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SCHENECTADY
Garry Stevens, popular singer, dies at age 93
‘Music was tonic’ for former area entertainer
BY JEFF WILKIN Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Jeff Wilkin at 395-3124 or at wilkin@dailygazette.com.


    Garry Stevens, the singer who entertained thousands of Capital Region residents on weeknights during the early days of live television, has died in Benicia, Calif.
    He was 93.
    During the 1950s, television fans tuned into WRGB Television during the early evenings to watch “TV Showcase” with the “After Six Seven.” The seven-man group included Stevens, drummer Gordie Randall and others who performed standards of the day.
    Stevens had been on bigger stages. During the 1940s, he sang with both the Charlie Spivak and Tex Beneke orchestras. He was the first singer to record “White Christmas,” shortly before Bing Crosby made the holiday favorite his signature tune.
    “His famous story is the Spivak orchestra recorded it and it sold over a million copies,” said Stevens’ widow, Judy Wilson Stevens, who said Garry passed away in his rocking chair on Dec. 8. “He got $10 and Charlie Spivak got $20.”
    Garry Stevens discussed his popularity in a 2005 interview with Internet site Bigbandlibrary.com. In 1942, the Spivak orchestra was big in New York City, recording regularly and earning spots on radio. Stevens’ mellow voice was part of the popularity, and he was named one of the nation’s top singers. ................>>>>........................>>>>...............................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01700&AppName=1