Personal details
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Born:
- Born Place: New Jersey
Jeff Dwyer
Jeff Dwyer was born on May 14, 1946 in Union City, NJ, not far from Hoboken, the birthplace of Frank Sinatra. Jeff’s father Gerald sang several times on the local radio station. Jeff remembers his father who died when Jeff was 11 as having a pleasant light baritone/tenor voice. Jeff used to sing with his father and at age 8 had his first solo in his grade school singing “White Christmas” as a boy soprano. Jeff was not pleased when his mother, who was in the audience, told him that the woman sitting next to her said Jeff sounded as beautiful as a girl. Jeff continued to solo in grade school as well as high school. Attending Georgetown University, Jeff to earn extra spend money, became the lead singer in a society band organized by H. Kent Baker who went on to become a successful Professor of Business Finance and who continued to play piano at various clubs in Washington, DC Jeff with Kent’s band played at numerous weddings and the Bethesda Naval Club. Jeff attributes Kent as being instrumental in teaching him phrasing and styling a song. At one performance at a dinner party hosted by US Senator Robert Kennedy, Arthur Godfrey, the tv host of the Arthur Godfrey Show offered Jeff a record contract on condition that he drop out of college. According to Jeff, there is always room for new singers and their take on how a song should be sung. After listening to Jeff sing over 40 years later, Kent Baker remarked ‘it is amazing how excellent voices don’t change after all these years”
