Western Maine
24
Westbrook’s Rudy Vallee “Let every loyal Maine man sing” by Charles Francis
T
hat Rudy Vallee, the first great American popular singer, had connections to Maine is a wellknown fact. Vallee crooned in the tradition of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, who were to succeed him. After all, he was the singer who made The Maine Stein Song famous. Many people believe because of this that Vallee was a Maine native. While he and his sister Kathleen, who was actually the more polished musician, grew up at 36 Munroe Avenue in Westbrook, both were actually born in Vermont. Also, many believe that because Vallee made The Maine Stein Song one of his signature pieces that he was a graduate of the University of Maine. This is a miscon-
ception too, for while Vallee did attend the University of Maine, he actually graduated from Yale. In addition, because of his making The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi a hit song and the fact that Sigma Chi fraternity was founded at the University of Maine, many believe Vallee was a member of Sigma Chi. This, too, is a misconception, as Vallee joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity when he attended the University of Maine. Even given these facts, however, Rudy Vallee was indeed a Mainer, albeit not a native. Vallee spent his formative years as well as a fair portion of his adult life in Maine. Hubert Prior “Rudy” and Kathleen Vallee were born in Island Pond, Ver-
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