Biography
Fran Frey achieved his greatest recognition serving as alto saxophonist and vocalist for George Olsen & His Music, the popular big band of the 1920s and 1930s that drew an ardent audience. The ensemble’s 1927 version of “The Varsity Drag” sparked a national dance phenomenon among energetic college students. It is worth stating plainly at the outset that this Fran was male and sang baritone, so admirers of the few female jazz instrumentalists active in those decades must adjust their records accordingly. Among his vocal features with Olsen’s group stands “A Little Bit Bad,” a selection reviewers repeatedly cited to illustrate what they considered restricted vocal range. Frey nevertheless retained a loyal following and more often appeared in vocal duets or trios alongside Bob Borger and Bob Rice. Although Olsen’s band cut “Too Bad” in 1926—a title that might likewise have invited criticism—Frey had already relinquished the singing role and performed only on alto saxophone by then. Ethel Shutta took over the vocal chair and was clearly the bandleader’s preference; he later married her. Frey participated on twenty-six sides with the orchestra altogether. Olsen later dissolved both the main unit and a subsidiary trio that also included Frey, then launched several subsequent projects that met far less success. One such venture placed him at the helm of Orville Knapp’s orchestra after its leader—ironically sharing his first name with aviation pioneer Orville Wright—died in the crash of his private plane. Knapp’s widow soon engineered a leadership change, installing a conductor of her own choosing. During this period Frey also worked as a freelancer while attempting to build a solo career. He occasionally received co-writing credit on his own recordings and may have reflected personal frustrations when he composed and cut “Never Gettin’ No Place Blues” with Al Bernard and J. Russell Robinson in 1929. In the early 1930s he recorded “Crazy People,” perhaps as a remembrance of Knapp. Though the track left no major mark on recording history, it produced extensive documentation through releases on multiple labels in several countries, credited variously to Art Kahn’s Orchestra and the Hollywood Dance Orchestra. The German edition on the Rust label omitted any orchestra credit while rendering the title “Grazly People.” Additional New York dates found him playing alto saxophone with Leo Reisman and his orchestra on sides that featured vocalists Frank Luther and Lee Wiley. As a singer with Ben Selvin’s band in the early 1930s, he appeared on several popular discs, among them “Moonstruck” and “Sittin’ on a Log Pettin’ My Dog.” Critics sometimes interpreted the Selvin number “Learn to Croon” as an indirect suggestion from the bandleader and songwriter to their hired vocalist. Frey also recorded with the Boswell Sisters, Bunny Berigan, and Victor Young, and he cut six Columbia sides issued under his own name, including “Moonstruck.” Throughout the 1930s he contributed vocals to comedian Jack Benny’s popular radio program; one routine was logged as “Receipt from Fran Frey,” possibly alluding to Benny’s insistence on repayment for coffee consumed on the air. His surname occasionally appeared spelled “Fray,” even on paychecks issued by Benny’s accounting department—an error that may have been deliberate to postpone payment. After the Second World War his performing career steadily declined. Reports from the 1980s placed him in Chicago, no longer active as a performer yet still working in broadcasting as music director of a local radio station.