Connie Haines; Independent obit
Hyfler/Rosner
romantic duets with Sinatra despite uneasy relationship
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
In the history of American popular music popular music there
have been few better judges of talent than the trombonist
Tommy Dorsey. At its peak in the early 1940s, his band
featured the musicians Buddy Berigan, Buddy Rich and Joe
Bushkin as well as the vocalists Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford
and Connie Haines.
Unfortunately, the egos were so immense, especially those of
Rich and Sinatra, that backstage arguments were frequent.
Although Haines and Sinatra often sang romantic duets,
Haines would direct her lines to a handsome GI in the
audience, delighting the crowds but aggravating Sinatra. At
one point, Sinatra told the equally bad-tempered Dorsey to
fire her, and Dorsey responded by sacking Sinatra instead.
The little-known Milburn Stone, later Doc Adams in the TV
series Gunsmoke, took his place until Sinatra, totally out
of character, apologised and returned.
Connie Haines was born Yvonne Marie Antoinette JaMais in
1921 in Savannah, Georgia, but was raised in Jacksonville,
Florida after her parents separated. Her mother taught
singing and dancing, and her best pupil was her daughter.
When only five, she was winning talent contests and from the
age of 10 she was regularly on local radio as "Baby Yvonne
Marie, the Little Princess of the Air". Her popularity grew
as she had some national broadcasts with Paul Whiteman and
his Orchestra.
When JaMais was 17, she was demonstrating songs for
songwriters in the Brill Building in New York when she was
heard by Harry James. He invited her to join his orchestra
but thought that she needed a new stage name and created
Connie Haines. Around the same time, he foolishly suggested
to Frank Sinatra that he sounded too Italian and would fare
better as Frankie Satin. James had a visit from Sinatra's
mother who told him, "His name is Sinatra and it is going to
stay Sinatra."
The two singers fared well with James's orchestra but they
both left when he reneged on their wage agreement. Haines
auditioned for Tommy Dorsey, who said, "Where did you learn
to swing like that, and when can you join my band?" She
found Dorsey an invaluable coach who taught her to phrase
correctly and held that singing was "acting to music".
In an early example of audience participation, Dorsey
encouraged listeners to his Fame and Fortune radio programme
to send in their compositions. In 1941, Connie Haines was
featured on "You Might Have Belonged To Another" from Pat
West and Lucille Harman, and "Oh! Look At Me Now",a lyric
from an advertising salesman, John DeVries, with music from
Joe Bushkin. The sprightly song, which featured Haines and
Sinatra, made No 2 on the US charts.
Possibly because Haines and Sinatra had little feeling for
each other, their romantic duets are less slushy than others
of the period. "Let's Get Away From It All" is a masterpiece
of big band arranging with snappy and witty vocals and
asides from both performers which were magnified in concert,
where neither would be sure what the other would say. On one
broadcast Haines sang, "We'll spend a weekend in Dixie, I'll
get a real Southern drawl" and Sinatra responded, "Another
one."
Dorsey attempted to repeat the winning formula with the
inferior "Snootie Little Cutie", the title used for a
biography of Haines by Richard Grudens in 2000. She wrote
her autobiography, For Once In My Life, in 1976. Haines'
solo performances with Dorsey's orchestra include "Kiss The
Boys Goodbye", "What Is This Thing Called Love?", "Birds Of
A Feather" and "You're Dangerous". She appeared in two films
with the orchestra, Las Vegas Nights (1941) and Ship Ahoy
(1942). Haines left in 1942 to become the featured vocalist
on Abbott and Costello's radio series. She sang "Gee, I Love
My GI Joe" with Freddie Rich's band in the wartime film A
Wave, a WAC and a Marine (1944).
Branching out as a solo singer, Haines recorded for many of
the major labels, including Capitol and Mercury - and she
was the first white female singer to record for Tamla
Motown - but she had a steady rather than spectacular
career. She appeared in the films Duchess of Idaho (1950)
and Birth of a Band (1954) and recorded a tribute album to
the singer Helen Morgan in 1957. She also teamed up with
Jane Russell and the British singer Beryl Davis for gospel
recordings.
Haines appeared on many TV variety programmes, including
shows hosted by Frankie Laine and Ed Sullivan. She was
performing regularly until she was 80 and, letting bygones
be bygones, she appeared in an80th birthday tribute for
Frank Sinatra in 1995.
She married Robert DeHaven, a Second World War pilot who had
shot down 14 Japanese planes, but it ended in divorce.
Haines is survived not only by her two children but also by
her mother, Mildred JaMais, who is 109 years old.
Spencer Leigh
Yvonne Marie Antoinette JaMais (Connie Haines), singer: born
Savannah, Georgia 20 January 1921; married Robert DeHaven
(died 2008; one son, one daughter; marriage dissolved); died
Clearwater Beach, Florida 22 September 2008.
Ozgirl
What a pity Connie changed her name, her real name is much better.
Louis Epstein
"Jamais" means "never",doesn't it?
-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.
Ozgirl
Dunno ;) But Yvonne JaMais has a nicer sound to it than Connie Haines.
Hyfler/Rosner
"Ozgirl" <are_we_t...@maccas.com> wrote in message
news:6kobsuF...@mid.individual.net...
>
> Dunno ;) But Yvonne JaMais has a nicer sound to it than
> Connie Haines.
Thank you for the first line of her AO Deadpool update. (A
lovely solo for Garrett.)
David Samuel Barr
> :> 1921 in Savannah, Georgia, but was raised in Jacksonville,
> :> Florida after her parents separated. Her mother taught
> :> singing and dancing, and her best pupil was her daughter.
> :> When only five, she was winning talent contests and from the
> :> age of 10 she was regularly on local radio as "Baby Yvonne
> :> Marie, the Little Princess of the Air". Her popularity grew
> :> as she had some national broadcasts with Paul Whiteman and
> :> his Orchestra.
> :>
> :> When JaMais was 17, she was demonstrating songs for
> :> songwriters in the Brill Building in New York when she was
> :> heard by Harry James. He invited her to join his orchestra
> :> but thought that she needed a new stage name and created
> :> Connie Haines. Around the same time, he foolishly suggested
> :> to Frank Sinatra that he sounded too Italian and would fare
> :> better as Frankie Satin. James had a visit from Sinatra's
> :> mother who told him, "His name is Sinatra and it is going to
> :> stay Sinatra."
> :
> : What a pity Connie changed her name, her real name is much better.
>
> "Jamais" means "never",doesn't it?
Oui.