Dinah Shore

One of the superstars of the 1940s, Dinah Shore was indelibly associated with the big band era while also making her mark in Hollywood in various films and TV shows. Yet she had to overcome adversity along the way, suffering from polio at the age of two - resulting in a lifelong limp - and growing up in humble circumstances in Winchester, Tennessee in a family of Russian Jewish shopkeepers; as a child she would give impromptu performances for the customers in the shop. After gaining a degree in sociology, she moved to Nashville to pursue her singing dream and made her radio debut before moving to New York to audition for various big bands, where her party piece was the classic song 'Dinah'. Forever associated with the song, she adopted the title as her own first name, joining NY radio station where she sang with Frank Sinatra and in 1940 earned a recording contract with RCA Victor.

With the encouragement of one of her mentors, Eddie Cantor, she had her first hit with an adaptation of an old Ukrainian folk song, 'Yes My Darling Daughter'. Other hits like 'Blues in the Night', 'You're So Nice to Come Home To', 'Buttons & Bows' and 'Baby It's Cold Outside' (with Buddy Clark) soon followed and in 1943 she starred in her first movie 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' alongside Cantor. During wartime she performed for the American troops with Glenn Miller and continued her success with pop hits, movies and TV specials through the 1950s. Her last hit 'Chantez Chantez' stayed in the American charts for 20 weeks. She subsequently worked with Nelson Riddle and Andre Previn and moved from RCA Victor to Capitol Records, without replicating her previous success, though she did host two daytime TV shows, 'Dinah' and 'Dinah's Place' through the 1970s. With her genteel character and soft Southern drawl she remained a much-loved personality until her death from cancer in 1994.