Alice Mann

US-born jazz singer from upstate New York, wife and musical partner of Billy Bissett. She started her singing career on local Syracuse, NY radio station WFBL. In 1934 the station manager referred her to Billy Bissett who was looking for a vocalist and she moved to Toronto to join him at the Royal York Hotel. She accompanied Billy to Europe in 1936 but due to labour laws at the time she would not be able to sing with her husband's band for its first years in England, so was contracted to Jack Hylton and Freddy Gardner instead.

Billy and Alice were set to return to North America after completing their engagement at Café de Paris in August 1939 but two days before their ship sailed from London, World War II broke out and they were unable to leave. Billy and Alice returned to North America in 1940 and after a short stint with a new band in California, moved to Chicago and played extensively at the Aragon, Chicago, Illinois and Trianon Ballroom, Chicago and throughout the mid-west during the 40s and 50s with a reformed orchestra until Billy left the music business to become a stockbroker in 1953. Billy and Alice retired to the San Diego suburb of Poway in 1969.

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