Eugenie Baird: Overlooked Vocalist

It's a strange admission, but I came to jazz through the big bands of the 1930s and '40. And I'm glad this was the case. Through these bands, my ear became atuned to syncopation and swing, and I developed a deep appreciation for large ensembles playing for dancers, easing worriers and encouraging dreamers. I also became familiar with dozens of songs that modern jazz artists reconfigured. The bands are still great training for post-war jazz.

The big bands emerged in the early 1930s and helped the country get through the stark poverty of the Depression. By the late 1930s, the bands created music that kept people dancing and eased the creeping stress of war. By the early 1940s, the bands helped get the country through the war by raising spirits and feeding into the yearning of love interrupted. And in 1945 and '46, the bands romanticized the war's end and the bright future ahead.

During the early 1940s, female and male vocalists were largely eye candy, appearing on stage as suave, seductive sirens. Their vocals were often minimal—the cream in the middle of songs, with bands' instrumentals serving as the cookies on either side. After the war, with the rise of suburbia and introduction of the 33 1/3 LP, roles reversed as singers began to dominate and instrumentals became the mood-setting backdrop.

Many band singers during the war fell flat during this transition. Those who made the transition and triumphed included Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Jo Stafford, among others. One terrific big-band vocalist with a sterling sound who's barely known today was Eugenie Baird.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1923, Baird began singing in elementary school. Her voice was so pure and effortless that she had her own weekly radio show while still in high school. Bing Crosby heard her, and she became his singing partner on NBC for a year. She then moved to Los Angeles to host her own network radio show after the war.  

As far as big bands go, she started with Maurice Spitalny and Benny Burton and sang with Jan Savitt before joining Tony Pastor in 1942 and '43. In 1943, Baird became the “girl singer" in Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra, a vastly underrated big band today.  

In the 1950s, I'm not sure why she fell off the recording grid. She probably would have been ideal for Capitol, but since the label had Jo Stafford and others, perhaps executives passed. She also felt more comfortable in New York, closer to her home town. As a result, she did well recording radio jingles. She also may have preferred to raise a family after years of touring and singing. Or it could have been her tremolo, which grew more pronounced over time.

Eugenie Baird died in 1988 at age 64.

To illustrate Baird's beautiful voice, I've lined up 18 clips to give you a taste of her superb voice and charm. Note that her voice from 1942 to 1944 sang songs that provided a warmth geared to ease the stress of bad news during the war. From 1945 to '46, the songs she sang conveyed America's new dawn:

Here's Eugenie Baird with Tony Pastor in early 1942. Like Gray, Pastor also had a solid band in the early 1940s...



Here's Baird in 1943 or '44 with Glen Gray and the Case Loma Orchestra...



Here's My Heart Tells Me with the Casa Loma Orchestra...



Here's My Shining Hour with the Casa Loma Orchestra...



Here's A Sure Thing in 1944, with the Casa Loma Orchestra...



Here's It Could Happen to You in 1944, backed by John Scott Trotter, who worked extensively with Bing Crosby...



Here's Dream, with Trotter in 1945...



Here's All of My Life in 1945, backed by Trotter...



Here's Dream in 1945, with Trotter...



Here's Baird with Mel Torme's Mel-Tones in 1945...



Here's Where or When in 1946, with Paul Whiteman...



Here's Night and Day in 1946, with Whiteman...



Here's It's Anybody's Spring in 1946, backed by Earl Sheldon,



Here's I Get a Kick Out of You in 1946, backed by Glenn Osser, who became a prominent TV orchestra arranger and conductor...



Here's Too Marvelous for Words in 1946, backed by Whiteman...



Here's Baird with Guy Lombardo on TV in 1955...



Here's I'm Beginning to See the Light, from Eugenie Baird Acc. By Duke's Boys, in 1958, with Taft Jordan (tp), Tyree Glenn (tb,vib), Ben Webster (ts), Dave Rivera (p), Wendell Marshall (b), Joe Marshall (d) and Mercer Ellington (arr,cond)...



And here's Today I Love Everybody in 1965, backed by Joel Herron...