Talk:Vaughn De Leath

gotta start somewhere

Prior to this post, I had only contributed typo fixes (hence my name), but I can see that this article could use some work. I just added the reference to WJZ being, in actuality, the radio station which became better known as WABC 770 New York, a station that broadcast on a clear channel with 50 kW of power, and so could (and can still) be heard through a large part of North America at night. In the 1920s, anyone with a radio (which was not a lot of people) east of the Mississippi River would have gotten WJZ if it was broadcasting at full power.

That said, it's VERY significant (IMHO) that this woman actually was actually one of its first station managers. At least as important as that (again IMHO), she saw to it that black performers got good airplay. I only dug up this info while trying to verify a couple of dates.

She died in Buffalo, NY on May 27, 1943.

I'd like to clear up that last line, the reference to the drinking problem (citation needed). Reword it a bit, too; it sounds awkward, apart from the content.

Typofixer76 15:31, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

After reading this article I would like to add a few things. I believe the station that Vaughn De Leath managed was WDT, not WJZ. She performed on WJZ quite a bit at the behest of Tommy Cowan, but it was WDT that she managed and performed on. She was responsible for putting Duke Ellington on the air in 1923. As for Mills College, their website lists her as graduating in 1919. I believe this is in error. She seems to have dropped out in 1916 or 1917 to pursue her singing career. I have found newspaper accounts of her performing in several different states in vaudeville as well as giving concerts. She also toured with singer Marie Cahill in 1917. De Leaths recording career began in 1920. Her last recordings were in 1936. She was still heard nationally on radio till 1936 or perhaps even 1937. She was henceforth heard on local radio stations right up until her death. She was also giving concerts in support of charities and the war effort. Although I have read many times that she died in poverty as an alcoholic, I am not sure this is entirely accurate. Although she was living in Buffalo, N.Y. at the time of her death she still owned her home in Easton, Ct. She may been living in reduced circumstances but poverty may be too strong a word. I also question that she was an alcoholic as I can find no account from the 1930's or 40's of her being a heavy drinker. Obituaries of the time state cause of death as uremia and cardiovascular problems. There is no mention of a drinking problem. Yablans4u (talk) 05:34, 21 January 2016 (UTC)

data from Google cache

Last week (29 Oct 2006), great-song-stylists-uk.com, a UK website which featured a lot of music from the early 20th century, had to be shut down. This info here was captured from Google's cache for http://great-song-stylists-uk.com/Vaughn%20DeLeath/vaughndeleath.htm Some of this info differs from what's already in Wikipedia; some is right (the low-power stations), some is not (NYC, not Chicago).

Anyway, here's the data:

<begin snip>

Vaughn DeLeath, although forgotten today, was a household name in the 1920s. She was born in Mt. Pulaski, IL, in 1894 (according to her birth certificate -- most sources say 1896) and her origins in show business are obscure. However in 1921, she was in on the ground floor of radio, singing in Chicago over WJZ. DeLeath's success on the air in theearliest days of radio was largely due to her endurance; able to accompany herself on banjo, ukulele, guitar, and piano, DeLeath could literally entertain for hours at a time when there was an excess of programming time and scant material to go on the air with.

By 1923, DeLeath's power and popularity in radio grew to where she was the first woman executive in the medium, running WJZ and a small network of low power stations. This proved a bit much for even her considerable ability, and by 1925 DeLeath returned to performing full-time. She made her debut on recordings in 1922, and made dozens of records under her own name and a plethora of pseudonyms; most frequently as "Gloria Geer," but also as Mamie Lee, Sadie Green, Betty Brown, Nancy Foster, Marion Ross, Glory Clark, Angelina Marco, and Gertrude Dwyer. She literally appeared under one name or another for just about every record label active in the 1920s.

In 1928, DeLeath appeared on experimental television broadcasts, and in 1928 or 1929 DeLeath was the featured guest when the Voice of Firestone Radio Hour went on the air for the first time. For some time Vaughn DeLeath had billed herself as "the First Lady of Radio," and in 1931 DeLeath sued singer Kate Smith for co-opting this tag. Smith withdrew, instead using her other trademark "the Sweet Songbird of the South," although after Vaughn DeLeath died Smith resumed her use of "the First Lady" designation. It was a bittersweet victory, as after a final session for Eli Oberstein's Crown label in 1931, Vaughn DeLeath disappeared from entertainment altogether. Little is known about DeLeath's last decade, but it is a matter of record that at her death at age 48 the "First Lady of Radio" was living in poverty as an alcoholic.

Vaughn DeLeath is something of an acquired taste, as she sang in a low, reedy voice and sometimes favored mawkish, sentimental material. DeLeath claimed to have created the vocal style of crooning, as it registered better on early radio sets than did the high soprano voice in which she was trained. Her best-known recording over the years was probably the version of "The Man I Love" she sang with Paul Whiteman's Concert Orchestra for Columbia, however in 1999 her recording of "Ukulele Lady" was used in the film The Cider House Rules. On recordings where DeLeath accompanies herself, she demonstrates a high level of instrumental ability, and possesses an amazing vocal range. On her (1923!) recording of "Comin' Home" for the Plaza Music Company, DeLeath even scat sings a whole chorus, anticipating Louis Armstrong by almost a decade. Although jazz critics have never taken her work seriously, DeLeath must have been an astounding talent on radio in the days of crystal sets and cat's whiskers, and was a major talent within vaudeville-styled pop singing traditions. The jury is still out on the issue, yet Vaughn DeLeath may have had a minor, though significant, impact on the development of early jazz singing as well.

<end snip>

--Typofixer76 15:57, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

Mills drop out?

According to http://www.mills.edu/alumnae/graduates.php she received the BA in 1919 from Mills College. Article says she dropped out. Which is correct?

Andyschm (talk) 10:44, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

I am a wiki novice, but as a student of the shifts in vocal and intrumental technique relating to technological changes over the course of the 20th century, I would really love to be able to pin down the issue of De Leath's claim (and related stories about the claim) to have "invented" crooning. I also suggest that the shift to a smaller, less "pushed" vocal delivery, with more conversational and rhythmically complex phrasing, is a large topic encompassing De Leath, Crosby, Holliday, and Dylan, along with many others. It's a pretty huge and crucial shift, wish I felt confident enough about the Wikipedia process and ettiquette to contribute on the topic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.51.3.60 (talk) 01:02, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

Although the Mills College website lists De Leath as a graduate of 1919, I believe this is in error. She appears to have dropped out in 1917 to pursue her singing career. You can find newspaper and music journal accounts of her giving concerts as well as appearing in vaudeville in several states between 1917-1920. She was performing with singer Marie Cahill on the Kieth Circuit in 1917. As for De Leath inventing crooning it is not easy to say for certain but she may have done so. The medium of radio does not require the stentorian approach of singing in a theater with no amplification or recording acoustically. The more intimate style of crooning was made possible by microphones and amplification and De Leath was doing this before the first commercial radio station, KDKA, went on the air. She first sang for Dr. Lee Deforest in late 1919 or early 1920 on his experimental radio station. She built a career in radio and recording in this style. Yablans4u (talk) 06:06, 21 January 2016 (UTC)