Fran Frey
Fran Frey (December 23, 1903 in Indiana - December 1, 1962 in California) was a singer and saxophonist best known for his work for George Olsen and His Music in the 1920s and early 1930s. Among his better known songs are "The Varsity Drag" of 1927; "Big City Blues" of 1929, and "A Garden in the Rain", also of 1929. Frey sang on 77 songs with the George Olsen band on recordings and on the radio. "Who?" sold more than a million copies. Frey was heard on the Oldsmobile Program on CBS radio in 1933. Frey was the composer of the song, "Tell The Story", which was used as the early theme song for the 1940's radio program The Big Story, starring Edward G. Robinson. The composition was recorded again in 1962 by Frank De Vol and his Rainbow Strings orchestra, and published on their album, "More Radio's Great Old Themes". Sometime in the 1980's radio host John Hickman of WAMU used it as the opening theme music for the old time radio variety show The Big Broadcast, and it has remained the theme song for The Big Broadcast continuously since then. Although he played for several other bands after Olsen's, including Victor Young's, he never achieved the level of fame he had in earlier years. Frey died of a heart attack in his home on December 2, 1962, at the age of 58. At the time of his death, he was writing music for the Ice Capades and for Columbia Pictures. |
Birth and Death Data: Died December 1, 1962 (California (state of the United States of America) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1924 - 1948
Roles Represented in DAHR: baritone vocal, songwriter, composer
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 114 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | BVE-33337 | 10-in. | 8/21/1925 | I'm knee deep in daisies (And head over heels in love) | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-33832 | 10-in. | 10/30/1925 | Just a little thing called rhythm | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-33856 | 10-in. | 11/6/1925 | Who | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-33881 | 10-in. | 11/17/1925 | A little bit bad | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-34110 | 10-in. | 12/1/1925 | Miami | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-34333 | 10-in. | 1/15/1926 | She's a corn-fed Indiana girl (But she's mamma to me) | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | vocalist, baritone vocal, songwriter | |
| Victor | BVE-34353 | 10-in. | 1/22/1926 | Oh, how I've waited for you | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-34354 | 10-in. | 1/22/1926 | All for you | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-34601 | 10-in. | 2/5/1926 | Always | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-34606 | 10-in. | 2/10/1926 | Don't be afraid to come home | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band (takes 1-4); with male vocal duet (takes 6-8) | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-34624 | 10-in. | 2/16/1926 | Drifting and dreaming | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-34676 | 10-in. | 3/4/1926 | Horses | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and monologue | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-35335 | 10-in. | 4/22/1926 | Just a little dance | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-35336 | 10-in. | 4/22/1926 | The girl friend | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-35607 | 10-in. | 5/14/1926 | Let's make up | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-35608 | 10-in. | 5/14/1926 | Hello, aloha! How are you? | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-35693 | 10-in. | 6/16/1926 | Bye bye blackbird | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-35731 | 10-in. | 6/30/1926 | Lucky day | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-35732 | 10-in. | 6/30/1926 | Katinka | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-35751 | 10-in. | 7/8/1926 | You need someone to love | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | songwriter, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-35777 | 10-in. | 7/16/1926 | Where'd you get those eyes | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-35778 | 10-in. | 7/16/1926 | Hi-diddle-diddle | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-36882 | 10-in. | 10/29/1926 | Leander | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-36883 | 10-in. | 10/29/1926 | I never knew what the moonlight could do | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
| Victor | BVE-36909 | 10-in. | 11/6/1926 | I'm tellin' the birds, tellin' the bees (How I love you) | George Olsen and his Music | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, baritone vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Frey, Fran," accessed December 27, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100917.
Frey, Fran. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 27, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100917.
"Frey, Fran." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 27 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Frey, Fran - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2004152000
Wikidata: Fran Frey - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1440698
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/120145304391978571917
MusicBrainz: Fran Frey - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8622408e-1e1b-44d3-89f6-31ac471ea4f6
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