I'm sad to report that vocalist, Louise Tobin, passed away on November 26, 2022 in Carrollton, Texas at the age of 104. She recorded with the orchestras of Ben Pollack, Bobby Hackett, Jack Jenney, Benny Goodman and Will Bradley.
Tobin was a great talent and possessed a beautiful voice, but the biggest impact she made on the Big Band Era was the part she played in discovering Frank Sinatra. Tobin was listening to the radio in 1939 and heard a broadcast from a New Jersey venue called the Rustic Cabin. A young Frank Sinatra was the emcee that night, Frank Sinatra, and his singing caught the ear of Louise. She told her then husband, Harry James he should tune in another night to hear Sinatra’s skill and style. James was impressed and hired Sinatra as part of his band. That was the first major steppingstone to Sinatra’s meteoric rise to fame. Tobin and James divorced in May of 1943.
Louise Tobin may have made more of an impact on the Era herself but she took time off from her singing career to raise her two sons she had with James. She returned to performing in the 1960s, and later married famed clarinetist, Peanuts Hucko and toured alongside him for years.
Thank you Louise for the music you left behind for us. Your voice will continue to touch so many of us.
Listen to: Louise Tobin sing "There’ll Be Some Changes Made" with Benny Goodman from 1941.
