Margaret Whiting, born in 1924, was a child of show business twice over. Her father was songwriter Richard Whiting ("Too Marvelous for Words," "On the Good Ship Lollipop"), and after Whiting died when Margaret was still a teenager, songwriter Johnny Mercer became her mentor. Signed to Mercer's Capitol label in the early 1940s, she had 12 gold records before the rock 'n' roll era, including Mercer's "My Ideal" and her signature song, "Moonlight in Vermont." One of the first singers to cross Nashville over into Tin Pan Alley, she hit Number One with "Slippin' Around," a duet with country star Jimmy Wakely.

A cabaret revival in the 1970s and 1980s gave Whiting a new career as one of New York's most beloved cabaret performers, on her own and as part of a revue, 4 Girls 4, with Rosemary Clooney, Rose Marie, and Helen O'Connell. She also starred in a tribute to Johnny Mercer staged by her longtime companion, former gay porn star Jack Wrangler.

Further Reading:

Whiting, Margaret, and Will Holt. It Might As Well Be Spring: A Musical Autobiography. New York, William Morrow, 1987.