Records and radio In 1922, Waring’s band attracted attention at a
University of Michigan student festival in a gymnasium in Ann Arbor, Mich., leading to a six-week booking at a local theater. That engagement led to bookings in Detroit and other large cities, launching Waring’s national career. From 1923 until late 1932, "
Waring's Pennsylvanians" were among
Victor Records' bestselling bands. In late 1932, Waring abruptly quit recording, although his band continued to perform on radio. In 1933, "
You Gotta Be a Football Hero" was performed on radio to great acclaim. His 1930 recording of "
Love for Sale" by
Cole Porter is one of the few period versions of this popular song. Waring and the Pennsylvanians appeared in the 1937
Warner Bros. musical film
Varsity Show, directed by
William Keighley and
Busby Berkeley.
The Fred Waring Show was heard on radio in various forms from 1933 to 1957. Adding a men's singing group to his ensemble, he recruited
Robert Shaw, recently out of the
Pomona College glee club, to train his singers. Shaw later founded the
Robert Shaw Chorale and directed the
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Pembroke Davenport (1911–1985) was Waring's pianist and arranger. During World War II, Waring and his ensemble appeared at
war bond rallies and entertained the troops at training camps. In 1964 he recorded two albums with
Frank Sinatra and
Bing Crosby:
America, I Hear You Singing and
12 Songs of Christmas, for Sinatra's
Reprise label. His suite ''Grandma's Thanksgiving
, which extrapolates "Over the River and Through the Wood," remains a traditional staple of WBEN in Buffalo, New York each Thanksgiving; "A Christmas Card," an original Christmas choral piece, is prominently featured as the second song in the playlist of the original WPIX Yule Log'' (which features two other Waring records). The song, "
Breezin' Along with the Breeze" was used as a signature tune by Fred Waring.
Choral workshops In 1947, Waring organized the Fred Waring Choral Workshop at his Pennsylvania headquarters in the old Castle Inn in
Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania, which was also the home of
Shawnee Press, the music publisher which he founded. At these sessions, musicians learned to sing with precision, sensitivity, and enthusiasm. When these vocalists returned home and shared what they had learned with fellow musicians, Waring's approach to choral singing spread throughout the nation. The first Fred Waring Music Workshop in the western United States was held in June 1968 as part of the University of Nevada's Summer Session curriculum in Reno, Nevada. Waring taught and supervised these summer workshop for 37 years until he died. After an initial $25,000 investment, the Waring-owned Miracle Mixer was introduced to the public at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago retailing for $29.75. In 1938, Fred Waring renamed his Miracle Mixer Corporation as the Waring Corporation, and the mixer's name was changed to the Waring Blendor (the "o" in blendor giving it a slight distinction from "blender"). The Waring Blendor became an important tool in hospitals for the implementation of specific diets, as well as a vital scientific research device.
Jonas Salk used it while developing his
polio vaccine. In 1954, the millionth Waring Blendor was sold. Waring became a division of the
Conair Corporation. == Death ==