Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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HAYMES, Dick

(b 13 Sep. '16, Buenos Aires, Argentina; d 30 March '80) Singer, star of '40s movie musicals. Mother was concert singer; family settled in NYC, then West Coast; during '30s Haymes wrote songs, sang on radio, had bit parts in movies. Tried to sell songs to Harry James, who hired him to sing instead: rich, warm baritone with good phrasing made him a rival to Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. He replaced Sinatra in the James and Tommy Dorsey bands; with James '40-- 41, Benny Goodman '42, Dorsey during recording ban '43. No. 1 hit with 'I'll Get By' '44 with James; more than 40 big hits as solo on Decca '43--51 incl. no. ones 'It Can't Be Wrong', 'You'll Never Know'; 'Till The End Of Time', 'Little White Lies', 'Mam'selle', all top five; duets with Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, Judy Garland, Ethel Merman. Radio show Everything For The Boys mid-'40s with Helen Forrest led their to duet hits '44--6. Portrayed songwriter Ernest R. Ball (b 22 July 1878, Cleveland OH; d 3 May '27, Santa Ana CA) in '44 film Irish Eyes Are Smiling; also starred in Four Jills In A Jeep '44, State Fair '45, One Touch Of Venus '48, Cruisin' Down The River '53, several more. Other radio shows incl. Lucky Strike Hit Parade, own nightly series '49--50; later TV work; Capitol LP Moondreams c'55, Then And Now '69 on Mercury made in London. Had financial worries, deportation threats; when a European tour was planned with Billie Holiday '52 he was ordered by the Internal Revenue to stay home; the tour fell through and nobody benefited. Mus. dir. was Bobby Scott early '60s; worked overseas that decade, returned to USA '71 for TV, club work. The young Haymes can be heard with Harry James on Hindsight and Circle; later CDs For You, For Me, For Evermore '76 and Keep It Simple! (both with Loonis McGlohon), Imagination with orchestras of Carmen Dragon, Ray Bloch, Al Lerner, all on Audiophile; also It Had To Be You on Memoir with Forrest.