Monroe, Vaughn, 1911-1973

Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York all could claim Vaughn Monroe as their product. And all could support their claims, because the "life and times" of America's top bandleader has given him roots in many localities.

Vaughn's first home was in Akron, Ohio, where he was born October 7, 1911. At the time, the senior Monroe was working in a rubber processing factory, but soon moved to Cudahy, Wisconsin, and later to Jeanette, Pennsylvania. It was in Jeanette that Vaughn was graduated from high school in 1929. While there he also met Marian Baughman, who is now Mrs. Monroe. At the senior prom, Mrs. Monroe relates, Vaughn, who had been voted the "boy most likely to succeed," was supposed to lead the grand march. Ten minutes late, Vaughn rushed breathlessly into the room and informed Marian that he had just won a trumpet contest in a nearby town. Which, Marian felt, was "succeeding" almost too soon.

Vaughn had begun his trumpeting career at eleven. One day, he calmly walked in to his parents, holding a new trumpet in hand. In response to their questioning looks, the future "moonracer" explained, "The kid down the block gave it to me. He can't play it on account of his teeth."

The trumpet turned out to be exceedingly useful. All through high school and for two years following his graduation, Vaughn was able to earn and save by working in neighborhood bands. Finally, in 1931, having saved enough for college, he enrolled at Carnegie Tech's School of Music at Pittsburgh, where he also took engineering courses, and later at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston for further vocal training. While attending these schools Vaughn continually wavered between his desire to become an engineer, and the desire to become a concert singer. In 1933, he made his decision--to quit school and devote all his time to dance bands. In college, as in high school, he had earned while he learned by playing trumpet with small bands in his spare time.

Two factors helped Vaughn make up his mind: 1) although he liked engineering, he didn't think he could be satisfied at it for his life's work; and 2) despite the fact that his voice teachers told him he had a big future ahead as a baritone, he had a big frame that had to be fed in the immediate present.

Vaughn's first job after leaving college was with Austin Wiley's band. It lasted two years, ending when the band broke up in Ohio. At the time orchestra leader Larry Funk was playing a date in the vicinity. He had heard Vaughn on the trumpet, like him and gave him a job.

That's when Monroe took his "boot training" on the road, for the band did a group of one-nighters that took them from Ohio to Boston, Colorado, Texas, Kentucky, and back to Boston. "Enough was enough," says Vaughn. "When we got back to Boston it looked like Paradise to me. I thought it would be a good idea to settle down there for a few years."

Vaughn got in touch with a friend, Jack Marshard, for advice. Marshard, at that time, fronted a society band, in addition to owning several similar units which operated in the Cope Cod area. Not only did Jack give Vaughn advice, he gave him a job in one of the units. For the next year and a half Monroe played trumpet, did some vocalizing, and was perfectly content. Finally, in 1937, the band moved into the "Terrace Gables" in Falmouth, Mass.

Here Marshard asserted himself. All along Jack had felt Vaughn belonged out front, not hidden in with the brass section where his talent was more or less buried. Jack offered Vaughn the choice of either leaving, or taking the baton. And so--Monroe became a bandleader.

The twelve piece orchestra played the "Terrace Gables" for the season then moved to a Boston hotel, thence to the Dempsey-Vanderbilt in Miami, Florida. By this time, Marshard was again discontent: He wanted the maestro to go into business for himself. The boys in the band also urged Vaughn to do the same. Talent scout Willard Alexander entered the picture and he too prevailed upon Monroe to take the leap.

In 1940 Vaughn finally gave in. He disbanded the Marshard unit at the end of the Miami engagement, asking those who wanted to join the new band to meet him two weeks later up north. Jack Marshard became manager, and Alexander was to handle booking. Monroe then got into his car and without stopping to rest, drove straight to New York. Marian Baughman was waiting for him there, as was a train to take them to Jeanette, where they were married a few days later. Almost immediately after the ceremony, the newlyweds returned to Boston where Marshard had collected the nucleus of the new Monroe band. Weeks of hectic rehearsal followed.

The new band made its debut in Siler's Ten Acres in New England. On the night of April 10, 1940, they made their first radio broadcast--over NBC. RCA-Victor heard a later broadcast, and signed Vaughn immediately to a record contract.

During the next year, the Monroe band traveled extensively, playing hotels, theaters, ballrooms and night spots throughout the New England and Mid-West areas. The husky, masculine tones of Vaughn's voice soon won him a reputation as a "man's singer," without costing him the loyalty of his feminine followers. His recording of IF YOU SEE MAGGIE became one of the nation's top sellers. Since then any number of Monroe records have moved into this same category. To name a few: SHRINE OF ST. CECELIA; THERE! I'VE SAID IT AGAIN; LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW; and I WISH I DIDN'T LOVE YOU SO. Vaughn himself, feels that BALLERINA is one of his top performances on records.

The year 1941 really marks Monroe's entry into big-time. In June of that year he opened at New York's Paramount Theater, and a few months later took his band into the Century Room of the Commodore. He has played there every year since, sometimes more than one engagement. To date, Vaughn has played twelve engagements in all at the Commodore. He says it almost seems like a "second home" to him.

In 1944, Monroe needed another trombone. After a long and futile search, Vaughn finally gave up, bought a trombone and taught himself to play. Now, when the occasion arises, he still stands in with the trombone section, apparently having deserted the trumpet.

Monroe is a man of many hobbies. He likes photography, motorcycling, miniature trains, carpentry, swimming, golf, and especially flying. His earnings are large enough to permit him to be an active flying enthusiast and he owns two planes--Cantina II and Cantina III (named from first three and last four letters of his daughters' names). On dates played within three hundred miles of New York, Vaughn is able to fly home for a visit on his day off.

He often uses the planes for getting from one engagement to another. "It gives me extra time for business," says Vaughn, "and it breaks up the monotony of road life when we're doing one-nighters." Sometimes, it breaks up the monotony too well. Recently, Vaughn had to make a forced landing in a Pennsylvania cabbage patch, after being blown about fifty miles off his course. It's the only time he's been late on a job.

That's a pretty good record for a man who directs RCA-Victor's top-selling recording band, plays a hundred one-nighters a year, usually fifteen weeks of theater dates, a dozen other week engagements at night clubs and the like, and is on the air every Saturday night for Camel cigarettes.

The Monroes, with daughters Candace (born Dec. 13, 1941) and Christina (born Oct. 16, 1944), live in a smart New York apartment on Park Avenue. Vaughn calls it "home" but with the exception of his long engagement at Hotel Commodore every year, he sees very little of it.

Name: Vaughn Wilton Monroe
Race: White
Age: 29
Birth Date: 7 Oct 1911
Birth Place: Akron, Ohio
Residence Place: Wayland, Middlesex, Massachusetts
Registration Date: 16 Oct 1940
Registration Place: Wayland, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
Employer: Jack Marshard
Weight: 190
Complexion: Light
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Brown
Height: 6 1/2
Next of Kin: Ira Clereland Monroe
Household Members:
Name Relationship
Vaughn Wilton Monroe
Ira Clereland Monroe Mother

Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter, big band leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording and another for radio performance.

Monroe was born in Akron, Ohio, United States, on October 7, 1911.[1] He graduated from Jeannette High School in Pennsylvania in 1929,[2] where he was senior class president and voted "Most Likely to Succeed". After graduation, he attended Carnegie Institute of Technology, where he was an active member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. Monroe attended New England Conservatory for one semester in 1935, studying voice with Clarence B. Shirley.

Career
Monroe formed his first orchestra in Boston in 1940 and became its principal vocalist. He began recording for RCA Victor's subsidiary Bluebird label. That same year, Monroe built The Meadows, a restaurant and nightclub to the west of Boston on Massachusetts Route 9 in Framingham, Massachusetts. After he ceased performing, he continued running the club until his death in 1973.[3]

The summer of 1942 brought a 13-week engagement on radio, as Monroe and his orchestra had a summer replacement program for Blondie on CBS.[4]

Monroe hosted the Camel Caravan radio program from The Meadows, starting in 1946 and, during this time, was featured in a Camel cigarettes commercial.[5] In 1952, Monroe and his orchestra had a weekly program on Saturday nights on NBC radio. Those programs originated on location from wherever the band happened to be touring. Each program featured a focus on a college in the United States.[6]

The Meadows burned to the ground in December 1980 after sitting shuttered and vacant for a number of years.

Monroe was tall and handsome, which helped him as a band leader and singer, as well as in Hollywood. He was sometimes called "the Baritone with Muscles", "the Voice with Hair on its Chest", "Ol' Leather Tonsils",[7] or "Leather Lungs".[citation needed]

Monroe recorded extensively for RCA Victor until 1956, and his signature tune was "Racing With the Moon" (1941).[8] It sold more than one million copies by 1952, becoming Monroe's first million-seller, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.[9] Among his other hits were "In the Still of the Night" (1939), "There I Go" (1941), "There I've Said It Again" (1945), "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" (1946), "Ballerina" (1947), "Melody Time" (1948), "Riders in the Sky" (1949), "Someday (You'll Want Me To Want You)" (1949), "Sound Off" (1951), and "In the Middle of the House" (1956). He also turned down the chance to record "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".[2]

Monroe's orchestra had a number of excellent musicians including future jazz guitar great Bucky Pizzarelli. While their musical focus was largely romantic ballads, in person, the band had a fiercely swinging side only occasionally captured on record. In ballrooms, Monroe often reserved the final set of the evening for unrestrained, swinging music.

Movies also beckoned, although he did not pursue it with vigor. Monroe appeared in Meet the People (1944), Carnegie Hall (1947), Singing Guns (1950), and Toughest Man in Arizona (1952). He co-authored The Adventures of Mr. Putt Putt (1949), a children's book about airplanes and flying, a personal interest of his.

He hosted The Vaughn Monroe Show on CBS Television (1950–51, 1954–55) and appeared on Bonanza, The Mike Douglas Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, Texaco Star Theatre, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and American Bandstand.[2] He was a major stockholder in RCA and appeared in print ads and television commercials for the company's television and audio products.

After leaving the performing end of show business, he remained with RCA for many years as a television spokesperson, executive, and talent scout. In the latter capacity, he helped give Neil Sedaka, among others, his first major exposure.[citation needed] He was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording at 1600 Vine Street and one for radio at 1755 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.[10][11]

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Vaughn Monroe among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[12]

Personal life
Monroe married Marian Baughman on April 2, 1940, in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, where they had met as high school students. They did not date during high school, but became romantically inclined toward each other when their paths crossed again in New York City, years after graduation. They returned to Jeannette for their wedding. They had two children, Candace (born 1941) and Christina (born 1944). They remained married until Vaughn's death in 1973.[10][11]

Monroe was an avid railroad enthusiast. He collected and built HO scale model trains. On concert tours he had an elaborate and compact workshop that folded neatly into a valise. Inside were hundreds of intricate tools to build operating miniature locomotives, passenger & freight cars. [13]

Monroe was a licensed pilot and often flew his own Lockheed 12A airplane to tour dates.

Death
Monroe died on May 21, 1973 at Martin County Memorial Hospital in Florida, shortly after having stomach surgery for a bleeding ulcer.[1][2][14] He was buried in Fernhill Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum in Stuart, Florida.

Name: Vaughn W Monroe
Gender: Male
Residence Year: 1941
Street Address: 191 Park dr
Residence Place: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Occupation: Musician
Spouse:
Marian Monroe
Publication Title: Boston, Massachusetts, City Directory, 1941

Name: Vaughn W Monroe
Birth Year: abt 1912
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age in 1930: 18
Birthplace: Ohio
Marital Status: Single
Relation to Head of House: Son
Home in 1930: Penn, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, USA
Map of Home: Penn, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania
Dwelling Number: 29
Family Number: 29
Attended School: No
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father's Birthplace: West Virginia
Mother's Birthplace: Ohio
Able to Speak English: Yes
Occupation: Musician
Industry: In Orchestra
Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker
Employment: Yes

Name: Vaughn Monroe
Gender: Male
Residence Year: 1953
Street Address: 35 Pickwick rd WN
Residence Place: Newton, Massachusetts, USA
Occupation: Musician
Spouse:
Marion Monroe
Publication Title: Newton, Massachusetts, City Directory, 1953

Name: Vaughn W Monroe
Respondent: Yes
Age: 28
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1912
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birthplace: Ohio
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Guest
Home in 1940: Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
Map of Home in 1940: Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
Street: Hotel Sheraton
Inferred Residence in 1935: Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
Residence in 1935: Boston
Sheet Number: 81A
Occupation: Muscian
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: College, 3rd year
Hours Worked Week Prior to Census: 50
Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker in private work
Weeks Worked in 1939: 46
Income: 5000
Income Other Sources: No

When he was in high school, he was named "the boy most likely to succeed." He certainly proved them right with his rich bass - baritone singing voice.
"Well, I think he made some great, popular songs," Bucky Pizzarelli, guitarist with Vaughn Monroe's big band, told me. "And he had some million-sellers, I know that for a fact."

"He was just a kind, nice man and I think that came through to his fans," Mary Jo (Thomas) Grogan, a member of the Moon Maids singing group, told me...

It was at age 11 that Monroe began playing the trumpet, on an instrument given to him by a neighbor. Monroe won first place in a Wisconsin school music competition, at age 15.
While studying engineering at Carnegie Tech, he earned tuition money as a trumpeter -- and singer -- with several local dance bands.
In 1932, he abandoned his education to join Austin Wylie and His Golden Pheasant Orchestra in Cleveland for six months, then, in 1933, moved on to Larry Funk's Orchestra. While with Funk, Monroe made his first recordings, including Rain. Monroe stayed with Funk until 1936, when he joined a Boston orchestra led by booker Jack Marshard.
"Yeah, they sent out society bands on weekends," Pizzarelli recalled.
The following year, Marshard asked him to front groups on his behalf throughout New England and in Miami Beach, and in 1939 used him on a slew of recordings, such as In the Still of the Night.

"Jack Marshard really was the brains behind Vaughn," according to Pizzarelli. "All Vaughn had to do was to do what Jack told him to do."
In April 1940, Monroe's own band made its debut at Seiler's Ten Acres in Wayland, MA, and, within a short time, became nationally-known.
Marshard, however, met an untimely end in an automobile accident.
"Then he [ Monroe ] went with Willard Alexander, who took over. He was a big-time guy, too."

When the band played the Paramount Theatre in New York City during the early '40s, Pizzarelli was in the audience.
"Oh, it was big," he reflected. "I saw them at the Paramount, and they used to play operatic songs in a jazz form . . . jazz arrangements 'cause they were in the public domain. I think his arranger was Johnny Watson, who wrote Racing with the Moon."...

vital stats
given name: Vaughn Wilton Monroe
birth: Oct. 7, 1911, Akron, OH
death: May 21,1973, Stuart, FL
heritage: Scotch-Irish
father: Ira C. Monroe
mother: Mabel Louisa (Maahs) Monroe
education: public schools, Cudahy, WI; graduate,
Jeanette High School, Jeanette, PA, 1929;
attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology,
1929-32; special coursework at the New England
Conservatory of Music
wife: Marian Baughman Monroe, m. April 2, 1940
children: Candace, b.1941; Christina, b.1944
hobbies: miniature trains, motorcycles, sports, flying
religion: Methodist
memberships: American Federation of Musicians
Local 9; ASCAP, 1945; Police Athletic League,
New York City
physical description: blue eyes, brown hair, 215 lbs., 6'2"
residences: 1185 Park Ave., New York, NY; 35
Pickwick Rd., West Newton, MA; 41 High Point Dr., Jensen Beach, FL

Name: Vaughn Monroe
Age: 8
Birth Year: abt 1912
Birthplace: Ohio
Home in 1920: Tallmadge, Summit, Ohio
Street: Ottawa Ave
Residence Date: 1920
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Son
Marital Status: Single
Father's Name: Ira Monroe
Father's Birthplace: West Virginia
Mother's Name: Mabelle Monroe
Mother's Birthplace: Ohio
Attended School: yes