You may not recognize the name Lillian Lane, but during her career she managed to lend her voice to some of the biggest bands of the era. Lillian appeared on the scene as a solo vocalist with Claude Thornhill's Orchestra in 1941, she was also a member of the "Snowflakes" vocal group which featured with Thornhill.
In late 1942, Lane moved on to replace Anita Boyer in Jerry Wald's Orchestra, but then only months later, settled in with George Olsen's band for about a year. By July of 1944, Lane had joined Gene Krupa's band and recorded many sides with them. She was replaced by Anita O'Day in 1945 and Lillian found her way into the bands of Randy Brooks and Artie Shaw.
1946 was the year that Lane joined up with Tex Beneke and his Glenn Miller "ghost band". She received increased attention with Beneke and in early 1947, she joined the ranks of Benny Goodman's Orchestra and scored a hit with the song "I Want To Be Loved".
From 1948 on, she recorded mostly as a solo artist and would show up in the liner notes of many reformed orchestras and tribute bands. As you can see, Lillian rarely settled into a band for longer than a year. Was it because she didn't have the "staying power" of some of the other featured female vocalists of the time, or was it because of her talent, that she was always being lured away to join the next big name orchestra? You can decided that.
Listen to: Benny Goodman's "I Want To Be Loved" featuring Lillian Lane on vocals.
You can hear the beautiful voice of Lillian Lane right here on Swing City Radio.
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