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Connie Haines: From Big Bands to Motown, Hitsville U.S.A
Without a doubt, Connie Haines was one of the most intriguing artists ever signed to Motown. She came to the company around 1964 when the company entered a phase of signing established performers who would appeal to an MOR audience. Connie was a performer from the Big Band era and brought with her an incredible life of musical and acting experiences. She sang with Harry James, Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra. She performed with Abbot and Costello and appeared in a line of movies. Here are a few highlights of Ms. Haines' career:
Haines began performing at age 4, and by age 9 had a regular radio show performing as Baby Yvonne Marie, the Little Princess of the Air.
At 18, she was performing with Harry James' orchestra, later joining Tommy Dorsey's band in 1940. During that time, she and Frank Sinatra teamed up songs including "Oh, Look at Me Now" and "You Might Have Belonged to Another".
By 1942, Connie had a regular singing gig with the Abbott and Costello radio show, becoming so popular that she became in demand on all the popular radio shows of the day.
Haines performed in a number of films, including "Moon Over Las Vegas" (1944), "Twilight on the Prairie" (1944), "A Wave, a WAC and a Marine" (1944), "Gee, I Love My G.I. Joe" and in the Van Johnson/Esther Williams movie, "Duchess of Idaho" (1950). She later did a television show with Frankie Laine.
A highly religious woman, she teamed with singer Beryl Davis and Hollywood icons Jane Russell and Rhonda Fleming during the 1950s in a gospel quartet. They scored a hit with the 1954 song "Do Lord".
From her autobiography, "For Once In My Life," you get the impression that Connie Haines was a genuinely nice person who kept in incredibly positive outlook on life even when facing various challenges. She relates how she was determined to become familiar with singing rock and roll in order to augment her set lists during live appearances and keep things fresh. Ms. Haines wrote that at first, she just couldn't hear the rhythms in this new music and to "brainwash" herself in order to adapt her style.
She accomplished this by going to various go-go clubs and learning the dances. She also relates how some of her friends gave her a bit of flack for taking up rock, but she would reply to them that it was fun and they should just try it! It's nice to read how excited she was about her progress- she notes that she must have caught on because "of the six songs she recorded at Motown then, two of them were rock and roll!"
Presumably, her version of Mary Wells' "What's Easy For Two Is Hard For One" was one of those "rock" numbers and for someone coming from the Big Band era, she does a surprisingly good job of swinging the Motown beat. Connie sings with a rather sultry, playful style and seems to feel right at home with the material.
Connie sounds for all the world as if she's having the time of her life singing down in Motown's Snakepit studio. Combined with the great Andantes on backing vocals, Connie does indeed sound like her efforts to learn a new singing style paid off well.
Connie Haines: From Big Bands to Motown, Hitsville U.S.A
Without a doubt, Connie Haines was one of the most intriguing artists ever signed to Motown. She came to the company around 1964 when the company entered a phase of signing established performers who would appeal to an MOR audience. Connie was a performer from the Big Band era and brought with her an incredible life of musical and acting experiences. She sang with Harry James, Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra. She performed with Abbot and Costello and appeared in a line of movies. Here are a few highlights of Ms. Haines' career:
Haines began performing at age 4, and by age 9 had a regular radio show performing as Baby Yvonne Marie, the Little Princess of the Air.
At 18, she was performing with Harry James' orchestra, later joining Tommy Dorsey's band in 1940. During that time, she and Frank Sinatra teamed up songs including "Oh, Look at Me Now" and "You Might Have Belonged to Another".
By 1942, Connie had a regular singing gig with the Abbott and Costello radio show, becoming so popular that she became in demand on all the popular radio shows of the day.
Haines performed in a number of films, including "Moon Over Las Vegas" (1944), "Twilight on the Prairie" (1944), "A Wave, a WAC and a Marine" (1944), "Gee, I Love My G.I. Joe" and in the Van Johnson/Esther Williams movie, "Duchess of Idaho" (1950). She later did a television show with Frankie Laine.
A highly religious woman, she teamed with singer Beryl Davis and Hollywood icons Jane Russell and Rhonda Fleming during the 1950s in a gospel quartet. They scored a hit with the 1954 song "Do Lord".
From her autobiography, "For Once In My Life," you get the impression that Connie Haines was a genuinely nice person who kept in incredibly positive outlook on life even when facing various challenges. She relates how she was determined to become familiar with singing rock and roll in order to augment her set lists during live appearances and keep things fresh. Ms. Haines wrote that at first, she just couldn't hear the rhythms in this new music and to "brainwash" herself in order to adapt her style.
She accomplished this by going to various go-go clubs and learning the dances. She also relates how some of her friends gave her a bit of flack for taking up rock, but she would reply to them that it was fun and they should just try it! It's nice to read how excited she was about her progress- she notes that she must have caught on because "of the six songs she recorded at Motown then, two of them were rock and roll!"
Presumably, her version of Mary Wells' "What's Easy For Two Is Hard For One" was one of those "rock" numbers and for someone coming from the Big Band era, she does a surprisingly good job of swinging the Motown beat. Connie sings with a rather sultry, playful style and seems to feel right at home with the material.
Connie sounds for all the world as if she's having the time of her life singing down in Motown's Snakepit studio. Combined with the great Andantes on backing vocals, Connie does indeed sound like her efforts to learn a new singing style paid off well.