A few months ago, my mother sent an article over to me via email and said “I think you might like this for you blog”. I opened it up and it was a small article on a Canadian woman named Ruth Lowe (who I had never heard of). It was a very interesting read about her life, her famous song “I’ll Never Smile Again”. and how she played a BIG part in Frank Sinatra’s success. Indeed a perfect post to share with my readers and today friends…..is that day.

Meet the beautiful & talented Ruth Lowe.

Vintage 1940s Photo of singer Ruth Lowe-I will never smile again.

Vintage Image of Singer Ruth Lowe - I will never smile again.

And now please take a moment to acquaint yourself with her song “I’ll never smile again” (Link to video).

For further reading please check out all the posts I have done on the subject, “Women of the Big Band Era Everyone Should Know“. (Jan 2024 update)

Ruth Lowe-The Canadian Woman Behind “I’ll Never Smile Again”

Ruth’s Earlier Years:

Born in Toronto, August 12th, 1914 to US-Canadian parents.
They moved to California when she was very young and she lived there during her early teens.
The family returned to Toronto with only the piano after her fathers grocery business went sour during the depression. The same piano that Ruth and her sister Mickey had learned to play on.
After her father died, Ruth quit school at 16 and found a job in the ‘Song Shop’ where she demonstrated sheet music on the piano. This trade was called “Song Plugging” and if customers liked what Ruth played (plugged) they would take it home to learn.
During her evenings, Ruth played in a very intricate two piano act with her friend Sair Lee at various nightclubs.
One day while at the store, Lowe heard that the famous all-female Ina Ray Hutton Orchestra (The Melodears) needed a piano replacement for their 1935 appearance in Toronto. She got the job and so impressed Hutton that she ended up touring the United States with the orchestra for a few years after (Source).

Here is a clip from 1936 “Doin’ the Suzie Q”, that I believe should feature Ruth on the piano. Can we also take a moment to be in awe of Ina’s outfit…wow! (Video Link)

How the song “I’ll Never Smile Again” came to be:

While traveling with the Melodears in 1938 in Chicago, Ruth met Harold Cohen a music publicist and fell madly in love. They were married and lived happily until a year later Harold died tragically during surgery*. Ruth returned home to Toronto devastated and during this grief she penned “I’ll Never Smile Again”.

Lowe told the Toronto Daily Star in 1940 that the ballad “seemed to fill my head and guide my fingers as I picked it out on the piano (Source)”.

Here are the sad words Ruth Lowe wrote:

I’ll never smile again until I smile at you
I’ll never laugh again what good would it do
For tears would fill my eyes
My heart would realize that our romance is through
I’ll never love again I’m so in love with you
I’ll never thrill again
To somebody new within my heart
I know I will never start to smile again
Until I smile at you
Within my heart I know
I will never start to smile again
Until I smile at you.

Song Success and Frank Sinatra:

Life went on and Ruth found herself working as an accompanist at the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), where she passed on the sheet music to the song to Toronto composer-conductor Percy Faith. Percy would later record the song for his CBC radio program ‘Music By Faith’. The Song made it’s official Debut!

It was not till a few months later though when the famous Big Band leader Tommy Dorsey was performing at the 1939 Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) that Lowe (who wanted to take her song to the next level) took matters into her own hands. Lowe waited — acetate recording in hand — by the musicians’ tent for her friend, a guitarist with the band, who arranged a meeting with the New York bandleader at the Royal York Hotel (Source).

One year later Dorsey who liked the song and thought it had some merit, decided to test out on a ‘Coming-Out’ number for Frank Sinatra, who had joined the orchestra as their new vocalist.

Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey 1940s vintage image

The recording, of “I’ll Never Smile Again,” was released on May 23rd, 1940 (as heard in the version I posted above).

Frank Sinatra Ruth Lowe and Tommy Dorsey - 1940s vintage photo — Frank Sinatra, Ruth Lowe and Tommy Dorsey. Source: National Post (& Tom Lowe Sandler)

The Song was a SUCCESS! It was No. 1 track on the very first Billboard sales chart in 1940 (seen below) and it propelled Sinatra into Super Stardom that would carry on for decades.

Lowe told her son (Tom Sandler) that the timing — it was the beginning of the Second World War — was key to her success. “It was a song that spoke to everyone in the country,” he says. “Their loves were going to war and most of them weren’t coming back” (Source).

First billboard Chart 1940 — Source: Billboard

After this success, Ruth was approached by Sinatra in 1942 to write a closing song for his radio program. The song she wrote was “Put Your Dreams Away”, which would go on to become Frank’s Signature Song (Video Link).

Life after Frank…

Ruth married Nat Sandler and happily settled into married life and kids in Toronto. She continued to write songs and play the piano, but her day’s of traveling with orchestras and pushing for her music to be produced were behind her.

In 1955 one of the most popular television shows at the time, “This is Your Life,” devoted a full segment to Ruth Lowe. She was loved that much by the public.

Ruth passed away on January 4th, 1981 at the age of 66. In 1982 her 1940’s “I’ll Never Smile Again” received an honorary Grammy and in 2003 she was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

In the end Ruth’s greatest tragedy ended up bringing her career success and a place in history. The only thing left is for Ruth to have greater distinction in the Canadian music world. Her son Tom is pushing for her to receive a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame and to also be acknowledged by the Junos (The Canadian Grammy’s). I could not agree more and I do hope it happens sooner then later.

Thank you for the music Ruth.

UPDATE: NEW BOOK TO READ! Until I Smile At You by Peter Jennings. Peter was chosen by the family of Ruth to write this book, so this is going to be the best insight to Ruth out there. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE.

FURTHER READING:

Liz

*Other sources have said that Ruth’s husband died after 2 years of marriage

Blog Post Series

A while back…like several posts ago I mentioned that I picked up this awesome book called “Let’s Dance: A Celebration of Ontario’s Dance Halls and Summer Dance Pavilions” by Peter Young and was going to visit and blog about as many as I could. I have currently written a few posts on the Vintage Dance Hall topic and today I am writing about the venue “CNE Dance Tent/Dance Pavillion“.

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) Dance Tent

The History & Vintage Photos

The CNE stands for “Canadian National Exhibition“. It is an annual event at the end of summer held in Toronto and with approximately 1.3 million visitors each year, the CNE is Canada’s largest annual fair and the seventh largest in North America.

Canadian National Exhibition 1940s vintage ad for the Toronto - TTC. Go and visit the CNE in 1947.

The CNE Tent was only open during the couple of weeks while the fair was on for everyone’s dancing pleasure. It measured 80 feet by 260 feet and was created in Chicago just for this particular event. It was located south of the coliseum and just west of the electrical building (the big tent in them middle of the picture).

Vintage Photo of the CNE grounds in Toronto. The CNE dance tent is in the middle. — Source: CHUCKMAN’S OTHER CHOICE OF WORDS

During my research I actually discovered that the CNE Tent was not the first dance floor to have stood on the grounds of the fair. In the 1930s, when swing music was at the height of its popularity, the Automotive Building (seen below) for two years (1934-5) contained the Ballroom, where the dance bands of Duke Ellington, Rudy Vallee, Guy Lombardo, and others played to overflow crowds. Later in the 1930s a large marquee (tent) with a dance floor was erected to house the bands and their audiences. The CNE tent was born (Source).

1930s Vintage Photo: Guy Lombardo in the 1930s visited Toronto's CNE to perform his big band music for dancers and lovers of swing music alike. Here is the automative building where he performed. — Source: CNE Archives

Great 1937 advertising mentioning Guy Lombardo and dancing on Canada’s largest dance floor amongst many other exciting activities to do at the CNE.

1930s Vintage Ad: Canadian National Exhibition 1937 vintage advertising featuring all the things you can see at the CNE including Guy Lombardo — Source: Torontoist

The Tents official opening was in 1938 and its first year featured Benny Goodman, Buddy Rogers, Guy Lombardo and Tommy Dorsey on the dance floor. Could you imagine dancing to all of these bands in one year??!! The Lindy Hopper in me is kind of losing it just thinking about it.

1930s Vintage Photo: CNE dance pavillion late 1930s featuring a packed dance floor dancing in Toronto. — Look at all the lovely dancers! Source: CNE Archives

In 1940 a great advertisement appeared in the CNE official program stating:

“Dancing! Dancing – in the great, airy pavilion on a satin-smooth floor. Dancing – to the world’s finest dance bands. Dancing – toe-tickling tunes by music-making masters of rhythm ‘sweet’ and ‘swing.’ Dancing – to the bands you’ve dreamed of, now a reality in the Dance Pavilion.”

(from the C.N.E. Official Catalogue and Programme 1940, pp 23 & 49-Source).

1938 was not the only time the CNE Tent brought in top-notch performers, Torontonians made special trips just to see their favorite acts like:

Duke Ellington, Abe Lyman, Guy Lombardo, Rudy Vallee, Horace Heidt, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Buddy Rogers, Glen Gray, Tony Martin, Artie Shaw, Eddie Duchin, Sammy Kaye, Al and Bob Harvey, Ina Ray Hutton, Benny Goodman, Tony Pastor, Vaughan Monroe, The Modernaires, Gene Krupa, Trump Davidson and Spike Jones all thru the 1940s.

A famous Canadian Judge – Hon. John Arnup shared a story of his visit in August of 1940.

“The Canadian National Exhibition in the late 1930s and early 1940s had a huge tent covering a dance floor, with tables around its perimeter. In late August, 1940, I took ‘my girl’ to hear and dance to Duke Ellington. At 1am outside her apartment I proposed to her and accepted. We were married a year later and have been happily married for 53 years (in 1994)” (Source).

1940s Vintage Photo: The famous CNE dance tent in the 1940s in Toronto Ontario Canada. — CNE Tent 1940s

Other exciting information about the CNE Tent…

Tommy Dorsey makes history before playing at the CNE-September 8th, 1939

Toronto has a city airport now called “Billy Bishop Airport” but back in 1939 it was originally named Port George VI Island Airport in honour of an upcoming royal visit The first commercial passenger flight to the airport was a charter flight carrying Tommy Dorsey and his swing band for a two-day engagement at the Canadian National Exhibition on September 8, 1939. It was also the first airliner from the United States to arrive in Toronto. To mark the historical moment Tommy and his band played a few tunes right at the airport (Source).

Beauty Contest held at the CNE Tent

Beyond dancing the CNE Dance Pavillion/CNE Tent also hosted a beauty contest on September 4th, 1940 with the famous dance band leader “Tommy Dorsey” awarding the winner. Then later Dorsey, Al and Bob Harvey and their Canadian Coster Band, with Patricia Bailey played from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Cost $1.00 per person (Source).

Here are some of the contestants from the contest that year. All beauties!

1940s Vintage Photo: CNE Beauty Contest held at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition on 4 September 1940. Photo from the Halifax, Nova Scotia newspaper, the Halifax Chronicle, Tues. Sept. 10, 1940. — Source: Oakville Public Library

Note: I previously did a post on Miss Toronto contest which was held at the CNE as well but I cannot find information that this was that same contest.

A big act comes to the tent to perform….

Frank Sinatra played in Toronto in 1948.

Update: July 18th, 2023-this event might not of happened at the date stated below (see comment section)

In 1948 Frank Sinatra performed under the big tent.

I found this GREAT post on a Sinatra family forum page about his visit thru the eyes of an attendee, which I will share with you now.

I was able to retrieve a couple of memories from my Mom about the 1948 Concert held under the big tent at the CNE in Toronto.They are wonderful memories of a time totally lost. I asked her to try and write everything down when she feels up to it.

The tent was jammed to the limit with fans, and not one speck of trouble occurred. My mom remembers the wood floor that was layed out for the dancing. Can you imagine trying to pull that off nowadays? If we could only have times like that today!

She remembers his famous bow tie, and how all the girls were just swooning at the front of the stage.She had the best time. My parents’ seats (they were newly engaged at the time), along with my Uncle and Aunt were quite a distance from the stage, but the minute Frankie came on my Mom and Aunt were off like a shot, my Dad and Uncle following. As I mentioned before, she was right up to the stage, and loving every minute.You can imagine her excitement, as she’d been a bobby soxer through and through, buying every magazine, and record. And here she was FRONT AND CENTRE STARING UP AT HER IDOL! Hopefully she’ll be able to write her memories of this great time down.

Take Care,from the Second Generation of Sinatra Fans-Ann

I had a bit of a laugh last night, as my Mom recalled another interesting fact about the concert in Toronto.

There was a dance floor put up in front of the stage, and the guys were wanting to dance. The girls on the otherhand were just standing there staring at their beloved Frankie!!!! But then again what else would one expect! He was sooooo cute!!!
-Ann-

And there you have it friends an overview of a historic dance hall in Toronto that sadly no longer stands. I hope you enjoyed the post as much as I did researching information about it. And if you get a chance you really should read Peter’s book, it is truly a good read.