Gail Reese

Photo of Gail Reese

Though vocalist Gail Reese had a short career, she sang with three early and important swing bands and is well-remembered today by fans of the era.

Born in New York City, Reese got her start in 1934 with Bert Block’s orchestra, joining at age 17 soon after her high school graduation. On stage she sang alongside fellow Block vocalists Jack Leonard, Joe Bauer, and Alex Stordahl, all of whom later went on to join Tommy Dorsey. The band made daily broadcasts on radio station WOR.

Reese left Block in September 1934 and by July 1935 was with trombonist Mike Durso’s orchestra. In 1936, she appeared in the Vitaphone musical short Rhythmitis singing the song “Tangled Feet.” She had become part of Dick Messner’s band by July 1936, leaving to join Charlie Barnet that October. In February 1937, she was with Carl Ravell at the Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit.[1] Ravell’s band spent a few weeks on the road, and when it returned to New York, Reese rejoined Barnet so that she could remain in the city.

By July 1937 Reese had become part of Bunny Berigan’s band, where she made her most memorable recordings. Berigan spent much of early 1938 dealing with health and family issues, and Reese left the orchestra in April of that year to become part of Glenn Miller’s third and most famous band, but Miller, looking to bring more excitement into the orchestra, replaced her in September with Marion Hutton.[2]

After leaving Miller, Reese subbed for a month in Will Osborne’s band at the Glen Island Casino. In early 1939, she married Boston musician Pete Green, whom she had met while with Miller, and subsequently retired from show business, moving to a Boston suburb. The couple had one child, a daughter, and divorced in 1946. Reese then went back to work, finding a singing job on local radio doing Bit-O-Honey commercials before staying on as house singer.[3]

Reese married again in 1949 to George Soloman, who worked in the clothing industry, and retired permanently. The couple moved to Florida in 1971, with Soloman passing away in 1990. Reese died in 1998 at the age of 80.

Notes

  1. Carl Ravell was also known as Carl Ravazza. ↩︎

  2. Coincidentally, Durso by that time had given up his band and was playing with Vincent Lopez, from whom Miller signed Hutton. ↩︎

  3. Reese identified the station as “WEZ.” Perhaps she meant WBZ, or perhaps the interviewer misunderstood her. ↩︎

Sources

  1. Simon, George T. The Big Bands. 4th ed. New York: Schirmer, 1981.
  2. The Online Discographical Project. Accessed 10 Aug. 2016.
  3. “Pipping Rock Club Opens Its Season at Saratoga Spa.” Schenectady Gazette 27 Jul. 1935: 5.
  4. “Once-Overs.” Billboard 18 Jul. 1936: 20.
  5. “Bands and Orchestras.” Billboard 24 Oct. 1936: 13.
  6. “Three Shows in Detroit Hotel.” Billboard 6 Feb. 1937: 15.
  7. “Berigan's Canary.” Down Beat Oct. 1937: 3.
  8. “Reviews of Records.” Billboard 9 Oct. 1937: 12.
  9. “Swing Songstress Will Be Featured by Bunny.” The Davidsonian [Davidson, North Carolina] 2 Feb. 1938: 5.
  10. “Bost'n Penthouse Uses Two Bands.” Down Beat Feb. 1939: 6.
  11. “Earl Wilson Interviews Betty Hutton.” The Sunday Star [Wilmington, Delaware] 20 Jan. 1952: n.p.
  12. Holdman, Phil. “An Interview with Big Band Vocalist Gail Reese.” Browser's Notes #24 [Chicago, Illinois] Reprinted September/October 2009 in The Great Escape!.
  13. “Gail Reese sings 'Tangelfeet' 1936.” YouTube, uploaded by Peter Mintun, 27 Sep. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOjvHxxAtzY.
  14. “United States, Census, 1950,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6F36-8RHY : Tue Mar 19 19:57:19 UTC 2024), Entry for George C Soloman and Virginia V, 5 April 1950.
  15. “United States, Social Security Death Index,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JK6T-4JH : 7 January 2021), Virginia V Soloman, 13 Apr 1998; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).