The Town Criers

aka The Four PolksThe Bobettes

Photo of The Town Criers

The four Polk siblings, from top to bottom: Gordon, Lucy Ann, Vernon, and Elva.

Originally comprised of the four Polk siblings, Gordon, Elva, Vernon and Lucy Ann, in descending order by age,[1] the Town Criers are probably best remembered today for their work with Tommy Dorsey in the late 1940s, though they made their first appearance on the bandstand in 1942, with a career that spanned six years and five orchestras. Lucy Ann became the breakout star of the group, with Gordon also making a name for himself as a novelty singer and comedian.

The Polks were born in Idaho during the 1920s and raised in Spokane, Washington, where the family moved not long after Lucy Ann’s birth. Their father worked as a dairy and bakery delivery driver. As children they began performing at a young age, often at local theaters to gain free admission to films. In addition to singing, they backed themselves by playing guitar, bass and xylophone. In 1936, billed as the Four Polks, they earned their own radio program on Spokane station KHQ. They also sang on KHPY and later spent a year on Seattle radio before winning a contest sponsored by Al Pierce, who brought them to Los Angeles in 1940 or 1941 to sing on his radio program. The siblings, along with their parents, remained in California, performing at local clubs and theaters and making two soundies for RCM, The Old Oaken Bucket and Miss You.

Band Years

In June 1942, Bobby Sherwood hired the Polks for his new band, renaming them the Bobettes.[2] They left Sherwood in November 1942 to join Les Brown, where pianist Willie Rowland dubbed them the Town Criers, the name that they would use for the rest of the decade.[3] With Brown, the group began to attract national attention. They remained with Brown until near the end of 1943, when they left to do club and radio work. The Polks then ended up with Bob Crosby, touring with his band and appearing on his radio program. They made their first recording with Crosby in summer 1944 on the ARA label, just before he entered the Marines. With Crosby in the service, they became part of Kay Kyser’s College of Musical Knowledge. When Crosby returned from the service in late 1945, they once again joined him while also still appearing with Kyser. They recorded again on ARA in 1945.

The Polk siblings remained together until at least early 1945. Sometime after that and before mid-1946, both Elva and Vernon left the group. Elva retired from singing and married drummer Dick Shanahan in 1947. Vernon, overshadowed by Gordon and Lucy Ann, went out to make his own way in show business, working with a variety of other groups as a singer and guitarist.[4]

Gordon and Lucy Ann continued on with the Town Criers, bringing in replacements. In mid-1946, other members were Gus Bivona and Ralph Collier.[5] Aside from singing, their act featured comedy, mostly provided by Gordon, and gimmicks. They appeared in two films in 1945, RKO’s Radio Stars on Parade and an uncredited appearance in Columbia’s musical western Song of the Prairie starring Ken Curtis. In 1946, they appeared in another Columbia Ken Curtis musical western, Cowboy Blues, for which they received credit.

By the mid-1940s, both Lucy Ann and Gordon had begun to make names for themselves as soloists. When Georgia Carroll, who was Mrs. Kay Kyser, retired from singing at the end of 1945 due to pregnancy, Lucy Ann took her spot as the band’s featured female vocalist. Billed as “Lucyann” Polk during her time with Kyser, she made her first soloist recordings with the orchestra in 1946 on Columbia. That same year, Gordon became featured novelty singer for Crosby’s band, making his first soloist recordings with them on ARA. Gordon also recorded as vocalist for Don Brassfield and His Swing Sextette on the Mastertone label that year as well.

In addition to their soloist work, both Lucy Ann and Gordon continued singing with the Town Criers, who still appeared with both bands throughout 1946. The vocal group made several recordings on the ARA label and also recorded for the Music Survey label, which pre-tested songs for music publishing firms. In July 1946, Lucy Ann announced that she’d been secretly married to trombonist Dick Noel, whom she had met while with Brown and who was currently with Harry James. Gordon married Doris Fulton that same year.

By early 1947, both the Town Criers and Lucy Ann had left Kyser. They remained with Crosby, touring with his orchestra and appearing on his radio show until May 1947, when they joined Tommy Dorsey’s new group, formed after his original outfit had disbanded in December 1946. Aside from their duties with the Town Criers, both Gordon and Lucy Ann were also featured singers for Dorsey. In January 1948, the group was once again comprised of two men and two women.

Post-Polk Era

The Town Criers, with Gordon and Lucy Ann, left Dorsey in March 1948 to do a solo act, bringing in three more members. The new act failed to take off and both Polks returned to Dorsey in May, this time without the Town Criers. The vocal group limped along on its own for another year or so, bringing in Caroline Sherwood, sister of Bobby, to replace Lucy Ann.[6] In 1949, Lillian Lane was a member, leaving in September to go solo.

In 1953, the name Town Criers was once again in the spotlight, this time led by Canadian Jack Duffy with four fellow countrymen. This version of the Town Criers had emerged from the second version of the Sentimentalists vocal group that had worked with Dorsey in the late 1940s alongside the original Town Criers. Dorsey owned the name Sentimentalists, and the group had to find a new name when they left the band. They recorded with Wingy Manone on the Atlantic label but had disappeared from the music press by year’s end.

After leaving the Town Criers, both Gordon and Lucy Ann went on to have successful careers during the 1950s – Gordon as a singer, comedian and actor, and Lucy Ann as a popular vocalist.

Notes

  1. The Polk’s ages ranged within a year-and-a-half of each other. Gordon was born on May 17, 1923, and Elva on December 21, 1924. Vernon was born in April 8, 1926, and Lucy Ann on May 16, 1927. ↩︎

  2. Singer Johnny Mercer had recommended the Polks to Sherwood. ↩︎

  3. In a 1958 interview, Lucy Ann talked about having spent six months with Sherwood’s band in 1943, before she and her siblings joined Brown. She misremembered, certainly, as they joined Brown in November 1942 and remained with him until near the end of 1943. If she instead meant 1942, then sources show that Sherwood’s vocal group was named the Bobettes. The Bobettes were active until May 1943, so Sherwood must have hired a new quartet to take the Polks place when they left for Brown. ↩︎

  4. Vernon was a founding member of a sextet called the New Revuers in winter 1947. They soon changed their name to the Upstarts and supported Mel Tormé for a period before playing 10 weeks in Honolulu and then breaking up because of “too much talent.” Vernon later spent two years in the army and then became a part of Les Brown’s band as a guitarist from 1953 to 1957. He next joined brother-in-law Dick Noel’s combo as a guitarist, helping to support Lucy Ann’s solo career. Vernon’s obituary states that he also sang with Tex Beneke and Ray McKinley and that he was a later member of the Modernaires. He passed away on August 22, 1981 at age 55. Elva passed away on August 1, 1973. ↩︎

  5. Gus Bivona was also a clarinetist, and Ralph Collier was a guitarist. Both were also part of the music group Don Brassfield and His Swing Sextette, which featured Gordon on vocals. ↩︎

  6. Caroline Sherwood’s first name is spelled “Carolyn” in Down Beat magazine. Whether this is a misspelling or Carolyn was her stage name is unknown. ↩︎

Sources

  1. “The Town Criers.” IMDb. Accessed 11 Mar. 2022.
  2. “Vaudeville Reviews: Orpheum, Los Angeles.” Billboard 30 May 1942: 18.
  3. Advertisement. “Les Brown.” Billboard 28 Nov. 1942: 23.
  4. “Bands Dug by the Beat: Les Brown.” Down Beat 15 Jan. 1943: 18.
  5. “Bands Dug by the Beat: Les Brown.” Down Beat 15 Apr. 1943: 16.
  6. Dugan, Bill. “The Bandbox.” Down Beat 15 May 1943: 19.
  7. “Family Group is Bona Fide.” Down Beat 1 Nov. 1943: 6.
  8. “Send Birthday Greetings to.” Down Beat 15 Dec. 1943: 31.
  9. Kardale, Chick. “Along Chicago's Melody Row.” Down Beat 15 Jan. 1944: 12.
  10. “Send Birthday Greetings to.” Down Beat 15 May 1944: 92.
  11. “New Platter Firm Waxes Jazzmen.” Down Beat 1 Aug. 1944: 12.
  12. “Movie Machine Reviews.” Billboard 2 Dec. 1944: 92.
  13. “Polks Go Into Their Dance.” Down Beat 15 Dec. 1944: 3.
  14. “What's on the Air.” Wisconsin State Journal [Madison, Wisconsin] 10 Jan. 1945: 11.
  15. Advertisement. “Leeds Music Corporation.” Billboard 10 Mar. 1945: 16.
  16. “Advanced Record Releases.” Billboard 7 Apr. 1945: 25.
  17. “On the Beat in Hollywood.” Down Beat 1 May 1945: 7.
  18. “Stork To Call On Georgia Carroll.” Down Beat 14 Jan. 1946: 16.
  19. “Diggin' the Discs.” Down Beat 11 Feb. 1946: 19.
  20. “Gil Rodin Returns, Crosby Crew Mgr.” Down Beat 25 Feb. 1946: 3.
  21. “New Date For Town Criers.” Down Beat 25 Feb. 1946: 15.
  22. “Diggin' the Discs.” Down Beat 8 Apr. 1946: 8.
  23. “Movie Machine Reviews.” Billboard 1 Jun. 1946: 117.
  24. “Leeds 'Home,' Shap-Bernstein 'Monkey' 1st Survey Pre-Tests.” Billboard 8 Jun. 1946: 18.
  25. “Diggin' the Discs.” Down Beat 17 Jun. 1946: 19.
  26. “Advanced Record Releases.” Billboard 6 Jul. 1946: 114.
  27. “Strictly Ad Lib.” Down Beat 12 Aug. 1946: 1.
  28. “Vaudeville Reviews: Strand, New York.” Billboard 31 Aug. 1946: 42.
  29. “Vaudeville Reviews: Chicago, Chicago.” Billboard 15 Feb. 1947: 35.
  30. “Bob Crosby Draws Okay 20G at Circle.” Billboard 5 Apr. 1947: 41.
  31. “On the Stand: Tommy Dorsey.” Billboard 31 May 1947: 23.
  32. “Name Sidemen in Dorsey's New Band.” Down Beat 4 Jun. 1947: 20.
  33. “New Coast Plattery Set.” Down Beat 22 Oct. 1947: 8.
  34. “TD On Stage At Capitol.” Down Beat 31 Dec. 1947: 19.
  35. “Vaudeville Reviews: Capitol, New York.” Billboard 3 Jan. 1948: 35.
  36. “Music as Written.” Billboard 15 May 1948: 36.
  37. “On the Stand: Tommy Dorsey.” Billboard 9 Oct. 1948: 40.
  38. “News-Features.” Down Beat 21 Oct. 1948: 13.
  39. “Carle To Follow TD Into Pennsy.” Billboard 13 Nov. 1948: 46.
  40. “Strictly Ad Lib.” Down Beat 17 Nov. 1948: 5.
  41. “TD Novelty Singer.” Down Beat 18 Dec. 1948: 18.
  42. “Record Reviews.” Down Beat 22 Apr. 1949: 15.
  43. “Strictly Ad Lib.” Down Beat 23 Sep. 1949: 5.
  44. Tracy, Jack. “Upstarts Vocal Find Of The Year.” Down Beat 7 Oct. 1949: 3.
  45. “Strictly Ad Lib.” Down Beat 23 Mar. 1951: 5.
  46. “Wingy Waxes Pops On Atlantic Pairing.” Down Beat 9 Sep. 1953: 14-S.
  47. “Strictly Ad Lib.” Down Beat 16 Dec. 1953: 22.
  48. Tynan, John. “Lucky Lucy Ann.” Down Beat 6 Feb. 1958: 19, 36, 37.
  49. “Deaths.” Billboard 12 Sep. 1981: 84.
  50. “United States Census, 1930,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCQQ-8ND : Sat Mar 09 15:48:17 UTC 2024), Entry for Charles A Polk and Malena E Polk, 1930.
  51. “United States Census, 1940,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K93V-1H5 : Fri Mar 08 06:43:08 UTC 2024), Entry for Chas A Polk and Malena Polk, 1940.
  52. “California, County Marriages, 1850-1953,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8KP-3HP : Fri Mar 08 05:46:20 UTC 2024), Entry for Richard Carl Shanahan and Elva Irene Polk, 17 August 1947.
  53. “California Death Index, 1940-1997,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPJL-HX1 : 26 November 2014), Vernon Charles Polk, 22 Aug 1981; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.