Dubbed by some as “America’s Singing Master” and by others as “The Man Who Taught America to Sing”, Fred Waring was a popular musician, bandleader, and radio/television personality. Together with his group, Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians created much memorable and much-loved music including several albums of Christmas music.
Frederick Malcolm Waring was born June 9, 1900 in Tyrone Pennsylvania. With his brother Tom and their friend, Poley McClintock, Waring formed the Waring-McClintock Snap Orchestra. Growing in local popularity, the group later became Fred Waring’s Banjo Orchestra.
Upon entering Penn State University to study architectural engineering, Waring auditioned for the university’s glee club only to be rejected due to, among other things, conflicts with the glee club’s director, Dr. Clarence Robinson. Despite this, Fred Waring’s Banjo Orchestra often performed at fraternity parties as well as dances and proms. The group eventually garnered so much success, that Waring opted to abandon his architectural engineering studies to pursue music and tour with the band. This band would later undergo another name change to be known as Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians in 1922.
In 1925, Waring’s Pennsylvanians enjoyed their first major commercial success with the hit tune “Collegiate.” The song has been described as a “wonderful little time capsule of college life in the 1920s” and remains one of their best-known songs. By the end of the 1920s, Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians were on of the most popular musical acts in the country, and, in 1929, starred in an early “talkie” film called “Syncopation.”
Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians were one of radio’s hottest acts during the 1930’s and hosted several radio shows. It was in a sponsorship agreement for one of the radio shows that Waring marketed for General Electric the Waring Blender, a kitchen appliance.
In 1932, the group decided to stop making records because they believed the records competed against their radio shows. They would not begin recording again until 1942. In 1949, the Pennsylvanians transitioned from radio to television starring in their own weekly television show sponsored by General Electric.
As with most successful music acts, the music of Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians evolved and changed thru the years. They are perhaps best known today as a choral group that remained active and popular until Waring’s death in 1984.
It is the choral group who created several much loved Christmas albums. We focus here on three of them; “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” “Christmas Time with Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians,” and “Sounds of Christmas.”
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“Twas the Night Before Christmas”
First released by Decca Records in 1955. Release #DL8171. Monoaural Format.
Re-released by Decca in the 1960’s. Release #DL78171. Stereo Format Song Listing: |
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| Christmas Time with Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians
“Christmas Time with Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians” Song Listing:  Sounds of Christmas. Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians “Sounds of Christmas” Song Listing: |
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