On 16 November 1935, 13-year-old Garland was in the midst of preparing for a radio performance on the "Shell Chateau Hour" when she learned that her father had been hospitalized with meningitis and had taken a turn for the worse. Frank Gumm died the following morning at age 49, leaving her devastated. Her song for the "Shell Chateau Hour" was her first professional rendition of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", a song which became a standard in many of her concerts.