Dolly Dawn
b. Theresa Maria Stabile, 3 February 1919, Newark, New Jersey, USA. A versatile, personable singer, popular during the '30s and early '40s, equally at home with ballads and uptempo material. In 1935 she replaced Loretta Lee with George Hall's Band which was based at New York's Hotel Taft during the '30s. Dawn became so close to Hall that, after some time, he adopted her. She featured on many of the band's hit records, including Every Minute Of The Hour, When the Poppies Bloom Again, Oh! Ma-Ma (The Butcher Boy), Says My Heart, and My Own, also featuring on their broadcasts from the hotel. Dawn became so popular that Hall often promoted and recorded the band under the name, Dolly Dawn And Her Dawn Patrol. He felt that the band had more potential under her leadership, and in a ceremony at New York's Roseland Ballroom on 4 July 1941, handed the band over to her, staying on as manager. This situation lasted for less than a year, and Dawn left, to pursue a solo career, playing clubs and theatres. The hit records with the Dawn Patrol between 1936 and 1942 included I'll Stand By, What Will I Tell My Heart?, The You And Me That Used To Be, Have You Got Any Castles, Baby?, Blossoms On Broadway, You're A Sweetheart (number 1), How'd Ja Like To Love Me?, Who Blew Out The Flame?, Where Has My Little Dog Gone?, Goody Goodbye and Pig Foot Pete. During the late '40s and early '50s her career declined, although she had one hit, The Same Old Cry, accompanied by the Danny Mendelsohn Orchestra. She also composed several songs including The Little Birdies and Keep Dreaming.