Six Hits and a Miss

{{short description|American swing-era singing group}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Six Hits and a Miss

| image =

| image_size =

| landscape =

| caption =

| origin = Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

| genre = Vocal jazz, pop

| years_active =

| label = Decca

| associated_acts = Bob Hope, Bing Crosby
(1904-1977), Frank Sinatra

| past_members = * Andy Williams

• Bill Seckler
• Howard Hudson
• Jerry Duane
• Jerry Preshaw
• Lee Gotch
• Mack McLean
• Martha Tilton
• Marvin Bailey
• Pauline Byrns
• Tony Paris
• Vince Degen

}}

Six Hits and a Miss was an American swing-era singing group. The group consisted of six male singers and one female (thus the word "miss" in their name has a double meaning – the converse of the word "hit", and denotation of a young woman). They performed musical numbers in several Hollywood feature films of the 1940s, such as Time Out for Rhythm (1941), The Big Store (1941), Hit Parade of 1941 (1941), and Girl Crazy (1943).{{IMDb name |1098756}}{{unreliable source|date=June 2025}}{{better source|date=June 2025}}

The group was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1936 as a foursome, under the name Three Hits and a Miss, the members being Martha Tilton, Vince Degen, Marvin Bailey and Bill Seckler. In this configuration they appeared in the 1937 hit film Topper, singing Hoagy Carmichael's song, "Old Man Moon". The quartet also performed on actress/comedienne Charlotte Greenwood’s situation comedy program, The Charlotte Greenwood Show on radio broadcasts in the mid-1940s on the NBC Blue Network in the summer of 1944 and 1945-1946 after the network was forced to reorganize as the American Broadcasting Company.{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Fi5wPDBiGfMC&dq=%22The+Charlotte+Greenwood+Show,+situation+comedy%22+%22Three+Hits+and+a+Miss%22&pg=PA150 |last=Dunning |first=John |author-link=John Dunning (detective fiction author) |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |page=150 |edition=Revised |access-date=2019-08-29}}

The group soon{{when|date=June 2025}} expanded to a septet. Members came and went, particularly due to wartime service, and included at various times Pauline Byrns, Howard Hudson, Tony Paris, Marvin Bailey, Jerry Preshaw, Lee Gotch, and Mack McLean. They were regulars on The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope in the late 1930s and early 1940s,{{cite web |url=http://www.jgdb.com/radio39.htm |title=Judy Garland on Radio, 1939 |author=Jim Johnson |work=Judy Garland Database |access-date=February 16, 2012}}{{cite web |url=https://radiogoldin.library.umkc.edu/Home/RadioGoldin_Records?searchString=The%20Pepsodent%20Show&type=Programs |title=The Pepsodent Show |author=J. David Goldin |work=Radio Gold Index |access-date=February 16, 2012}} and recorded as backup singers for Judy Garland,{{cite web |url=http://www.last.fm/music/Judy%2BGarland%252C%2BTony%2BMartin%2B%2526%2BSix%2BHits%2BAnd%2BA%2BMiss/_/We+Must+Have+Music |title=Judy Garland, Tony Martin & Six Hits And A Miss – We Must Have Music |work=Last.fm |access-date=February 16, 2012}} Jimmy Durante,{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Jimmy-Durante-With-Six-Hits-And-A-Miss-Inka-Dinka-Doo-Umbriago/release/1859099 |title=Jimmy Durante With Six Hits And A Miss – Inka Dinka Doo / Umbriago |work=Discogs |date=June 1944 |access-date=February 16, 2012}} and Bing Crosby, whom they backed on his 1944 recording of "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" (later the theme song from the 1946 Western film, The Harvey Girls, starring Judy Garland). The recording reached the Billboard charts on July 19, 1945, and lasted ten weeks on the chart, peaking at number four.{{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |title=Top Pop Records 1940-1955 |publisher=Record Research |year=1973}} They reached No. 11{{cite web |url=http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-1/youdbesonicetocomehometo.htm |title=You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To (1942) |work=Jazz Standards |access-date=February 16, 2012}} or No. 16{{cite web |url=http://www.musicvf.com/Six+Hits+and+a+Miss.art |title=Six Hits and a Miss Songs |work=Music VF |access-date=February 16, 2012}} on their own in 1943 with Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To".

The group shrank to Four Hits and a Miss.{{when|date=June 2025}} This configuration briefly included a young Andy Williams.{{cite web |url=http://www.eloisewebsite.com/pure_heaven.htm |title=Kay Thompson: "Pure Heaven" Tributes to a Lady with "Bazzazz" |author=Jim Caruso |date=April 26, 1999 |work=The Eloise Website |access-date=February 16, 2012}} Under this name, they worked with Frank Sinatra{{cite book |last=Granata |first=Charles L. |title=Sessions with Sinatra: Frank Sinatra and the Art of Recording |publisher=Chicago Review Press |year=2003 |page=49 |isbn=978-1-55652-509-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lXZvTzc-9PwC&dq=%22Four+Hits+and+a+Miss%22&pg=PA49 }} and recorded into the late 1940s on the Decca label.

Alumni Vince Degen, Tony Paris, Howard Hudson, Pauline Byrns and Andy Williams (soon{{when|date=June 2025}} replaced by Jerry Duane) went on to form The Starlighters in 1946, continuing into the 1950s.

Six Hits and a Miss is also the name of a 1942 musical short film in which the group appeared.{{IMDb title|0351754|Six Hits and a Miss (short film)}}{{unreliable source|date=June 2025}}{{better source|date=June 2025}} Personnel at that time were Pauline Byrns, Marvin Bailey, Vince Degen, Lee Gotch, Mack McLean, Tony Paris and Bill Seckler.