Big band singer Margaret Whiting dies in NJ at 86

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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The sweet-voiced big band singer of sentimental ballads such as "Moonlight in Vermont" and "It Might As Well Be Spring" has died in New Jersey. Margaret Whiting was 86.

Whiting sold millions of records in the 1940s and '50s.

Lillian Booth Actors' Home administrator Jordan Strohl says she died Monday at the home in Englewood, N.J. She had lived in New York City for many years before moving to the home in March.

Whiting grew up with the music business. She was the daughter of Richard Whiting, a prolific composer of such hits as "My Ideal," "Sleepy Time Gal" and "Beyond the Blue Horizon." Her family's California home was a gathering place for such songwriters as George and Ira Gershwin, Frank Loesser, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer.

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