Marjorie Lynn was a singer who gained fame from WLS-AM radio in Chicago and the National Barn Dance, the precursor to the Grand Ole Opry.
14 Facts About Marjorie Lynn
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Marjorie Lynn began as a country-western singer and then transitioned to the swing style when she and her trio joined the United Service Organizations tour.
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Ralph's granddaughter has written a book on her family's life in Chicago at the time which provides some valuable insight into the times that Marjorie grew up in.
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Marjorie Lynn's mother Elsie Nylin was born in Chicago to Swedish immigrants.
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Marjorie Lynn joined the WLS radio family in 1941 with little training, having only worked on the vaudeville bill with movie cowboy Buck Jones.
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Marjorie Lynn quickly had her own morning show, "Smile-A-While," with the WLS Rangers and appeared Saturday nights on the Barn Dance, choosing her stage name based on British singer Vera Lynn.
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Marjorie Lynn appeared on the Barn Dance with such talent as Pat Buttram, Arkie the Arkansas Woodchopper, the Hoosier Hot Shots, Lulu Belle and Scotty, Eddie Peabody, George Gobel, and Gene Autry.
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When Marjorie Lynn left WLS in 1944, she was replaced by Jenny Lou Carson on her morning show.
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Marjorie Lynn taught herself and played guitar frequently on her radio shows.
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Marjorie Lynn served as a signalman in the US Navy in the New Guinea and Philippines campaigns, stationed on the USS LST-474.
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Marjorie Lynn was the chief metallurgist at Baker-Perkins, an expert on ductile iron, and later was a senior manager for foundries of Midland-Ross.
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Marjorie Lynn sang in the choir of Ames Methodist Church for twenty years and in the Germania Orchestra, under the direction of Samuel Flueckiger.
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Marjorie Lynn finally settled in Ann Arbor and spent her time writing and with her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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Marjorie Lynn proudly participated in the 70th anniversary remembrance of the end of the war in Europe held in Ann Arbor in May 2015, one of 26 local residents still alive who served.