[18] Patty attributed the breakup to the deaths of their parents: "We had been together nearly all our lives," Patty explained in 1971. The Andrews Sisters re-entered the limelight in the early 1970s when Bette Midler released her own recording of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, modeled closely on theirs. They turned to singing as children, entertaining on local radio and in amateur revues, with Patty taking the lead, Maxene singing high harmony, and LaVerne low. [43], The Andrews Sisters were the most imitated of all female singing groups and influenced many artists, including Mel Torm, Les Paul and Mary Ford, the Four Freshmen, the Supremes, the Beach Boys, the McGuire Sisters, the Lennon Sisters, the Pointer Sisters, the Manhattan Transfer, Barry Manilow, and Bette Midler. Some of their accomplishments include selling over 90 million records, recording about 700 songs and earning nine gold records. [35][37] Some of the trio's late-1930s recordings have noticeable Boswell Sisters vocal influences. But it's possible that Patty's most fulfilling partnership was with Wally Wechsler, to whom she was married for more than 60 years. Patty also led them through more than a dozen movies, like Hollywood Canteen. They hired Patty and lured Maxene back into show business as well. In June 1956, the three reconciled. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia (July 6, 1911 - May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn (January 3, 1916 - October 21, 1995), and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" (February 16, 1918 - January 30, 2013). The Andrews Sisters, with Patty singing soprano, sold tens of millions of records in the 1930s and '40s. (1943), to war-time factory workers in Swingtime Johnny (1943). Patty and Maxene's careers experienced a resurgence when Bette Midler covered "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" in 1973. As music biographer Michael Freedland said, "The Andrews Sisters were swing personified. The girls reunited in 1956 and worked constantly for the next decade in recording studios (Capitol and Dot), on stages throughout the world (frequently in England), and in countless guest-star television spots.LaVerne's serious illness in 1966, however, promptly ended the trio permanently. In 1953, the group broke up with Laverne going to New York to study dramatics. LaVerne Andrews (July 6, 1911 - May 8, 1967) was the eldest Andrews sister and sang alto - the lowest range for women. Patty visited her sister while she was hospitalized. Then in one year, our dream world ended. opened on Broadway on March 6, 1974. Her sisters were Lavern Sophie born July 6, 1911, died 1967 (cancer); Maxene Angelyn born Jan. 3, 1916, died October 1995 of a heart attack while on vacation at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Although their recording activity was slowed by the musicians' union strike that began in 1942, they had another Top Ten hit that year with "Strip Polka." [15], An ad in the 1951 'Radio Annual' showed photos of the Andrews as children, as contemporary singers, and as old women in the then-future year of 1975, although the act would not make it that long. "Their second film was the above-average Bud Abbott - Lou Costello vehicle Buck Privates (1941), which solidly showcased the tunes "You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith," "Bounce Me Brother with a Solid Four," "I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time," and their infectious signature jump hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." This song charted on June 17, 1939 at #5. The collection is remastered in superb sound with surprising presence and vivid detail, the material is priceless, and . The song was co-written by Linda Perry. 17), "Down in the Valley (Hear that Train Blow)" (1944) (No. The Andrews Sisters (from left, Maxene, Patty and LaVerne) in the 1940s. As teenagers, the Andrews Sisters formed a singing act and began performing in vaudeville reviews throughout the Midwest. They recorded a series of Victory Discs (V-Discs) for distribution to Allied fighting forces only, again volunteering their time for studio sessions for the Music Branch, Special Service Division, of the Army Service Forces, and they were dubbed the "Sweethearts of the Armed Forces Radio Service" for their many appearances on shows such as "Command Performance", "Mail Call", and "G.I. The Andrews Sisters - @TheAndrewsSBRRegistro: Decca n 24171Data de Gravao: 4 de Agosto de 1947Local de Gravao: Nova York- Ainda na mesma seo de grava. Lucy played LaVerne, Kim (Lucie Arnaz) played Maxene, and Craig (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) played Bing Crosby. Patty died of natural causes at her home in Northridge, California, on January 30, 2013, at the age of 94. They recorded two versions so I'll post both up!\r\rSongs:\rWell, All Right! They sang at church performances, and were discovered by an talent agent who heard them sing at a revival meeting in Dayton. After the Belasco band broke up that summer, they were signed to Decca Records on their own. Childhood was, for the most part, lost to them. During World War II, the sisters were a staple of popular culture, recording with Glenn Miller and Bing Crosby, appearing in films with Abbott and Costello, and performing live around the country. Later in life, according to her adopted daughter, Maxene entered a thirteen-year relationship with her manager Lynda Wells and they later spent many years as life partners. It was like God had given us voices to fit our parts. As their fame and fortune grew, the sisters came to realize that the public saw them as an entity, not as individuals. The sisters have sold an estimated 80 million records. The sisters grew up singing together in Minnesota. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia (July 6, 1911 - May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Angelyn (January 3, 1916 - October 21, 1995), and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" (February 16, 1918 - January 30, 2013). Read Full Biography. The Disney company also utilized the girls' voices in their cartoon features Make Mine Music (1946) and Melody Time (1948).All three girls experienced down times in their personal lives as well during the late-1940s. Pablinchi. The group's renditions of swing tunes in close harmony sold millions of copies; the act was also hugely popular in live performance and in film. The Andrews Sisters typically appeared as themselves in films, and often Patty took the romantic lead. Bei Mir Bist Du Schn (Means That Youre Grand),, her own recording of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,. 1946 found them in the Top Ten with the gold-selling "South America, Take It Away" (with Crosby), "Rumors Are Flying" (accompanied by guitarist Les Paul), and "Christmas Island" (backed by Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians). 13 1 Near You / How Lucky You Are. THE ANDREWS SISTERS were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. We hardly really knew it, and when we went in we had some extra time and we just threw it in, and that was the miracle of it. Lou died in 1995.[39]. Minneapolis Tribune, October 9, 1938, pg 21. Patty, the lead singer of the group, was 7 when the trio was formed, and 12 when they won first prize at a talent contest at the local Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, where LaVerne played piano accompaniment for the silent film showings in exchange for dancing lessons for her and her sisters. Patty Andrews, Singer With Her Sisters, Is Dead at 94, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/arts/music/patty-andrews-singer-with-the-andrews-sisters-dies-at-94.html. [22], The trio reunited in 1956 and signed a new recording deal with Capitol Records, for whom Patty was already a featured soloist. Most of the Andrews Sisters' music has been restored and released in compact disc form. According to a press release from Unversal Studios during the early years of their career, LaVerne was 5'6 and 125 lbs., Maxene was 5'4 and 115 lbs., and Patty was 5'6 and 110 lbs. The Andrews Sisters were vibrant figures in the entertainment industry for about 30 years, and they still appeal to both the young and old. In 2008, Mound dedicated "The Andrews Sisters Trail". Entertainers. All three of us were upset, and we were at each other's throats all the time." The Sollie family disapproved of Olga's marriage, but the relationship was repaired once their first child, LaVerne, was born July 6, 1911. Patty announced that the war with Japan was over. In 1951 she married Wally Weschler, who had been the sisters pianist and conductor and who later became her manager. Mr. Weschler died in 2010. .Hailing from Minnesota, eldest sister LaVerne Sophie was born on July 6, 1911, followed by Maxene Angelyn on January 3, 1916, and finally Patricia Marie on February 16, 1918. "To me, being gay was not a central focus of Maxene's life at all," Wells told radio station The Current (KCMP) in a 2019 interview. The group's. Patty, the youngest, was a soprano and sang lead; Maxene handled the high harmony; and LaVerne, the oldest, took the low notes. Over Here! They boasted an exuberant, close-harmony style well-suited to cheery novelty songs, and their intricate vocal . Patty continued to perform solo, and Maxene joined the staff of a private college in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Patricia Marie Andrews was born on Feb. 16, 1918, in Minneapolis. Other songs closely associated with the Andrews Sisters include their first major hit, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schn (Means That You're Grand)" (1937), "Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)" (1939), "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" (1940), "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me)" (1942), and "Rum and Coca Cola" (1945), which helped introduce American audiences to calypso. The revue was then expanded into a book musical and Maxene Andrews was brought in for what became Over Here!. Their million-sellers with Crosby included "Pistol Packin' Mama",[65] "Don't Fence Me In",[34] "South America, Take It Away", and "Jingle Bells". The song was based on a Trinidadian calypso, and a dispute over its provenance led to a well-publicized court case. Over 300 of their original Decca recordings, a good portion of which was hit material, has yet to be released by MCA/Decca. [citation needed] Bob Hope said of Maxene's passing, "She was more than part of The Andrews Sisters, much more than a singer. Maxene's was kind of high, and I was between. Ethnicity: *father - Greek. Patty Andrewss first marriage, to the movie producer Marty Melcher, lasted two years and ended in divorce in 1949. They began singing together as children; by the time they were teenagers they made up an accomplished vocal group. Although they were well-established by the time the U.S. entered World War II, their optimistic tenor made them perfect boosters of the war effort, and in later years they remained closely identified with the war years, remembered as wearing military uniforms and singing their signature song, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.". With their jazzy renditions of songs like Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B), Rum and Coca-Cola and Dont Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me), Patty, Maxene and LaVerne Andrews sold war bonds, boosted morale on the home front, performed withBing Crosby and with theGlenn Miller Orchestra, made movies and entertained thousands of American troops overseas, for whom the women represented the loves and the land the troops had left behind. What's Cookin'?, Private Buckaroo, Give Out, Sisters (in which they disguise themselves as old women as part of the zany plot) and Moonlight and Cactus were among the team's popular full-length films. And in 1948, when they were ranked as the top recording artists of the year, the Andrews Sisters reached the Top Ten with "Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)" (with Danny Kaye), "Toolie Oolie Doolie (The Yodel Polka)," "Underneath the Arches," and "You Call Everybody Darling.". AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: It's an only-in-America tale of how three Minnesota sisters of Norwegian-Greek heritage came to have a huge hit with a . 2. . Their second daughter, Anglyn, died at eight months of age on March 16, 1914. Universal responded in like by signing them to some of their nonsensical "B" musicals derived purely for escapism as the U.S. prepared itself and became embroiled in WW2. Patty later sued her sisters over the apportionment of their late parents' estate. 1.150. Following Maxenes death in 1995, Patty continued to perform, sometimes as a featured vocalist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. 1932 in Minneapolis, MN. Her father, Peter, was a Greek immigrant who changed his name from Andreos to Andrews when he came to America. The Andrews Sisters, from left, Maxene, Patty and LaVerne, epitomised the 1940s era, 1894 shipwreck confirms tale of treacherous lifeboat. The frizzy-bobbed trio were introduced as a sort of specialty act with the songs "Hit the Road," "Oh, He Loves Me" and "Rhumboogie." They began their career in New York city with Jack Belasco's orchestra and later with Ted Mack making the Vaudeville circuit. And she said, 'Boys, the note reads here the war with Japan is over.' Her real name was Patricia Marie (Patty nickname). The trio's last Top Ten hit was "Sparrow in the Tree Top," another pairing with Bing Crosby, in 1951. [54][55][56] The trio headlined at the London Palladium in 1948[57] and 1951. 80 . During World War II (1939 - 45), a trio of sisters known as the Andrews Sisters topped the music charts with hits such as their Oscar-nominated "Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy." Their names were LaVerne, Maxene, and Patty Andrews, and they were the best-selling female vocal group in the twentieth century. When Decca settled with the union in 1943, they embarked on a series of hits, many of them with Bing Crosby. And just a few years ago, Christina Aguilera's "Candyman" gave a clear tip of the hat to the tune and its makers. Some radio stations were reluctant to play the record because it mentioned a commercial product by name, and because the lyrics were subtly suggestive of local women prostituting themselves to U.S. servicemen serving at the then naval base on Trinidad. In Give Out, Sisters (1942), they posed as rich society matron types out to better their careers while featuring their big hit "Pennsylvania Polka." 4 The Home Front" CD program notes by Edward Habib, Bei Mir Bist Du Schn (Means That You're Grand), Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me), Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front, Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!! They boasted an exuberant, close-harmony style well-suited to cheery novelty songs, and their intricate vocal arrangements and rhythmic ability mirrored the sound of the swing bands that constituted their chief competition in their heyday. (Between 1940-1948, they appeared in 17 films, including lending their voices to two animated features for Disney.) They also recorded morale-boosting "Victory Discs" for distribution to Allied forces, one of which featured their signature hit, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. DeYoung fulfilled concert appearances, including an appearance on The Dean Martin Show on November 30, 1967, but she did not record with Patty and Maxene. Although they were fired soon after their first night on the program Saturday Night Swing Club, they were signed to a recording contract by a Decca Records executive who had heard the broadcast. a perfect example of the way in which the Andrews Sisters adapted their vocal lines to the sound of a horn chart. They returned to the hit parade in April 1939 with their recording of the novelty song "Hold Tight, Hold Tight." With their precise harmonies and perfectly . They broke up in 1967 after the death of LaVerne, but their music is still played over certain radio . Unfortunately, the close harmony on songs like "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" didn't reflect their family dynamic. With their precise harmonies and perfectly . Their hit recording "Sincerely" spent more than two months at No. The group's other Top Ten hits for 1945 were "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" and "Along the Navajo Trail," both with Crosby, and "The Blond Sailor." An overnight sensation upon release wherein it sold more than a million copies, their contract was immediately revised by Decca and throughout the rest of the decade, they recorded smash after smash -- "The Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel! [7] After singing with various dance bands and touring in vaudeville with Leon Belasco (and his orchestra)[8] and comic bandleader Larry Rich, they first came to national attention with their recordings and radio broadcasts in 1937, most notably via their major Decca record hit, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schn" (translation: "To Me, You Are Beautiful"),[9] originally a Yiddish tune, the lyrics of which Sammy Cahn had translated to English and "which the girls harmonized to perfection. The Andrews Sisters' harmonies and songs are still influential today, and have been copied and recorded by entertainers such as Patti Page, Bette Midler, Christina Aguilera, Pentatonix, and others. 20), "(Everytime They Play the) Sabre Dance" (with, "I'm Biting My Fingernails and Thinking of You" (with, "I Wish I Had a Dime (For Ev'rytime I Missed You)" (1941) (No. Maxene Andrews married music publisher Lou Levy in 1941, separating in 1949. 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