{"id":5927,"date":"2023-08-19T01:13:17","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T19:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/?p=5927"},"modified":"2023-09-25T19:35:28","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T13:35:28","slug":"what-happened-to-that-blahg-on-dottie-reid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/?p=5927","title":{"rendered":"WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THAT BLAHG ON DOTTIE REID?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Scott<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0 What’s that phrase, Mea Culpa?\u00a0 Maybe that’s not quite right.\u00a0 That phrase means my fault or my apologies but I’m already admitting that.\u00a0 I also don’t want to say “sorry, not sorry” because that’s not true either.\u00a0 The fact is that there was a blahg I meant to write but put off for so long that I actually forgot about it.\u00a0 I even forgot about the subject.\u00a0 In two previous blahgs, 2021 – WHAT DID I ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR?<\/a>\u00a0 and\u00a0THE 2022 FALSE DUCKS VIDEO RAMBLE<\/a> I mentioned that I was going to do a blahg on Dottie Reid.\u00a0 I don’t remember the circumstances or if I did any research at the time.\u00a0 I vaguely remember a title “Two Lucys and a Dottie” or “A Reid, A Reed, and a Polk.”\u00a0 The reference in both was to the singers Dottie Reid, Lucy Reed, and Lucy Ann Polk.\u00a0 I think I’ll save the two Lucys for another blahg and break out Dottie Reid and keep my promise to finally write a blahg dedicated to her.\u00a0 Here goes.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 As I said, I don’t remember what sparked my interest in Dottie Reid.\u00a0 I think it came about as a result of research I did for my blahg,\u00a0SOME FORGOTTEN SONGBIRDS<\/a> where I had presented information and song samples of some now forgotten female singers; most of whom performed with big bands and orchestras.\u00a0 I must have come across Dottie Reid because I became impressed by her singing and then of course immediately, or gradually, forgot about her.\u00a0 Not today (or however long it takes me to write this blahg)!\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 A good resource to find out about vocalists with big bangs is the website, www.bandchirps.com<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>Here’s the information they provided about Dottie Reid:\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Little Rock, Arkansas, native Dottie Reid sang with more bands than you could shake a stick at, rarely staying long in any. At first a brunette and then a blonde, Reid\u2019s voice was once described by a reviewer as a mix of Anita O\u2019Day with Jo Stafford.<\/h4>\n

Reid joined Gray Gordon\u2019s newly reorganized orchestra on October 25, 1941, in Chicago. A month later she arrived in New York with only $30 in her pocket, looking for work. She quickly landed a singing job with the alternating house bands at the Stork Club, a job which lasted only one day. Bandleader Bob Allen, in need of a female vocalist for his new orchestra, received a tip about Reid from one of Down Beat magazine\u2019s New York staff, and he went to listen. She joined his band the next day at the Rosemont in Brooklyn.[1] Allen\u2019s band was broadcast on NBC, giving Reid a radio outlet.<\/h4>\n

By May 1942, Reid had moved on to Muggsy Spanier\u2019s orchestra, taking over from Edythe Harper, who left to have a baby. With Spanier she made her first recording. In July, Reid was with Vido Musso\u2019s band in the Midwest. Her stay was only temporary, however, as she preferred doing club work in New York. She left in August for Bob Astor\u2019s orchestra, replacing Dell Parker. By December, she was with Barney Rapp and Artie Paulson.<\/h4>\n

By the first of 1943, Reid had joined Jack Teagarden\u2019s band, where she settled longer than usual and might have stayed even longer had it not been for Teagarden. Tired of losing male vocalists to the draft, he decided to forego having a boy singer and use two females instead, alternating between them. To that end, he signed Phyllis Lane, who joined the band mid-July at the Orpheum in Los Angeles. Reid was less than thrilled with the arrangement, and she quit the band at the end of its stay at the theater, telling journalists that the experiment \u201cdidn\u2019t work out very well.\u201d[2]<\/h4>\n

On her own now, Reid remained in California, joining Dave Barbour\u2019s new five-piece combo when it opened at George Grasel\u2019s club in North Hollywood in mid-August. Barbour\u2019s wife, vocalist Peggy Lee, was pregnant at the time and had no plans to perform until after she\u2019d given birth. In late September, Reid teamed up with female boogie-woogie pianist Allein Lair at the Chi Chi in Palm Springs. The pair proved popular with the cocktail lounge crowd, and they were held over.<\/h4>\n

Reid was back on the bandstand by February 1944 with Robin Mohr\u2019s orchestra. In July she was with Herbie Fields, but by October she was singing for Johnny Richards, with whom she recorded. A review at the time said Reid looked bored in Richards\u2019 band and had bad stage manners. In April 1945, she joined George Paxton\u2019s outfit, though she was dropped after less than a month. She then joined Randy Brooks in early June but stayed only a few days, leaving to tour with Benny Goodman for seven weeks. She made two recordings with the King of Swing.<\/h4>\n

After leaving Goodman, Reid sang solo at Kelly\u2019s Stable in New York, where she stayed for several months. By February 1946, she had joined Buddy Rich\u2019s band, where she also recorded. She remained with Rich until September when she returned to Kelly\u2019s Stable, staying there until November. That month, she temped in Dean Hudson\u2019s band at Roseland, trading jobs with singer Naomi Wright late that month, who had been performing in Miami. Reid stayed in Miami until late February 1947 when she returned to club work in New York.<\/h4>\n

In April, Reid sang for Chubby Jackson\u2019s sextet at the bassist\u2019s Esquire Club in Valley Stream on Long Island. Jackson, self-styled as the Happy Monster, favored wild, experimental jazz with advanced harmony, key changes and tempo switches. When patrons asked him to play something danceable or made sarcastic remarks about his decidedly undanceable rhythms, Jackson would often angrily exclaim, \u201cThis music is made for listening, not dancing.\u201d Reid got a charge out of singing to Jackson\u2019s group, never knowing what the musicians were going to do next to try and hang her up. She considered it great training.<\/h4>\n

On November 25, 1947, while touring with Spanier\u2019s six-piece band, Reid had the unfortunate distinction of both opening and closing on the same night at the Blue Note in Chicago. Rumors flew as to the cause, with some saying she had developed tonsillitis, others saying Spanier had been difficult, and still others claiming that the club\u2019s management hadn\u2019t liked her and had fired her. The truth was that Reid, due to rehearsal difficulties prior to her arrival, didn\u2019t sing with Spanier that night, instead only singing two songs accompanied by a pianist. In addition, Pat Flaherty, the vocalist from the other act on the bill, Herbie Fields\u2019s combo, was on notice, and Fields indicated that she would only work for two weeks if at all. Club management, seeing that one woman wasn\u2019t singing and the other only managed two songs, decided that paying the 20 percent federal tax levied on clubs that employed vocalists wasn\u2019t worth it and asked Reid to leave. She returned to New York.<\/h4>\n

Other than a short stint with Buddy Morrow\u2019s band in mid-1948, Reid stayed on the night club circuit throughout the rest of the 1940s and into the mid-1950s. On September 8, 1949, she married Sammy Kaye trombonist Mervyn Gold in New York. In September 1951, she appeared on television, taking over Nancy Reed\u2019s spot on the Ted Steele show on WPIX in New York for four weeks. Reid returned to the bandstand in December 1956 when Goodman picked her as vocalist for his Far East tour. By May she had joined the Dorsey orchestra. Jimmy was in the hospital at the time and passed away in June. She remained with the band, which fell under the direction of Lee Castle. She soon returned to the night club circuit, however, where she continued to perform as late as 1966. She and Gold divorced in 1967.<\/h4>\n

Of course this information isn’t complete because despite listing a number of bands Dottie performed with, during her band hopping phase, the information above does not mention her performing with the band, Johnny Blowers and Gang.\u00a0 In my blahg,\u00a02021 – WHAT DID I ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR?<\/a>, here’s what I wrote regarding the recording with Blowers:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 I think I’ll quickly end this blahg before it becomes a brag fast.\u00a0 Some of my blahgs this year introduced or reintroduced some forgotten bands, especially Bob Scobey, as well as some forgotten songbirds.\u00a0 I was thinking about doing another blahg on some more forgotten songbirds, which I may yet do in 2022, but I’ll end this blahg with a song by one I recently discovered.\u00a0 Her name is Dottie Reid and she only did a handful of recordings with bands led by Buddy Rich, Benny Goodman, and Muggsy Spanier.\u00a0 There are also some live remotes available of recordings she did with these bands.\u00a0 I’ll save those recordings and her biography for another blahg but I came across a V-Disc recording she did with Johnny Blowers and Gang in 1948.\u00a0 Here’s an image of that V-Disc:\u00a0<\/em> <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Born<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s her version of “Born To Be Blue”:\u00a0<\/em> <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n\nhttp:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/audiofiles\/BornToBeBlue-DottieReid.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

<\/h4>\n

The website\u00a0www.discogs.com<\/a> has a listing for this V-Disc,\u00a0https:\/\/www.discogs.com\/release\/7909466-Dottie-Reed-Bea-Wain-Born-To-Be-Blue-Fools-Rush-In<\/a> , and they reference the recording to 1948.\u00a0 The BandChirps website concludes her big band association with by mentioning a short stint with Buddy Morrow in 1948.\u00a0 So, we need to gather together some more information about what happened after 1948.\u00a0 I did find an obituary of sorts but it doesn’t give a source:\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Died

Here’s a nice picture of Dottie Reid in her prime:\u00a0 \"Dottie<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 It’s hard to create a definitive list of Dottie Reid’s recordings because I have not found an official discography.\u00a0 From the BandChirp biography of Dottie and the obituary above, we can note that she made recordings with Benny Goodman, Muggsy Spanier, and Buddy Rich plus the recording with Johnny Blowers and Gang.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 The earliest recording I have found for Dottie Reid was from June 1st, 1942 when she recorded with Muggsy Spanier and His Orchestra.\u00a0 The song was “More Than You Know”
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Muggsy<\/a><\/p>\nhttp:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/More-Than-You-Know-Dottie-Reid-with-Muggsy-Spanier-and-His-Orchestra.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

<\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 This is the only recording I have found from Dottie Reid with Muggsy Spanier.\u00a0 She would rejoin Spanier in 1947 but they would not record together again.<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 I have also discovered a discography for Johnny Richards and his orchestra that notes that Dottie Reid recorded with that band in 1944:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Johnny<\/a><\/p>\n

Of interest in the above portion of the Johnny Richards discography is the entry for “I’m Gonna See My Baby” from December 4th, 1944 that notes a vocal by Dottie Reid.\u00a0 Here is an image for the Musicraft 78 of that recording followed by the song below it:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"<\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/78_im-gonna-see-my-baby_johnny-richards-and-his-orchestra-dottie-reid-phil-moore_gbia0114496a\/I%27m%20Gonna%20See%20My%20Baby%20-%20Johnny%20Richards%20and%20his%20Orchestra.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 The following are the recordings she did with Benny Goodman in 1945:\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

–It’s Only A Paper Moon<\/h4>\n

–I’m Gonna Love That Guy<\/h4>\n

Here are those two recordings:\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"It's<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/78_its-only-a-paper-moon_benny-goodman-and-his-orchestra-dottie-reid-billy-rose-harbu_gbia0037003a\/It%27s%20Only%20a%20Paper%20Moon%20-%20Benny%20Goodman%20and%20his%20Orchestra.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

\"I'm<\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/78_im-gonna-love-that-guy_benny-goodman-and-his-orchestra-dottie-reid-ash_gbia0033428b\/I%27m%20Gonna%20Love%20That%20Guy%20-%20Benny%20Goodman%20and%20his%20Orchestra.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

<\/h4>\n

The website www.discogs.com<\/a> also has an entry for a 2004 CD called “Benny’s Girls, Goodman’s Rare Songbirds” that features three tracks by Dottie Reid with Goodman and two of them are unreleased tracks.\u00a0 Here are the images for the CD front and back cover:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Benny's<\/a><\/h4>\n

\"Benny's<\/a><\/h4>\n

The information on the CD lists the following tracks with vocals by Dottie Reid:\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

–My Head Says Yes But My Heart Says No – Vocals \u2013 Dottie Reid<\/h4>\n

–How Little We Know (previously unreleased) – Vocals \u2013 Dottie Reid<\/h4>\n

–I’m Gonna Love That Guy (Like He’s Never Been Loved Before) (previously unreleased alternate take)<\/h4>\n

“How Little We Know” is listed as previously unreleased and the version of “I’m Gonna Love That Guy” on this CD is also previously unreleased because it was an alternate take.\u00a0 I found a CD that has the Columbia matrix number for “It’s Only A Paper Moon”, “I’m Gonna Love That Guy”, “My Head Says Yes But My Heart Says No”, and “How Little We Know.”\u00a0 All were apparently recorded on June 18, 1945.\u00a0 Here’s “How Little We Know”:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttp:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/How-Little-We-Know-BGDR.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 The song, “My Head Says Yes But My Heart Says No” was also previously unreleased.\u00a0 Give it a listen:\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttp:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/My-Head-Says-Yes-But-My-Heart-Says-No.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

I could not find a source for the alternate take of “I’m Gonna Love That Guy” so I’m going to move on like Dottie did from Benny Goodman to another band.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 The BandChirp biography above stated that by “February 1946, she had joined Buddy Rich\u2019s band, where she also recorded.”\u00a0 I found one Buddy Rich discography that mentions two 78rpm releases on Mercury of two songs by Dorothy Reid, “You’ve Got Me Crying Again” and “It Couldn’t Be True”:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Buddy<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

Here are “It Couldn’t Be True” followed by “You’ve Got Me Cryin’ Again”
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/78_it-couldnt-be-true_buddy-rich-and-his-orchestra-dorothy-reid-dee-lippman_gbia0501535a\/IT%20COULDN%27T%20BE%20TRUE%20-%20BUDDY%20RICH%20And%20His%20Orchestra.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/78_youve-got-me-cryin-again_buddy-rich-and-his-orchestra-dorothy-reid-newman-jones_gbia0075645a\/_78_youve-got-me-cryin-again_buddy-rich-and-his-orchestra-dorothy-reid-newman-jones_gbia0075645a_01_3.5_ET_EQ.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 I’ve also found listings for other songs by Dorothy Reid with Buddy Rich with the titles “<\/span><\/strong>The Wonder Of You”,\u00a0 “Mindin’ My Business”, “Where Did You Learn To Love?”, “Do You Love Me?”, “It Couldn’t Be True”,\u00a0 “Just A-Sittin’ And A-Rockin’ “, “Personnality” and “Rumors Are Flying” but these all to be remotes from late 1945 and into 1946.\u00a0 Some of these remotes are available and I’ve been able to extract a few of the Dorothy Reid songs.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

One of the earliest remotes or radio programs available is the Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands from December 24, 1945 from the Valley Forge General Hospital, Phoenixville, PA:\"Victory<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

This radio program was broadcast the day before Buddy Rich and Dorothy Reid opened at the Terrace Room in Newark, New Jersey.\u00a0 Here’s the advertisement for their opening:<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/h4>\n

From that Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands broadcast, here is Dorothy Reid’s vocal on “Mindin’ My Business” followed by “I Can’t Begin To Tell You”:<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttp:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Mindin-My-Business-Dottie-Reid-1945-12-24-Victory-Parade-Of-Spotlight-Bands-with-Buddy-Rich-and-His-Orchestra-.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/I-Cant-Begin-To-Tell-You-DR-BR-1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 There are a couple of Buddy Rich albums featuring live remotes of his band, with Dorothy Reid, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.\u00a0 They are inaptly titled “One Night Stand with Buddy Rich” and “One Night Stand with Buddy Rich Volume 2”.\u00a0\u00a0 I say inaptly because the first record features selections from Buddy Rich’s band at the Hollywood Palladium March 27th and 28th, 1946.\u00a0 “Volume 2” features selections from Buddy Rich and company from the Hollywood Palladium on March 21, March 27th, and March 28th, 1946.\u00a0 None of the tracks from March 27th from the first album are repeated in the selections from the same date on the second album.\u00a0 Here are the covers for both albums on the Joyce label:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"One<\/a><\/p>\n

\"One<\/a><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The tracks featuring Dorothy Reid from the first album are “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” from March 27th, 1946 while “Day By Day” and “You’ve Got Me Crying Again” are from March 28th, 1946.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Here’s “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” from March 27th:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttp:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/AlwaysChasinRainbowsDRBR.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Next up is “Day By Day” from March 28th:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttp:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Day-By-Day-DRBR.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Here’s the live version of “You’ve Got Me Cryin’ Again” from March 28th.\u00a0 Note that the announcer makes reference to the recording of “You’ve Got Me Crying Again” which was done for Mercury on February 5th, 1946.<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttp:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/YouveGotMeCryinAgainBRDR.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

<\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 “One Night Stand With Buddy Rich Volume 2” features the song “Personality” from March 21, 1946 at the Hollywood Palladium, “Do You Love Me” from March 27th at the Palladium, and “Just A-Sittin’ And A-Rockin’ ” from March 28th.\u00a0 I haven’t been able to track down a copy of the album but someone has posted a version of “Just A-Sittin’ And A-Rockin’ ” on YouTube which they reference as being from ” 3\/1946″ which is probably from the Hollywood Palladium:
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n