[Dixielandjazz] Baryl Davis Obit

[Stephen G Barbone]

BERYL DAVIS, British Singer - Career Spanned Eight Decades in U.K.  
andU.S.

British-born Beryl Davis, whose eight-decade career included singing  
with Maj. Glenn Miller, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra, has died. She was  
87.The daughter of English band leader Harry Davis, she spent her  
formative years traveling with his Oscar Rabin/Harry Davis Band and  
was the band’s featured singer by age eight.At age 12, she was booked  
with the Quintet of The Hot Club of France,which featured Django  
Reinhardt and Stephane GrappellI. After touring for three years and  
multiple recordings, war broke out. She and Grappelli returned to  
England, and were joined by a young pianist by the name of George  
Shearing. That group performed in London clubs throughout the  
blitz.Later, she rejoined the Davis/Rabin band and had her own BBC  
radio show.She soon came to the attention of Captain Glenn Miller and,  
on August 17, 1944—the day he was promoted to Major, began singing  
with his band. She was the only British civilian ever officially  
attached to the Eighth Air Force, taking her orders directly from  
General James Doolittle. Her last broadcast with Miller was on  
December 12, 1944 at the Queensbury Club, and her final number was  
“I’ll Be Seeing You.”Three days later, Miller took his fateful flight  
over the English Channel.After the war, Bob Hope invited her to come  
to the States to appear on his radio show. Six weeks after her  
American debut, she was preparing to return to England when Frank  
Sinatra invited her to join him on Your Hit Parade as his singing  
partner, leading to featured spots with Benny Goodman, Vaughn Monroe,  
David Rose and many others.In 1948, she married Hollywood radio and  
television personality Peter Potter, who was host of Peter Potter’s  
Platter Parade and later, the Emmy-winning nationally-broadcast  
“Jukebox Jury.” The couple had three children and divorced in 1965.In  
1954, Davis, along with friends Jane Russell, Connie Haines and Della  
Russell, performed a little-known gospel song entitled “Do Lord”for a  
church benefit. They recorded the song and it immediately went Gold,  
selling 2 million copies. Rhonda Fleming later replaced Della

Russell and the group continued recording and performing their gospel- 
inspired show in the nation’s top nightclubs and casino showrooms.As a  
solo act, she performed in theaters and concert venues around the  
globe, and was a regular guest artist at music festivals and events  
honoring Reinhardt and Miller. She also performed on multiple  
cruiseships, including Princess Cruises, where she was known as “The  
First Lady of Song” for over 30 years. She was long admired and  
respected by the many Big Band musicians with whom she worked. She was  
preceded in death by her life partner of 35 years, record executive  
and concert producer Buck Stapleton, in 2003. They were longtime  
residents of Toluca Lake, California, where she served as Honorary  
Mayor. The couple also resided in Palm Springs, California,where she  
received her star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame. On November 11,  
2000, she was a special guest at the groundbreaking ceremonies of the  
National WW II Memorial in Washington, DC,.. where she sang “I’ll Be  
Seeing You,” by then her trademark song. Dignitarie sthat day included  
President Bill Clinton, who personally commended her performance at a  
post-event reception.She is survived by her children, Bill Moore,  
Merry Moore and Melinda Moore Garber; her sister, Lisa “Cherry” Davis;  
and grandchildren, Shannon Moore and Asher Ferguson. Funeral services  
are planned for 12:30 p.m. on Friday, November 4,2011 at Forest Lawn,  
Hollywood Hills, Church of the Hills. In lieu offlowers, the family  
suggests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association(alz.org)