They were particularly inspired by the Boswell Sisters, who scored a number of hits in the early '30s. They began singing together as children; by the time they were teenagers they made up an accomplished vocal group. In Give Out, Sisters (1942), they posed as rich society matron types out to better their careers while featuring their big hit "Pennsylvania Polka." She said, "We had been together nearly all our lives. In 2008, Mound dedicated "The Andrews Sisters Trail". The Andrews Sisters were a popular harmonizing singing group consisting of three sisters, Patty Andrews, Maxene Andrews and Laverne Andrews. [22], The trio reunited in 1956 and signed a new recording deal with Capitol Records, for whom Patty was already a featured soloist. - The Andrews Sisters\r\rI DO NOT OWN AND SONGS OR PICTURES USED IN THE MAKING OF THIS VIDEO. Journal. In late1947, CBS Radio signed the sisters as regulars on "Club Fifteen" (they appeared three times a week for five years with alternating hosts Bob Crosby and crooner Dick Haymes.In 1942, Universal decided it was the right time to spruce them up and give them a bit more on-screen persona by featuring them front-and-center in what turned out to be an unfortunate string of poorly-produced "quickies." The Andrews Sisters (from left, Maxene, Patty and LaVerne) in the 1940s. The song was based on a Trinidadian calypso, and a dispute over its provenance led to a well-publicized court case. When the show was rewritten for Broadway and renamed Over Here!, the producers decided that the Andrews Sisters were the only logical choice for the leads. 3.50. Vocal. In the years just before and during World War II, the Andrews Sisters were at the height of their popularity, and the group still tends to be associated in the public's mind with the war years. She was the leader; she was the one that your eyes would focus on," says Joel Whitburn, founder of Record Research, a company that's tracked Billboard's popular music charts for almost 40 years. Maxene denied it, and LaVerne maintained that Maxene . Maxine was only four when she first appeared on her first radio broadcast in Minneapolis. Female vocal trio who were one of the most popular and influential acts of the Big Band era. Patty Andrews, center, with her sisters Maxene, left and LaVerne, in the 1940s. The Andrews Sisters were an American singing group in the 1930s, the 1940s and the 1950s. lasted only a year, and its end marked the last time the sisters would ever sing together. Bands with femenine names. [citation needed] Bob Hope said of Maxene's passing, "She was more than part of The Andrews Sisters, much more than a singer. Instrumental to the sisters' success over the years were their parents, Olga and Peter, their orchestra leader and musical arranger, Vic Schoen (19162000), and Jack and David Kapp, who founded Decca Records. They hired Patty and lured Maxene back into show business as well. Offstage, the sisters well-publicized feuds kept them in the gossip pages. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. This song charted on June 17, 1939 at #5.. The ashes of LaVerne and Maxene Andrews are interred in the Columbarium of Memory of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California,[29] close to the ashes of their parents. The group's career spanned more than five decades and resulted in 90 million records and 46 top 10 hits. Some of their accomplishments include selling over 90 million records, recording about 700 songs and earning nine gold records. And just a few years ago, Christina Aguilera's "Candyman" gave a clear tip of the hat to the tune and its makers. (1942), and Swingtime Johnny (1943). The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. May 8, 1967, Brentwood, California), Maxene Angelyn Andrews (b. January 3, 1916, Minneapolisd. The National WW2 Museum's Victory Belles are proud to pay tribute to the Andrews Sisters performing their music daily in the Stage Door Canteen in New Orleans. It was actually written for the Yiddish theater. [14] The sisters later told biographers that they were asked to record the tune on short notice and were unaware either of the copyright issue or of the implications of the lyrics. They were getting ready to perform outside Naples, Italy, for troops headed to the Pacific when Patty was handed a piece of paper to read. "She just seemed to effuse that warmth and personality and charm and smile and vigor more so than the other two sisters. "Patty was an outstanding presence. Patty also led them through more than a dozen movies, like Hollywood Canteen. Patty's solo aspirations caused the trio to break up in 1953, though they reunited a few short years later. When Patti sued her sisters, demanding proper settlement of their mother's estate, Maxene made the headlines on December 21, 1954, with a suspected suicide attempt because of the conflict. (Tonight's The Night) was a song recorded by the Andrews Sisters in 1939 arranged with Vic Schoen. The previous year, Patty Andrews had appeared in a West Coast musical called Victory Canteen, set during World War II. Their recording of Bei Mir Bist Du Schn became a favorite of the Nazis, until it was discovered that the song's composers were of Jewish descent. You get with an orchestra, and you listen to three great trumpets playingso we knew that this is the way you wanted to blend. Their million-sellers with Crosby included "Pistol Packin' Mama",[65] "Don't Fence Me In",[34] "South America, Take It Away", and "Jingle Bells". 80. After selling more than 75 million records, the Andrews Sisters broke up in 1953 when Patty decided to go solo. ", The Andrews Sisters premiered their own weekly network radio show, Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch, at the end of 1944 as the hits continued with the calypso song "Rum and Coca-Cola," which went to number one in February 1945, becoming the biggest hit of that year. As Maxene Andrews recalled. As the war ended, the Andrews Sisters became the stars of their own radio program, The Andrews Sisters Show. RYM artists in order they were added. They played a crucial role in the war effort, performing for troops at USO shows around the world and entertaining radio listeners across the U.S. Instead of crooning gently and sweetly, the Andrews Sisters "had a powerhouse sound, like a trio of blasting trumpets, and a unique close harmony." The Andrews Sisters typically appeared as themselves in films, and often Patty took the romantic lead. The sisters' private relationship was often troubled and Patty blamed it on Maxene: "Ever since I was born, Maxene has been a problem, and that problem hasn't stopped," she said. Like her older sisters, Patty learned to love music as a child (she also became a good tap dancer), and she did not have to be persuaded when Maxene suggested that the sisters form a trio in 1932. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Eldest sister LaVerne died in 1967 at the age of 55 after a year-long bout with cancer[24] during which she was replaced by singer Joyce DeYoung (May 24, 1926 March 7, 2014). Genre. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Patty was only ten at the time. Patty, the youngest, was a soprano and sang lead; Maxene handled the high harmony; and LaVerne, the oldest, took the low notes. But it's possible that Patty's most fulfilling partnership was with Wally Wechsler, to whom she was married for more than 60 years. In addition, they produced three hi-fi albums, including a vibrant LP of songs from the dancing 1920s with Billy May's orchestra. They began their career in New York city with Jack Belasco's orchestra and later with Ted Mack making the Vaudeville circuit. The preeminent singing sister act of all time with well over 75 million records sold by which the swinging big-band era could not be better represented were the fabulous Andrews Sisters: the blonde melodic mezzo Patty Andrews, the brunette soprano Maxene Andrews and the red-headed contralto Laverne Andrews. It launched the careers of many now notable theater, film, and television stars, including John Travolta, Marilu Henner, Treat Williams, and Ann Reinking. They got their start in the Depression-era early 1930s, and their first big hit, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen", was recorded . . Patty visited her sister while she was hospitalized. They were born in Middletown, Ohio. "[41] Maxene died October 21, 1995, at age 79. [18] Patty attributed the breakup to the deaths of their parents: "We had been together nearly all our lives," Patty explained in 1971. The sisters have sold an estimated 80 million records. Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters trio, died of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles on Wednesday, according to her management. Maxene Andrews was on a vacation from her role in the off-Broadway musical Swingtime Canteen when she suffered another heart attack and died in the fall of 1995. After that, the sisters pursued solo careers into the 1990s. The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. They also appeared in a number of films, supporting Abbott and Costello in Buck Privates, In the Navy, and Hold That Ghost (all 1941), and appearing in their own series of musical comedies, which included Private Buckaroo (1942), Whats Cookin? Anyone can read what you share. It was an appropriate coda to her career, as the Andrews Sisters and the Miller orchestra had embodied Americas musical tastes during the World War II years. Confidential, [58] They hosted their own radio shows for ABC and CBS from 1944 to 1951,[59] singing specially written commercial jingles for such products as Wrigley's chewing gum,[60] Dole pineapples,[61] Nash motor cars, Kelvinator home appliances,[62] Campbell's soups, and Franco-American food products. The trio's last Top Ten hit was "Sparrow in the Tree Top," another pairing with Bing Crosby, in 1951. [citation needed] Elvis Presley was a fan. . 1932 in Minneapolis, MN. which ran for 10 months in 197475. 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