Rudy Vallee

Rudy Vallée (born Hubert Prior Vallée) was an American singer, saxophonist, bandleader, actor and radio host who helped define the crooning style of the late 1920s and 1930s. Born on July 28, 1901 in Island Pond, Vermont, he grew up in Westbrook, Maine before enrolling at the University of Maine and later Yale, where he earned a philosophy degree in 1927. While at Yale he led the football band and played saxophone in the Yale Collegians, gaining experience that would launch his professional music career. In 1928 he formed Rudy Vallée and the Connecticut Yankees, a group that combined violins, saxophones, piano, banjo and drums, and which gave him the platform to showcase his thin, wavering tenor voice. His early radio work began at New York’s WABC and quickly expanded to the NBC Red Network, making him one of the first male crooners to achieve national fame through the intimacy of the microphone. Vallée’s popularity was amplified by his charming stage presence, the novelty of singing through a megaphone, and his ability to connect with young female audiences, a phenomenon noted in contemporary magazine columns. Throughout the 1930s he recorded for major labels such as RCA Victor, Columbia and ARC, producing hits like “The Stein Song” and a later re‑issue of “As Time Goes By”. During World War II he served in the United States Coast Guard, leading a 40‑piece band and rising to the rank of lieutenant before returning to his entertainment career.