, noting that "some man or men ought to be interested in ''you''."

I’ll say I have some men interested in me. Six, in fact. Six well-known songwriters: Don Raye, Gene de Paul, Harold Spina, Bob Russell, Ben Oakland and Paul F. Webster have ‘adopted’ me as my godfathers. They coach me, build me up in the music business, advise me, write special material and have made possible many of my band jobs, recordings, and radio appearances. As far as other men go, I have become an expert at spear-fishing. I can handle a spear on any kind of fish, whether it’s a poor old mackerel or an octopus with lots of arms.

On October 3, 1954, Greer entered into her second marriage, with trumpeter and Les Brown bandmate Stan Stout. It ended on May 25, 1956, when Greer waived alimony while obtaining an uncontested divorce. The thrust of her argument was quoted by the Associated Press.

He felt that a woman should be under the subjugation of her husband. I just couldn't reason with him or talk over anything with him.Associated Press (May 26, 1956.)
"Singer Jo Ann Greer Divorces Stanley Trout"
''The Boston Globe''. p. 24. Retrieved March 31, 2025. "LOS ANGELES, May 25 (AP) "Singer Jo Ann Greer got a divorce today when she testified her husband was opposed to equal rights for women. Stanley B. Stout, auto company employee, did not contest the superior court action. 'He felt that a woman should be under the subjugation of her husband. I just couldn't reason with him or talk over anything with him,' she said. The singer, who was formerly married to boogie woogie pianist Freddie Slack, waived alimony. She and Stout were married on Oct. 3, 1954."

June 10, 1957, marked the beginning of Greer's third and final marriage, to yet another Brown bandmate/trumpeter, Clinton Owen "Mickey" McMahan. MacMahan later became a regular on the '' Lawrence Welk Show'', where Greer herself would make several guest appearances over the next decade, concluding with the show's 1967

season premiere A season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a returning television show. In the United States, many season premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or late winter. In countries su ...

. The marriage itself concluded via divorce in March 1973, albeit not before producing three offspring, a daughter, Jayme, and two sons, Bryan and Patrick. Greer died in 2001, following a long bout with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

Filmography

Films

*'' Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder'' (1952) – Cathy Blake ( Charlotte Austin's singing voice)"Jo Ann Greer Filmography: Stand Ins"
AFI Catalog. Retrieved March 28, 2025. *''

'' (1952) – Chris Emery (

's singing voice) *'' Meet Me at the Fair'' (1953) – Clara Brink (

' singing voice) *'' City Beneath the Sea'' (1953) – Venita aka Mary Lou Beetle ( Suzan Ball's singing voice) *'' Miss Sadie Thompson'' (1953) – Sadie Thompson (Rita Hayworth's singing voice) *''

'' (1954) – May Wynn ( May Wynn's singing voice) *''

'' (1954) – Marianna ( Gloria Grahame's singing voice) *''

'' (1954) - Amytus (

' singing voice) *'' 5 Against the House'' (1955) – Kay Greylek (

's singing voice) *'' The Opposite Sex'' (1956) – Kay Hilliard ( June Allyson's singing voice on "A Perfect Love") *'' Pal Joey'' (1957) – Vera Prentice-Simpson (Rita Hayworth's singing voice) *'' Imitation of Life'' (1959) – Sara Jane Johnson, age 18 ( Susan Kohner's singing voice)

Television

*'' The Al Pearce Show (morning version)'' (1952) – Self"Television and Radio"
''The Rock Island Argus''. March 26, 1952. p. 26. Retrieved March 28, 2025. "Al Pearce, tomorrow morning on WHBF-TV, will introduce Russ Clark, with a puppet that cries; Mack Brothers, knockabout comedy; Phil Rich, creakin' comic; Arlene Harris, Jo Ann Greer, Art Morton, Walter Gross and Jay Stewart. Fan mail is keeping singers Jo Ann Greer and Art Morton as regulars on the show." *'' Route 66'' ** Ep 1.14 "Play It Glissando" (1961) – Kitty Parker ( Barbara Bostock's singing voice) ** Eps 1.16 and 1.17 "Fly Away Home: Parts I and II (1961) – Christina ( Dorothy Malone's singing voice) *'' The Investigators'' ** "A New Sound for the Blues" (1961) – Kitty Harper ( Claire Trevor's singing voice) *''

The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 t ...

'' **Three episodes (1967) – Self"Saturday, September 16, 1967"
''TV Guide''. September 16, 1967. p. A-20. Retrieved March 31, 2025. "Welk bubbles into his 13th season with melodies from musicals. Guests: singer Jo Ann Greer (‘A Wonderful Guy’) and the Lively Set (‘Cabaret’)."

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greer, Jo Ann American jazz singers Big band singers Colpix Records artists 1927 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers