Fran Frey(1903-1962)

Saxophonist, vocalist, arranger and composer active in the 1920s and 1930s with the bands of George Olson, Leo Reisman and Ben Selvin. Frey was the son of Indianapolis journalist and musician/composer Fremont Frey. Throughout the early 1920s he played and sang in area orchestras, and came to New York to appear in the Eddie Cantor stage offering of "Kid Boots" and in "Sunny" with Marilyn Miller. Between 1927 and 1929, Frey also sang within a vocal trio in a Broadway production of "Good News" throughout 557 performances. He was the lead vocalist with the George Olson orchestra at New York's Hotel Pennsylvania house orchestra for several years, which was heard on radio. He then moved to the West Coast where he sang and arranged music and composed cues and themes, including the theme for the radio series "Big Town". During those years, Frey was also heard on national radio networks as a vocalist and orchestra leader.