Imogene Lynn

Vocalist Imogene Lynn began her career singing in society orchestras, including that of Emerson Gill. In 1942 she joined Ray McKinley's new band, where she became a featured singer, recording such tunes as ''Big Boy'' and ''Who Wouldn't Love You.'' She was married to McKinley's clarinetist Mahlon Clark, later staff musician with the Paramount Studio Orchestra and the Lawrence Welk Show. In 1944 Lynn went to work for Artie Shaw, providing vocals on several songs, most notably 'Ac-cent- tchu-ate the Positive.'' She remained with Shaw for two years. Lynn later joined the three MacMichael brothers as part of the vocal quartet the Merry Macs, and in 1949 she became a member of the Starlighters vocal group. From the mid-forties on though, her main career was as an anonymous studio singer and as a dubber of non-singing actresses. She sang for Mona Freeman in Mother Wore Tights, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis film Jumping jacks and Isn't It Romantic?, for Loretta Young in Mother Was a Freshman and, yes, she dubbed Leslie Parrish when she played Daisy Mae in Li'l Abner. She also provided voice for the title character in the famed Tex Avery cartoon Red Hot Riding Hood in 1943. She later appeared regularly on television's Tennessee Ernie Ford Show. During her career Lynn worked as a back-up vocalist for such artists as Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Jo Stafford. Imogene Lynn passed away from respiratory and renal cancer in 2003.

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