A native of Peoria, Illinois, blonde vocalist Wendy Bishop sang with Cincinnati bandleader Deke Moffitt in early 1939. Moffitt, long popular as an orchestra leader in local theaters, had just formed his first dance band. By April 1939, however, Bishop was with Dick Stabile, leaving by June for Bunny Berigan, where she again stayed only briefly. She married pianist Arturo Arturos, with whose seven-piece Latin combo she also sang in Atlantic City.
After leaving Berigan, Bishop sang with Dick Messner’s orchestra. She was with Eddie Varzos in early February 1940 when she left to become part of Les Brown’s band, replacing Shirley Gaye. As she had with all her other orchestra jobs, she stayed with Brown for only a short time, leaving in July. Doris Day replaced her. In September, Bishop, known to radio audiences as the “Captivating Coed of Song,” was singing with Lang Thompson’s band. By early-1941 she had returned to her husband’s group, where she remained as vocalist through at least the end of 1942.
Striking out on her own, Bishop became a popular staple on the New York night club circuit. In 1946, she made two soundies: Blue Moon for RCM and I Fall in Love With You Every Day with fellow night club singer Johnny Thompson for Soundies. She appeared in Miami clubs during 1948. Critics always complimented Bishop’s voice. Sadly, though, she never entered the recording studio, and her soundies appear to have been lost to history. Modern audiences can only guess how she sounded.
A very pretty girl, Bishop was often the subject of pin-up photos in which she bared her legs. Those photos became a favorite of Down Beat magazine during 1940 and 1941. Down Beat twice gave Bishop’s age as 24 in 1940. She wrote them a letter of correction in August of that year, stating that her true age was 19.