Career
She had a number of Number. 1 hits with Larry Clinton and his Orchestra. On a 1937 recording with Artie Shaw, she was credited as Beatrice Wayne, which led some to assume that was her real name.
On record labels, her name was shortened (without her permission) to "Bea" by the record company, ostensibly for space considerations.
As she explained, "They cut it to "Bea" Wain. They cut the "Beatrice" out to "Bea." I was just a little old girl singer, but that"s the truth.
So that"s how my name became "Bea Wain"." She led the vocal group Bea and the Bachelors (with First Rate (at Lloyd's) Rinker, Ken Lane, and John Smedberg) and the V8 (seven boys and a girl) on the Fred Waring show. In 1937, Wain joined former Tommy Dorsey arranger Larry Clinton and His Orchestra, which she joined after doing chorus work with Fred Waring and Ted Sttraeter.
Her debut with Clinton was made in the summer of 1938 at the Glen Island Casino, New New York
She was featured with Clinton on a number of hit tunes, including "Martha" and "Heart and Soul". In 1939, she was voted the most popular female band vocalist in Billboard annual college poll, and that same year she began her solo career. Her first theater tour as a solo led to her being signed for the Your Hit Parade and Radio Corporation of America Victor records.
Radio Wain made her debut on radio at age six as a "featured performer" on the National Broadcasting Company Children"s Hour.
In 1973, the couple moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where for nine years they had a top-rated daily four-hour talk show from 2 pm - 6 pm on WPBR before relocating to Beverly Hills. During the early 1980s, the pair hosted a syndicated version of Your Hit Parade, reconstructing the list of hits of selected weeks in the 1940s and playing the original recordings.
In a 2004 interview with Christopher Popa, Wain reflected: "Actually, I"ve had a wonderful life, a wonderful career. And I"m still singing, and I"m still singing pretty good.
This past December, I did a series of shows in Palm Springs, California, and the review said, "Bea Wain is still a giant." lieutenant"s something called Musical Chairs.
I did six shows in six different venues, and I was a smash. And I really got a kick out of lieutenant" Amanda Wilde"s 2007 interview with Bea Wain Sara Fishko"s 2007 interview with Bea Wain on Way of New York City Radio.