Barry Wood
Barry Wood (February 12, 1909 - July 19, 1970) was an American singer and television producer. He is best known for being Frank Sinatra's immediate predecessor as the lead male vocalist on the long running NBC radio program Your Hit Parade. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Wood was the younger brother of bandleader Barney Rapp. He attended Yale (where he swam and played water polo). He was a sideman for Buddy Rogers's band. He left Rogers to become a singer, and he eventually signed on at Your Hit Parade, where he maintained his popularity for several years and was promoted as the nation's "sweater boy" (a counterpart to the sweater girl pin-ups popular in the World War II era). Wood was identified with several popular wartime songs. In 1941 he introduced and recorded Irving Berlin's "Any Bonds Today?" and "Arms for the Love of America". In 1942, recording as Barry Wood and the Wood Nymphs, he had a hit with "We Did It Before (And We Can Do It Again)", written by Charles Tobias and Cliff Friend; this song became a popular wartime anthem, and was later used in a number of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons. Another notable song he recorded for a war bond drive was called "Ev'rybody Ev'ry Payday", written by Tom Adair and Dick Uhl, and heavily promoted by the radio division of the United States Treasury to encourage workers to purchase bonds through payroll deductions. According to music critic Will Friedwald, Wood had "an interesting voice, gray and appropriately woody", and a "sort of robust charm", but "his super-stiff rhythm makes him tough to listen to today." Sinatra replaced Wood on Your Hit Parade in 1943. Wood had his own show on NBC from 1943 to 1945, first called The Million Dollar Band and then (with Patsy Kelly as co-star) the Palmolive Party. In 1948, his quarter-hour radio program, Barry Wood Show, was syndicated by Frederick Ziv via electrical transcription. He later became a television producer. His producing credits included Kate Smith's show, Wide Wide World, and The Bell Telephone Hour. He died in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1970. In 1948-1949, Wood hosted and produced Places Please, a three-nights-a-week variety TV show on CBS. |
Birth and Death Data: Born February 12, 1909 (New Haven), Died July 19, 1970
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1932 - 1942
Roles Represented in DAHR: baritone vocal
Notes: Sometimes listed as Louis Rapp (original name) or Lou Rapp.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-50 of 69 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-066190 | 10-in. | 7/7/1941 | Harbor of dreams | Barry Wood | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-067503 | 10-in. | 7/29/1941 | When the crazy world is sane again | Barry Wood | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-067504 | 10-in. | 7/29/1941 | Oh! How I hate to get up in the morning | Barry Wood | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | CS-067662 | 12-in. | 8/21/1941 | Arms for the love of America | Al Goodman Orchestra ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and 2 announcers, with mixed vocal ensemble and orchestra. | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | CS-067664 | 12-in. | 8/21/1941 | Unknown title(s) | Barry Wood | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Victor | BS-067665 | 10-in. | 8/21/1941 | Oot to beat the promise [sic] | Barry Wood | vocalist, baritone vocal | ||
Victor | BS-067921 | 10-in. | 9/23/1941 | The magic of magnolias | Barry Wood | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-067922 | 10-in. | 9/23/1941 | A pretty co-ed has gone to my head | Wood-Nymphs ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-067923 | 10-in. | 9/23/1941 | Mine | Wood-Nymphs ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-067924 | 10-in. | 9/23/1941 | Si, si, some more | Wood-Nymphs ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068057 | 10-in. | 10/29/1941 | This is no laughing matter | Wood-Nymphs ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068058 | 10-in. | 10/29/1941 | It's raining memories | Wood-Nymphs ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068059 | 10-in. | 10/29/1941 | I wonder who's kissing her now | Wood-Nymphs ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068060 | 10-in. | 10/29/1941 | Madelaine | Barry Wood | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068310 | 10-in. | 11/14/1941 | Angels of mercy | Lyn Murray Singers ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and mixed vocal ensemble, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068311 | 10-in. | 11/14/1941 | One for all—all for one | Lyn Murray Singers ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and mixed vocal ensemble, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068312 | 10-in. | 11/14/1941 | Who calls? | Barry Wood | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068313 | 10-in. | 11/14/1941 | We're the couple in the castle | Barry Wood | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068758 | 10-in. | 12/29/1941 | Let's say goodnight with a dance | Barry Wood | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068759 | 10-in. | 12/29/1941 | Pretty little busy-body | Wood-Nymphs ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068760 | 10-in. | 12/29/1941 | Sometimes | Wood-Nymphs ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068761 | 10-in. | 12/29/1941 | We did it before (And we can do it again) | Wood-Nymphs ; Barry Wood | Male vocal solo and female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068848 | 10-in. | 1/11/1942 | The president's birthday ball | Barry Wood | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-068849 | 10-in. | 1/11/1942 | I paid my income tax today | Barry Wood | Male vocal solo, with vocal quartet and jazz/dance band | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Victor | BS-071761 | 10-in. | 2/2/1942 | Cocktails for two | Mark Warnow Orchestra ; Barry Wood | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wood, Barry," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/113230.
Wood, Barry. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/113230.
"Wood, Barry." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Wood, Barry, 1909-1970 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2006104356
Wikidata: Barry Wood - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4864909
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/46524774
MusicBrainz: Barry Wood - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e821ba79-b639-449d-b15c-14b1e7e2831f
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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