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The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters
from Wikipedia

The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie Andrews (1918–2013).[1] The sisters have sold an estimated 80 million records.[2] Their 1941 hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" can be considered an early example of jump blues. Other songs closely associated with the Andrews Sisters include their first major hit, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (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.

Key Information

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, The Pointer Sisters, Pentatonix, and others. The group was among the inaugural inductees to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame upon its opening in 1998.[3] Writing for Bloomberg, Mark Schoifet said the sisters became the most popular female vocal group of the first half of the 20th century.[4] They are still widely acclaimed today for their famous close harmonies. They were inducted into the Minnesota Rock/Country Hall of Fame in May 2006.

Early life

[edit]

The sisters were born to Olga Bergliot "Ollie" (née Sollie; 1886—1948) and Peter Andreas. Peter Andreas (later "Andrews"), (1890—1949) was Greek and his wife Olga Andrews was of Norwegian ancestry raised in the Lutheran faith. The Sollie family disapproved of Olga's marriage, but the relationship was repaired once their first child, LaVerne, was born July 6, 1911. Their second daughter, Anglyn, died at eight months of age on March 16, 1914. Maxene arrived on January 3, 1916, and Patty was born February 16, 1918.

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. Following the collapse of their father's Minneapolis restaurant, the sisters went on the road to support the family.[5] All three attended Franklin Junior High School and North High School, both in Minneapolis.[6]

Career

[edit]

History

[edit]

They started their career as imitators of an earlier successful singing group, the Boswell Sisters, who had been popular until their breakup in 1936.[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 Schön" (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."[10] They followed this success with a string of best-selling records over the next two years and, by the 1940s, had become a household name.[11]

Instrumental to the sisters' success over the years were their parents, Olga and Peter, their orchestra leader and musical arranger, Vic Schoen (1916–2000), and Jack and David Kapp, who founded Decca Records.

World War II

[edit]
The Andrews Sisters singing 'Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me)' in the 1942 film Private Buckaroo

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. They had numerous hit records during these years, both on their own and in collaboration with fellow Decca Records artist Bing Crosby. Some of these hits had service or military related themes, including "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Three Little Sisters", "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)", "A Hot Time In the Town of Berlin" and "Rum and Coca-Cola". The sisters performed their hits in service comedy films, such as Buck Privates[12] and Private Buckaroo.

During the war, they entertained the Allied forces extensively in Africa and Italy, as well as in the U.S., visiting Army, Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard bases, war zones, hospitals, and munitions factories.[13] They encouraged U.S. citizens to purchase war bonds with their rendition of Irving Berlin's song "Any Bonds Today?". They also helped actress Bette Davis and actor John Garfield found California's famous Hollywood Canteen, a welcome retreat for servicemen where the trio often performed, volunteering their personal time to sing and dance for the soldiers, sailors, and Marines (they did the same at New York City's Stage Door Canteen during the war).

While touring, they often treated three random servicemen to dinner when they were dining out. 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. Journal.[14]

The sisters' 1945 hit "Rum and Coca-Cola" became one of their most popular and best-known recordings, but also inspired some controversy. 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 naval base on Trinidad. The song was based on a Trinidadian calypso, and a dispute over its provenance led to a well-publicized court case.[15] The sisters later told biographers that they were asked to record the tune at short notice and were unaware either of the copyright issue or of the implications of the lyrics.[16]

Interruption

[edit]
The Andrews Sisters in April 1952, one year before their formal break-up. From top: LaVerne, Patty, Maxene.

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.[17] In the 1950s, Patty Andrews decided to break away from the act to be a soloist.[18] She had married the trio's pianist, Walter Weschler, who became the group's manager and demanded more money for Patty.[1] When Maxene and LaVerne learned of Patty's decision from newspaper gossip columns rather than from their own sister, it caused a bitter two-year separation, especially when Patty sued LaVerne for a larger share of their parents' estate.[19] Patty attributed the breakup to the deaths of their parents: "We had been together nearly all our lives," Patty explained in 1971. "Then in one year our dream world ended. Our mother died (in 1948) and then our father (in 1949). All three of us were upset, and we were at each other's throats all the time."[1] The Andrews Sisters formally broke up in 1953.[18]

Maxene and LaVerne tried to continue the act as a duo and met with good press during a 10-day tour of Australia, but a reported suicide attempt by Maxene in December 1954[20] put a halt to any further tours (Maxene spent a short time in the hospital after swallowing 18 sleeping pills, an occurrence that LaVerne told reporters was an accident). Maxene and LaVerne did appear together on The Red Skelton Show on October 26, 1954, singing the humorous "Why Do They Give the Solos to Patty" as well as lip-synching "Beer Barrel Polka" with Skelton in drag filling in for Patty. This, however, did not sit well with Patty, and a cease-and-desist order was sent to Skelton. 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.[21]

The trio reunited in 1956 and signed a new recording deal with Capitol Records, for whom Patty was already a featured soloist. By this point, however, rock-and-roll and doo-wop were dominating the charts, and older artists were left by the wayside. The sisters recorded a dozen singles through 1959, some of which attempted to keep up with the times by incorporating rock sounds. None of these achieved any major success. In addition, they produced three hi-fi albums, including a vibrant LP of songs from the dancing 1920s with Billy May's orchestra. In 1962, they signed with Dot Records and recorded a series of stereo albums until 1967, both re-recordings of earlier hits which incorporated up-to-date production techniques as well as new material, including "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", "Still", "The End of the World", "Puff the Magic Dragon", "Sailor", "Satin Doll", "Mr. Bass Man", the theme from Come September, and the theme from A Man and a Woman. They toured extensively during the 1960s, favoring top nightclubs in Las Vegas, California, and London, England.[22]

Eldest sister LaVerne died in 1967 at the age of 55 after a year-long bout with cancer,[23] during which she was replaced by singer Joyce DeYoung (May 24, 1926 – March 7, 2014). 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. LaVerne had founded the original group and often acted as the peacemaker among the three during the sisters' lives, more often siding with her parents, to whom the girls were extremely devoted, than with either of her sisters. Their last appearance together as a trio was on The Dean Martin Show on September 29, 1966.

After LaVerne died, Maxene and Patty continued to perform periodically until 1968, when Maxene became the Dean of Women at Tahoe Paradise College,[24] teaching acting, drama, and speech, and working with troubled teens; and Patty was once again eager to be a soloist.[25]

In 1969, Patty appeared in Lucille Ball's third series Here's Lucy, in the sixth episode of the second season, titled "Lucy and the Andrews Sisters". The episode has Patty enlisting the help of Lucy, her daughter Kim (played by Lucie Arnaz), and her son Craig (Desi Arnaz Jr.) to perform a medley of Andrews Sisters hits for the Andrews Sisters Fan Club reunion. Lucy played LaVerne, Kim (Lucie Arnaz) played Maxene, and Craig (Desi Arnaz Jr.) played Bing Crosby. She also had a cameo as herself, along with many other stars, in the 1970 film The Phynx.

Comeback

[edit]

Patty and Maxene's careers experienced a resurgence when Bette Midler covered "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" in 1973. The next year, the pair debuted on Broadway in the Sherman Brothers' nostalgic World War II musical: Over Here!, which premiered at the Shubert Theatre to rave reviews. This was a follow-up to Patty's success in Victory Canteen, a 1971 California revue. Over Here! starred Maxene and Patty (with Janie Sell filling in for LaVerne and winning a Tony Award for her performance) and was written with both sisters in mind for the leads. It launched the careers of many now notable theater, film, and television stars, including John Travolta, Marilu Henner, Treat Williams, and Ann Reinking. It was the last major tour for the sisters and was cut short owing to a conflict with the show's producers over pay for the sisters, resulting in the cancellation of an extensively scheduled road tour.[26] Over Here! lasted only a year, and its end marked the last time the sisters would ever sing together.[27]

Patty continually distanced herself from Maxene, until her death, and would not explain her motives regarding the separation. Maxene appealed to Patty for a reunion, personally if not professionally, both in public and in private, but to no avail. Maxene suffered a serious heart attack while performing in Illinois in 1982 and underwent quadruple bypass surgery, from which she successfully recovered. Patty visited her sister while she was hospitalized. Now sometimes appearing as "Patti" (but still signing autographs as "Patty"), she re-emerged in the late 1970s as a regular panelist on The Gong Show. Maxene had a successful comeback as a cabaret soloist in 1979 and toured worldwide for the next 15 years, recording a solo album in 1985 entitled Maxene: An Andrews Sister for Bainbridge Records. Patty started her own solo act in 1980, but did not receive the critical acclaim her sister had for her performances, even though Patty was considered to be the "star" of the group for years. The critics' major complaint was that Patty's show concentrated too much on Andrews Sisters material, which did not allow Patty's own talents as an expressive and bluesy vocalist to shine through.[28]

The two sisters did reunite, albeit briefly, on October 1, 1987, when they received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, even singing a few bars of "Beer Barrel Polka" for the Entertainment Tonight cameras. The 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake had shaken the area that morning and the ceremony was nearly cancelled, which caused Patty to joke, "Some people said that earthquake this morning was LaVerne because she couldn't be here, but really it was just Maxene and me on the telephone." Besides this, and a few brief private encounters, they remained somewhat estranged for their remaining years, with Maxene dying in 1995.[29]

Shortly after her Off-Broadway debut in New York City in a show called Swingtime Canteen, Maxene suffered another heart attack and died at Cape Cod Hospital on October 21, 1995, making Patty the last surviving Andrews Sister. Not long before she died, Maxene told music historian William Ruhlmann:

I have nothing to regret. We got on the carousel and we each got the ring and I was satisfied with that. There's nothing I would do to change things if I could...Yes, I would. I wish I had the ability and the power to bridge the gap between my relationship with my sister, Patty.[30]

Upon hearing the news of her sister's death, Patty became distraught. Several days later, Patty's husband, Wally, fell down a flight of stairs and broke both of his wrists. As a result, Patty did not attend either the California or New York memorial services for Maxene.[31] Bob Hope said of Maxene's death, "She was more than part of The Andrews Sisters, much more than a singer. She was a warm and wonderful lady who shared her talent and wisdom with others."[30]

As musical innovators

[edit]

They found instant appeal with teenagers and young adults who were engrossed in the swing and jazz idioms, especially when they performed with nearly all of the major big bands, including those led by Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, Joe Venuti, Freddie Slack, Eddie Heywood, Bob Crosby (Bing's brother), Desi Arnaz, Guy Lombardo, Les Brown, Bunny Berigan, Xavier Cugat, Paul Whiteman, Ted Lewis, Nelson Riddle, and Gordon Jenkins.[citation needed]

Many styles

[edit]

While the sisters specialized in traditional pop,[32] swing, boogie-woogie, and novelty hits with their trademark lightning-quick vocal syncopations, they also produced major hits in jazz, ballads, folk, country, seasonal, and religious titles, being the first Decca artists to record an album of gospel standards in 1950.[33] Their versatility allowed them to pair with many different artists in the recording studios, producing Top 10 hits with the likes of Bing Crosby[34] (the only recording artist of the 1940s to sell more records than the Andrews Sisters), Danny Kaye, Dick Haymes, Carmen Miranda, Al Jolson, Ray McKinley, Burl Ives, Ernest Tubb, Red Foley, Dan Dailey, Alfred Apaka, and Les Paul.[35][36] In personal appearances, on radio and on television, they sang with everyone from Rudy Vallee, Judy Garland, and Nat "King" Cole, to Jimmie Rodgers, Andy Williams, and the Supremes.[35][37] Some of the trio's late 1930s recordings have noticeable Boswell Sisters vocal influences.[38]

Marriages, family, and deaths

[edit]

LaVerne Andrews married Lou Rogers,[23] a trumpet player in Vic Schoen's band, in 1948. The two remained together until LaVerne's death from liver cancer on May 8, 1967, at the age of 55. Lou died in 1995.[39]

Maxene Andrews married music publisher Lou Levy in 1941, separating in 1949. They adopted a girl and a boy, Aleda Ann and Peter.[40] Levy was the sisters' manager from 1937 to 1951. Later in life, according to her adopted daughter, Maxene entered a thirteen-year relationship with a woman and later spent many years with her manager Lynda Wells as life partners. "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.[41] "Her art was. Her singing was." However, Wells says that their status as companions, and Maxene's health issues as she got older, led Maxene to adopt her as a daughter. "There was no such thing as being married at that time," she said. "During her lifetime, there was no such thing that existed for us."[41] Maxene died October 21, 1995, at age 79. The ashes of LaVerne and Maxene Andrews are interred in the Columbarium of Memory of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California,[28] near the ashes of their parents.

Patty Andrews married agent Marty Melcher in 1947 but left him in 1949, when he pursued a romantic relationship with Doris Day. She then married Walter Weschler, the trio's pianist, in 1951. Patty died of natural causes at her home in Northridge, California, on January 30, 2013, at the age of 94. Weschler, her husband of nearly 60 years, had died on August 28, 2010, at the age of 88.[5][42]

Joyce DeYoung Murray, who replaced LaVerne from late 1966 to 1968, died in March 2014 at the age of 87.

Legacy

[edit]

The Andrews Sisters were the most imitated of all female singing groups and influenced many artists, including Mel Tormé, 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.[citation needed] Their style was even emulated internationally; the Harmony Sisters, a popular Finland group that performed from the 1930s to the 1950s, was one such example.[43]

Most of the Andrews Sisters' music has been restored and released in compact disc form. Over 300 of their original Decca recordings, a good portion of which was hit material, has yet to be released by MCA/Decca. Many of their Decca recordings have been used in such television shows and Hollywood movies as Homefront, ER, Agent Carter, The Brink's Job, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Swing Shift, Raggedy Man, Summer of '42, Slaughterhouse-Five, Maria's Lovers, Harlem Nights, In Dreams, Murder in the First, L.A. Confidential, American Horror Story, Just Shoot Me, Gilmore Girls, Mama's Family, War and Remembrance, Jakob the Liar, Lolita, The Polar Express, The Chronicles of Narnia, Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!). Comical references to the trio in television sitcoms can be found as early as I Love Lucy and as recently as Everybody Loves Raymond. In 2007, their version of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" was included in the game BioShock, a first-person shooter that takes place in an alternate history 1960, and later in 2008, their song "Civilization" (with Danny Kaye) was included in the Atomic Age-inspired video game Fallout 3. The 2010 video game Mafia II features numerous Andrews Sisters songs, with "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Strip Polka" and "Rum and Coca-Cola". The 2011 video game L.A. Noire features the song "Pistol Packin' Mama", where the sisters perform a duet with Bing Crosby.[44] The sisters were again featured in a Fallout game in 2015, when their songs "Pistol Packin' Mama" and "Civilization" were featured in the game Fallout 4.

Christina Aguilera used the Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" to inspire her song "Candyman" (released as a single in 2007) from her hit album Back to Basics. The song was co-written by Linda Perry. The London-based trio the Puppini Sisters uses their style harmonies on several Andrews Sisters and other hits of the 1940s and 1950s, as well as later rock and disco hits. The trio have said their name is a tribute to the Andrews Sisters. The National WW2 Museum's Victory Belles pay tribute to the Andrews Sisters, performing their music daily in the Stage Door Canteen in New Orleans. The Manhattan Dolls, a New York City-based touring group, performs both the popular songs sung by the Andrews Sisters and some of the more obscure ones, such as "Well Alright" and "South American Way".[45][46]

In 2008 and 2009, the BBC produced The Andrews Sisters: Queens of the Music Machines, a one-hour documentary on the history of the Andrews Sisters from their upbringing to the present. The North American premiere of the show was June 21, 2009, in their summer vacation enclave of Mound, Minnesota. In 2008, Mound dedicated "The Andrews Sisters Trail". The sisters spent summers in Mound[1] with their uncles Pete and Ed Solie, who had a grocery store there. Maxene Andrews always said that the summers in Mound created a major sense of "normalcy" and "a wonderful childhood" in a life that otherwise centered on the sisters' careers. The Westonka Historical Society has a large collection of Andrews Sisters memorabilia.[47]

In 2019, the Great American Songbook Foundation held an exhibition titled "The Andrews Sisters: Queens of the Jukebox," which led discussions about the lives and impact of the Andrews sisters' careers on the music industry alongside a collection of archival artifacts and historic memorabilia.[48] The Songbook Library & Archives houses most comprehensive collection of Andrews Sisters memorabilia available today.[49]

The Bronx Zoo acquired three young female Asian Elephants in October 1973, which they named Laverne, Maxine (a slightly different spelling), and Patty in honor of the trio. Of the three elephants, Patty still resides at the Bronx Zoo today, while the other two elephants, Laverne and Maxine, died in 1982 and 2018 respectively.

Filmography

[edit]

Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne appeared in 17 Hollywood films. Their first picture, Argentine Nights, paired them with another enthusiastic trio, the Ritz Brothers.[50] Universal Pictures, always budget-conscious, refused to hire a choreographer, so the Ritzes taught the sisters some eccentric steps. Thus, in Argentine Nights and the sisters' next film, Buck Privates, the Andrews Sisters dance like the Ritz Brothers.[citation needed]

Buck Privates, with Abbott and Costello, featured the Andrews Sisters' best-known song, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."[51] This Don Raye-Hughie Prince composition was nominated for Best Song at the 1941 Academy Awards ceremony.[52]

Universal hired the sisters for two more Abbott and Costello comedies and then promoted them to full-fledged stardom in B musicals. 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.[53]

The Andrews Sisters sing the title song as the opening credits roll and also perform two specialty numbers in the all-star revue Hollywood Canteen (1944). They can be seen singing "You Don't Have to Know the Language" with Bing Crosby in Paramount's Road to Rio with Bob Hope, that year's highest-grossing movie. Their singing voices are heard in two full-length Walt Disney features: Make Mine Music,[54] in a segment which featured animated characters Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet; and Melody Time, in the segment "Little Toot" (both of which are available on DVD today).[citation needed]

Stage and radio shows

[edit]

The Andrews Sisters were the most sought-after singers in theater shows worldwide during the 1940s and early 1950s, always topping previous house averages.[55][56][57] The trio headlined at the London Palladium in 1948[58] and 1951.[59] They hosted their own radio shows for ABC and CBS from 1944 to 1951,[60] singing specially written commercial jingles for such products as Wrigley's chewing gum,[61] Dole pineapples,[62] Nash motor cars, Kelvinator home appliances,[63] Campbell's soups, and Franco-American food products.[64] The western-themed The Andrews Sisters' Show (subtitled "Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch"), co-hosted by Gabby Hayes, began in 1944 and featured a special guest every week.[65]

Setting records

[edit]
The Andrews Sisters performing with Bing Crosby on October 30, 1943

The trio recorded 47 songs with Bing Crosby, 23 of which charted on Billboard, thus making the team one of the most successful pairings of acts in a recording studio in show business history. Their million-sellers with Crosby included "Pistol Packin' Mama",[66] "Don't Fence Me In",[34] "South America, Take It Away", and "Jingle Bells".[67]

The sisters' popularity was such that after the war, they discovered that some of their records had actually been smuggled into Germany, after the labels had been changed to read "Hitler's Marching Songs". Their recording of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" became a favorite of the Nazis, until it was discovered that the song's composers were of Jewish descent. This did not stop concentration camp inmates from secretly singing it, this being most likely because the song was originally a Yiddish song, "Bei Mir Bistu Shein", and had been popularized within the Jewish community before it was recorded as a more successful "cover" version by the Andrews Sisters.[68]

Edward Habib, in the CD liner notes for Songs That Won the War Vol. 2 The Hollywood Canteen, states that the Andrews Sisters' radio transcription of "Elmer's Tune" was "so popular it even played on German radio," noting that "the opposition embraced the Andrews Sisters and their songs in the same way the Allied Forces adopted Lili Marlene."

Along with Bing Crosby, separately and jointly, the Andrews Sisters were among the performers who incorporated ethnic music styles into America's Hit Parade, popularizing or enhancing the popularity of songs with melodies originating in Brazil, Czechoslovakia, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Trinidad, many of which their manager chose for them.[69][70]

The Andrews Sisters became the most popular female vocal group of the first half of the 20th century.[71]

Early comparative female close harmony trios were the Boswell Sisters, the Pickens Sisters, and the Three X Sisters.[citation needed]

Repertoire

[edit]

Discography

[edit]

Albums

[edit]
  • Don't Fence Me In (with Bing Crosby) (1946, Decca)
  • The Andrews Sisters (1946, Decca) (No. 5 on Billboard's albums chart)[75]
  • A Collection of Tropical Songs (1947, Decca)
  • Selections from Road to Rio (with Bing Crosby) (1948, Decca)
  • Irving Berlin Songs (1948, Decca)
  • The Andrews Sisters in Hi-Fi (1957, Capitol)
  • Fresh and Fancy Free (1957, Capitol)
  • The Andrews Sisters Sing the Dancing '20s (1958, Capitol)
  • Greatest Hits (1961, Dot)
  • Great Golden Hits (1962, Dot)
  • The Andrews Sisters Present (1963, Dot)
  • Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1963, Dot)
  • Great Country Hits (1964, Dot)
  • The Andrews Sisters Go Hawaiian (1965, Dot)
  • Favorite Hymns (1965, Hamilton)
  • The Andrews Sisters – Great Performers (1967, Dot)
  • Boogie Woogie Bugle Girls (1973, Paramount)
  • The Andrews Sisters in Over Here! (1974, Columbia)
  • In The Mood (Famous Twinset Series) (1974, Paramount)
  • Sixteen Great Performances (1980, MCA)
  • 50th Anniversary Collection Volume One (1987, MCA)
  • Christmas With The Andrews Sisters (1988, Pickwick)
  • All-Time Favorites (10 Best Series) (1991, Cema)
  • Their All Time Greatest Hits (1994, MCA)
  • 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Andrews Sisters (2000, MCA)

Chart records

[edit]
Year Single Chart positions
US US
R&B
US Country
1938 "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (Means That You're Grand)" 1
"Nice Work If You Can Get It" 12
"Joseph, Joseph" 18
"Ti-Pi-Tin" 12
"Shortenin' Bread" 16
"Says My Heart" 10
"Tu-li-Tulip Time" 9
"Sha-Sha" 17
"Lullaby to a Jitterbug" 10
1939 "Pross-Tchai (Goodbye)" 15
"Hold Tight, Hold Tight (Want Some Sea Food, Mama?)" 2
"You Don't Know How Much You Can Suffer" 14
"Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)" 4
"Well All Right (Tonight's the Night)" 5
"Ciribiribin (They're So In Love)" (with Bing Crosby) 13
"Yodelin' Jive" (with Bing Crosby) 4
"Chico's Love Song" 11
1940 "Say Si Si (Para Vigo Me Voy)" 4
"The Woodpecker Song" 6
"Down By the O-Hi-O" 21
"Rhumboogie" 11
"Ferryboat Serenade" 1
"Hit the Road" 27
"Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" 2
1941 "Scrub Me, Mama, With a Boogie Beat" 10
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" 6
"I Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi (I Like You Very Much)" 11
"(I'll Be With You) In Apple Blossom Time" 5
"Aurora" 10
"Sonny Boy" 22
"The Nickel Serenade" 22
"Sleepy Serenade" 22
"I Wish I Had a Dime (For Every Time I Missed You)" 20
"Jealous" 12
1942 "The Shrine of St. Cecilia" 3
"I'll Pray For You" 22
"Three Little Sisters" 8
"Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" 16
"Pennsylvania Polka" 17
"That's the Moon, My Son" 18
"Mister Five By Five" 14
"Strip Polka" 6
"Here Comes the Navy" 17
1943 "East of the Rockies" 18
"Pistol Packin' Mama" (with Bing Crosby) 2 3 1
"Victory Polka" (with Bing Crosby) 5
"Jingle Bells" (with Bing Crosby) 19
"Shoo-Shoo Baby" 1
1944 "Down In the Valley" 20
"Straighten Up and Fly Right" 8
"Tico Tico" 24
"Sing a Tropical Song" 24
"Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" (with Bing Crosby) 2
"A Hot Time In the Town of Berlin" (with Bing Crosby) 1
"Don't Fence Me In" (with Bing Crosby) 1 9
1945 "Rum and Coca-Cola" 1 3
"Accentuate the Positive" (with Bing Crosby) 2
"The Three Caballeros" (with Bing Crosby) 8
"One Meat Ball" 15
"Corns For My Country" 21
"Along the Navajo Trail" (with Bing Crosby) 2
"The Blond Sailor" 8
1946 "Money Is the Root of All Evil" 9
"Patience and Fortitude" 12
"Coax Me a Little Bit" 24
"South America, Take It Away" (with Bing Crosby) 2
"Get Your Kicks On Route 66" (with Bing Crosby) 14
"I Don't Know Why" 17
"House of Blue Lights" 15
"Rumors Are Flying" (with Les Paul) 4
"Winter Wonderland" (with Guy Lombardo) 22
"Christmas Island" (with Guy Lombardo) 7
1947 "Tallahassee" (with Bing Crosby) 10
"There's No Business Like Show Business" (with Bing Crosby and Dick Haymes) 25
"On the Avenue" 21
"Near You" 2
"The Lady From 29 Palms" 7
"The Freedom Train" (with Bing Crosby) 21
"Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)" (with Danny Kaye) 3
"Jingle Bells" (with Bing Crosby)(re-entry) 21
"Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" (with Bing Crosby) 22
"Christmas Island" (with Guy Lombardo)(re-entry) 20
"Your Red Wagon" 24
"How Lucky You Are" 22
1948 "You Don't Have To Know the Language" (with Bing Crosby) 21
"Teresa" (with Dick Haymes) 21
"Toolie Oolie Doolie (The Yodel Polka)" 3
"I Hate to Lose You" 14
"Heartbreaker" 21
"Sabre Dance" 20
"Woody Woodpecker" (with Danny Kaye) 18
"Blue Tail Fly" (with Burl Ives) 24
"Underneath the Arches" 5
"You Call Everybody Darling" 8
"Cuanto La Gusta" (with Carmen Miranda) 12
"160 Acres" (with Bing Crosby) 23
"Bella Bella Marie" 23
1949 "Christmas Island" (with Guy Lombardo)(re-entry) 26
"The Pussy Cat Song (Nyow! Nyot! Nyow!)"(Patty Andrews and Bob Crosby) 12
"More Beer!" 30
"I'm Bitin' My Fingernails and Thinking of You" (with Ernest Tubb) 30 2
"Don't Rob Another Man's Castle" (with Ernest Tubb) 6
"I Can Dream, Can't I?" 1
"The Wedding of Lili Marlene" 20
"She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (with Russ Morgan) 22
"Charley, My Boy" (with Russ Morgan) 15
1950 "Merry Christmas Polka" (with Guy Lombardo) 18
"Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" (with Bing Crosby) 24
"Quicksilver" (with Bing Crosby) 6
"The Wedding Samba" (with Carmen Miranda) 23
"I Wanna Be Loved" 1
"Can't We Talk It Over" 22
"A Bushel and a Peck" 22
"Mele Kalikimaka" (with Bing Crosby) 36
1951 "A Penny a Kiss, a Penny a Hug" 17
"Sparrow in the Tree Top" (with Bing Crosby) 8
"Too Young" (Patty Andrews) 19
1952 "Sing, Sing, Sing" 17
1955 "Suddenly There's a Valley" (Patty Andrews) 69

Other songs

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Highest chart positions on Billboard; with Vic Schoen and his orchestra, unless otherwise noted:

Film, theatre, and television

[edit]

(partial list)

Filmography

[edit]

Soundtracks

[edit]
  • Breach (background music) (2007)
  • Land of the Lost (2009)
  • Fallout 3 (2008) (Civilization)
  • Fallout 4 (2015) (Civilization-Pistol Packin' Mama)
  • Mafia II (2010) [Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy – Rum and Coca-Cola – Straighten Up And Fly Right – Strip Polka – Hot Time in the Town of Berlin (with Bing Crosby) – Victory Polka (with Bing Crosby)]
  • Bioshock (2006)
  • Fallout 76 (2018)

Broadway

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  • Over Here! (1974; Shubert Theater, New York City, 9 months)

Dance

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Television

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  • Appearance on The Joey Bishop Show
  • They were parodied on Sesame Street as the Androoze Sisters (Muppets), named Mayeeme (Audrey Smith), Pattiz (Maeretha Stewart), and Lavoorrnee (Kevin Clash).[76][77]
  • Patty Andrews appeared in season two, episode six, of Here's Lucy, entitled "Lucy And The Andrews Sisters", in which Lucy, Kim, and Craig help Patty recreate the Andrews Sisters with Bing Crosby for a one-night only performance at a convention of the Sisters' oldest fan club.

See also

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References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
The Andrews Sisters were an American vocal trio consisting of sisters LaVerne, Maxene, and Andrews, who rose to fame in the late with their tight close-harmony renditions of swing and boogie-woogie tunes, becoming one of the era's top-selling acts. Born to immigrant parents in , —Peter Andrews (Greek origin) and Olga Sollie (Norwegian)—the sisters began performing locally as children, inspired by groups like , before signing with in 1937 and breaking through nationally with their 1938 hit "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön." Their upbeat, patriotic songs such as "" (1941) and collaborations with artists like defined the sound, while their extensive recording output—over 600 songs—yielded an estimated 90 million in sales and multiple gold records. During , the group volunteered for USO tours, including an eight-week stint entertaining troops in in 1945, recorded V-Discs for soldiers, and promoted drives with tunes like "Any Bonds Today?," solidifying their role as morale boosters amid the conflict. They also appeared in 17 Hollywood films, broadening their appeal through vehicles like (1941), though internal tensions culminated in Patty's solo departure in 1953, effectively ending the original trio despite sporadic reunions. With 46 Top 10 hits and enduring influence on groups, their legacy endures as a cornerstone of mid-20th-century .

Origins and Formation

Family Background and Early Influences

The Andrews Sisters— LaVerne (born July 6, 1911), Maxene (born January 3, 1916), and Patty (born February 16, 1918)—were all born in , , to parents of Greek and Norwegian descent. Their father, Peter Andreos (later anglicized to Andrews by immigration officials in 1907), emigrated from to the in 1908 and settled in Minneapolis, where he opened a Greek-American restaurant on the corner of 38th and Cedar Avenue along with other ventures like pool halls. Their mother, Olga "Ollie" Sollie, was Norwegian-American from a local Minneapolis family and met Peter while working as a waitress in his restaurant; the couple married in 1910 and resided at 1600 Lyndale Avenue North, with the family spending summers in nearby Mound on . The family's financial stability eroded during the , leading to the loss of their home and businesses by 1932, after which they lived nomadically in a 1929 while relying on sparse resources. Olga encouraged her daughters' musical talents by entering them in local amateur contests, where they sang at school events, church, and venues like the Orpheum Theatre, winning a 1931 talent competition that launched their touring. LaVerne initiated family singing sessions around the home , fostering harmony practice among the sisters to support the household. Key early influences included , whose close-harmony style the Andrews emulated from radio broadcasts and records during their childhood. Additional inspirations encompassed vocalists like and , shaping their blend of swing, , and popular tunes amid the era's economic pressures. In 1932, at ages 21, 16, and 14 respectively, they joined Larry Rich's 55-member circus troupe for a 10-month tour, performing over 1,000 shows at fairs and clubs for minimal pay, marking their shift to professional performance.

Initial Performances and Development

The Andrews Sisters commenced their joint performances in during the mid-1920s, initially singing at local events, benefits, and on radio stations as children under the guidance of their parents. Their earliest documented recording occurred in late , when they participated in a children's , with Patty Andrews aged 12 at the time. A pivotal breakthrough arrived in 1931, when the sisters won first prize in a talent competition at the Orpheum Theatre in , securing an invitation to join bandleader Larry Rich's traveling troupe comprising 55 performers. This engagement marked their entry into professional circuits, touring stages and ballrooms across the Midwest and beyond until parting ways with Rich in 1932. Thereafter, they sustained momentum through independent appearances at fairs, clubs, and additional shows, gradually building experience in live settings. During these formative years, the trio honed their close-harmony technique, drawing initial inspiration from ' innovative arrangements but adapting to cultivate a brighter, more precise vocal blend suited to their sibling dynamics—LaVerne on bass, Maxene on second harmony, and Patty leading with range. This development emphasized tight phrasing, rhythmic drive, and genre flexibility, including swing and emerging elements, which distinguished their act amid the competitive landscape of the early . By the mid-decade, such refinements had solidified their professional foundation, transitioning from regional novelties to poised entertainers poised for broader exposure.

Rise to Prominence

Breakthrough Recordings

The Andrews Sisters secured a recording contract with in May 1937 after auditioning for label executive Jack Kapp, marking their entry into professional recording following years of live performances. Their debut single, "Why Talk About Love" (), released shortly thereafter, achieved minimal commercial success and failed to chart. The trio's breakthrough arrived with their second Decca release, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" (Decca 1963), an English adaptation of Sholom Secunda's 1932 Yiddish song "Bei Mir Bistu Shein." Recorded on November 16, 1937, and issued in December 1937, the track propelled the sisters to national prominence, reaching number one on the Billboard charts for six weeks in early 1938 and selling over one million copies within months. The song's unexpected appeal stemmed from its catchy harmony-driven arrangement by Decca's musical director Joseph Meyer, blending swing rhythms with the group's precise close-harmony vocals, which resonated amid the era's big band craze and Yiddish-influenced pop trends. This success triggered a string of follow-up hits that solidified their stardom, including "Nice Work If You Can Get It" (peaking at number 12 in 1938) and "Joseph, Joseph" (number 6 in 1938), both capitalizing on the lighthearted, syncopated style that defined their early Decca output. By mid-1938, the sisters had performed the song on national radio broadcasts, amplifying their visibility and leading to bookings that drew crowds exceeding 10,000 in some venues. These recordings established the Andrews Sisters as favorites, with Decca sales figures reflecting over 75 million units sold by the group overall, though early breakthroughs like "Bei Mir" accounted for disproportionate initial momentum.

World War II Contributions

The Andrews Sisters significantly boosted American morale through their recordings of upbeat, patriotic songs that resonated with the wartime experience. Their 1941 hit "," recorded on January 2 and featured in the film , depicted a bugler rallying troops with rhythms, becoming an emblem of enthusiasm and an early example of that soldiers adopted in camps. The group also recorded "Any Bonds Today?" in 1941 at the request of the U.S. Treasury Department to promote purchases, with the song's jingle-style lyrics urging civilians to invest in the by buying bonds to finance operations. These tracks, alongside others like "The Victory Polka" (1943), sold millions of copies during the war years, providing escapist entertainment amid and casualty reports. Following the U.S. entry into after on December 7, 1941, the sisters ramped up live performances at domestic military bases, naval stations, munitions factories, and hospitals, often delivering five or six shows per day to entertain personnel and workers supporting the war machine. They participated in (USO) efforts, with early overseas tours reaching Allied troops in the starting in 1942, where their synchronized harmonies and dance routines offered brief respite from combat duties. In June 1945, they undertook an eight-week USO tour across and the Pacific, performing for thousands of servicemen in forward areas shortly before Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945. Overall, their efforts reached tens of thousands of GIs both stateside and abroad, fostering a sense of homefront solidarity through direct interaction, including signing autographs and sharing meals with troops. Beyond music, the Andrews Sisters contributed to war bond drives by leveraging their popularity to encourage public investment, aligning with government campaigns that raised over $185 billion for the war from 1941 to 1945. Their participation helped frame entertainment as a tool of , emphasizing themes of resilience and national unity without overt , which sustained civilian support for the Allied cause.

Career Evolution and Challenges

Post-War Adaptations

Following , the Andrews Sisters persisted in their recording career with , adapting by covering contemporary pop standards to sustain chart presence amid evolving tastes favoring crooners and early rhythm-and-blues influences. Their 1949 rendition of "I Can Dream, Can't I?" reached number one on the , marking one of their last major hits and demonstrating an effort to align with sentimental ballads popular in the late 1940s. Similarly, tracks like "Near You" (1947) and "" (1950) achieved top-ten status, reflecting attempts to incorporate lighter, novelty elements while retaining their signature close-harmony style. The trio expanded into animated films, lending voices to Disney productions such as (1946) and (1948), which allowed them to reach younger audiences through visual media as radio dominance waned. Live performances continued via radio broadcasts and variety shows, with the sisters maintaining a busy schedule of tours and appearances to capitalize on residual wartime fame. However, marriages—Patty to agent Wally Weschler in 1947, Maxene to Mac McKenzie in 1947, and LaVerne to contractor Louis Balent in 1946—introduced personal commitments that occasionally disrupted group cohesion and touring intensity. Despite these efforts, the group's adaptations proved insufficient against the encroaching and rock-and-roll precursors, as their swing-rooted sound struggled to fully transition, foreshadowing commercial declines by the early . Internal tensions exacerbated by business changes culminated in a 1951 disbandment, with LaVerne stepping back from performing to manage investments.

Declines, Interruptions, and Attempts at Revival

Following the end of in 1945, the Andrews Sisters' popularity waned as public musical preferences evolved toward , , and the nascent genre, which overshadowed their signature swing harmony style rooted in the era. Their last major chart success came in the early 1950s, with recordings like "I Can Dream, Can't I?" reaching number one on in 1949, but sustained hits proved elusive amid these shifts. Internal family discord compounded the commercial pressures, including disputes over finances and creative direction, leading to performance interruptions as early as 1951 when Patty Andrews departed to explore solo work and temporarily aligned with bandleader . The group formally disbanded in 1953 after escalating conflicts, with Patty citing and a desire for individual pursuits, while Maxene and LaVerne accused her of betrayal in signing a solo contract without consultation. Maxene and LaVerne attempted to continue as a duo, releasing singles and performing sporadically, but the effort faltered; Maxene suffered a in 1954, attributed to the emotional strain of the split. Patty's solo career yielded moderate success, including television appearances, but lacked the trio's former synergy. Revival efforts began in 1956 with a publicized reunion announcement, leading to new recordings such as "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane" and limited tours, though feuds persisted and full cohesion eluded them. Sporadic collaborations continued into the , including guest spots on variety shows, but LaVerne's death from cancer on May 8, 1967, ended any prospect of the original lineup reforming. A 1974 reunion performance at New York's Bottom Line club sparked interest, indirectly inspiring the 1974 Broadway musical Over Here!, which featured their songs and starred sisters like Ann and Nancy Reed in tribute roles, though the Andrews themselves did not perform in it. Maxene and reconciled partially in the for nostalgia events, but ongoing bitterness prevented sustained revival, with Maxene dying in 1995 and in 2013.

Musical Style and Technical Aspects

Harmony Techniques and Arrangements

The Andrews Sisters specialized in close three-part , featuring tight voicings and precise interval stacking that mimicked brass and section writing, such as four-way close position and drop-two voicings. This technique emphasized compact chord structures, often relying on first and second inversions to facilitate smooth and maintain vocal proximity, avoiding wide spreads that could dilute the blend. Their sibling vocal timbres—LaVerne's lower register anchoring the foundation, Maxene's mid-range support, and Patty's brighter lead—enabled a seamless, unified sound without excessive or ornamentation, prioritizing rhythmic over melodic embellishment. Arrangements were predominantly handled by Vic Schoen, who began collaborating with the group in 1937 and developed a signature formula blending swing rhythms with inventive progressions, including occasional dissonant tensions resolved into releases. Schoen's scores integrated the vocal trio tightly with orchestral elements, using jazz-inspired grooves—such as off-beat accents and bass lines—to propel songs like "" (recorded March 6, 1941), where harmonies stack in parallel motion over driving eighth-note patterns. This approach contrasted with looser barbershop or choral styles by favoring linear, dance-oriented momentum, with the sisters' parts often voiced in root position triads shifted via inversions for fluidity rather than static block chords. In performance and recordings, the group maintained harmony through rigorous rehearsal, achieving intonation accuracy via natural from their roots, though Schoen's written charts provided the structural backbone. Their style occasionally incorporated modal mixtures or added sixths for color, but adhered primarily to diatonic frameworks suited to popular standards, ensuring accessibility while delivering a polished, propulsive effect that sold over 75 million records by 1950.

Genre Versatility and Innovations

The Andrews Sisters exhibited extensive genre versatility, extending beyond their core swing and foundations to encompass , Hawaiian music, ballads, folk, , sambas, calypsos, and even adaptations toward influences as musical trends shifted post-World War II. This adaptability stemmed from their tight three-part harmonies, which mimicked section dynamics, enabling seamless transitions across rhythmic and melodic demands typically reserved for ensembles. Their catalog exceeded 600 recordings, reflecting a pragmatic response to commercial opportunities and audience preferences rather than rigid stylistic adherence. Key examples illustrate this range: the 1941 release "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," which infused boogie-woogie piano riffs with vocal syncopation and military themes, prefiguring jump blues energy in a cappella form. Similarly, "Rum and Coca-Cola" (1945) adopted calypso rhythms from a Trinidadian folk tune, achieving over 7 million sales by blending exotic percussion emulation with their characteristic peppy delivery. Efforts in other idioms included Hawaiian tracks like those evoking island exotica and gospel-infused numbers, showcasing their willingness to experiment with tonal timbres and phrasing to suit diverse arrangements. Their innovations lay in pioneering vocal group techniques for upbeat, dance-oriented genres, such as rapid scat-like enunciation and horn-mimicking attacks that injected vitality into harmony singing, influencing subsequent ensembles in pop and . This approach prioritized rhythmic precision over operatic purity, allowing them to compete with big bands by vocalizing ostinatos and bass lines, a causal factor in their sustained chart relevance amid stylistic evolutions from swing to postwar sambas and calypsos. While not inventors of , their later recordings incorporated its syncopated complexities, demonstrating resilience against emerging soloist-driven paradigms.

Personal Lives

Marriages and Relationships

LaVerne Andrews married Louis Anthony Ruggiero, a trumpeter who performed under the stage name Lou Rogers and played in Vic Schoen's orchestra, in 1948; the union endured until her death from cancer in 1967, spanning 19 years. Maxene Andrews wed Lou Levy, the Andrews Sisters' manager and a , in 1941; the marriage, kept secret from their parents and the press for nearly two years, ended in divorce in 1951. Patty Andrews' first marriage was to and Marty Melcher in 1947, which dissolved in divorce in 1950 after Melcher left her for actress . In 1951, she married Melvin "Wally" Weschler, the sisters' longtime pianist, conductor, and later manager, on December 25; this partnership lasted over 58 years until Weschler's death in 2010 at age 88. None of the sisters had biological children, though Maxene and Levy adopted two.

Individual Health Issues and Deaths

LaVerne Andrews, the eldest sister, battled a prolonged illness before her death on May 8, 1967, at age 55 in ; the primary cause was cancer, complicated by in her final days. Her condition, described in contemporary reports as , marked the effective end of the trio's original lineup, as no replacement was pursued. Maxene Andrews experienced significant cardiac health challenges, including a heart attack in August 1982 at age 66 following a performance engagement, which necessitated a quadruple ; she resumed performing shortly thereafter while monitored. She died on October 21, 1995, at age 79 from another heart attack while vacationing on , . Patty Andrews, the youngest and , outlived her sisters by many years without widely reported chronic health conditions beyond advanced age; she died on January 30, 2013, at her home in Northridge, , at age 94 from natural causes.

Intergroup Conflicts and Controversies

The Andrews Sisters' professional success masked deep-seated family tensions, primarily between lead singer Andrews and her siblings Maxene and LaVerne, fueled by disputes over compensation, management influence, and personal boundaries. These conflicts frequently disrupted their collaborations, leading to periods of non-communication even during performances. In , 's to the group's conductor and arranger Walter Weschler intensified rifts when he advocated for increased pay specifically for Patty and himself, prompting rebellion from Maxene and LaVerne. This culminated in the trio's effective breakup in 1953, as Patty transitioned to a solo career at Weschler's encouragement; Maxene and LaVerne contended that the split compromised their collective earnings, resulting in lawsuits exchanged between Patty's camp and her sisters. Following LaVerne's death from cancer on May 8, 1967, the discord between Patty and Maxene persisted unabated for over 20 years, with the sisters residing near each other in California's yet rarely speaking. Music industry observers attributed the feud partly to ongoing friction between Maxene and Weschler, while Maxene cited exhaustion from the lack of personal after decades of incessant joint work, and Patty pointed to underlying jealousy. Limited interactions occurred only in 1982, when Patty visited Maxene after a heart attack, and in 1987 during a dedication, but no materialized before Maxene's death from a heart attack on October 21, 1995. A brief attempt at mending ties came in 1974 with their joint starring role in the Broadway musical Over Here!, which closed after less than a year amid production disagreements that halted a planned national tour; the sisters never performed together again.

Achievements and Commercial Records

Sales and Chart Performance

The Andrews Sisters sold over 75 million records worldwide during their career, with estimates from record labels placing the figure as high as 90 million. They recorded approximately 700 songs and earned nine gold records. On the , the group amassed 113 entries, 46 of which reached the Top 10—a tally exceeding that of or the Beatles. Their chart success spanned from 1938 to 1951, with notable peaks including "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" at No. 1 in 1937–1938 and at No. 1 for eight weeks in 1945. "I Can Dream, Can't I?" also hit No. 1 in 1949 and remained in the Top 10 for 20 weeks.
Song TitlePeak PositionYear
Rum and Coca-Cola11945
Bei Mir Bist Du Schön11937
I Can Dream, Can't I?11949
Shoo-Shoo Baby11943
21943
61941
This table highlights select major hits; the group had at least a dozen number-one singles across various metrics. During , they achieved 38 best-sellers, including collaborations with .

Awards and Recognitions

The Andrews Sisters were awarded a star on the on October 1, 1987, at 6834 , recognizing the contributions of Patty, Maxene, and posthumously LaVerne Andrews to the recording industry. In the same year, they received the Medal of Distinguished Public Service from the U.S. Department of Defense, honoring their extensive performances for American troops during , which boosted morale through over 1,500 shows across military bases and battlefronts. The group was inducted into the in 1998 as part of its inaugural class, acknowledging their pioneering role in close harmony vocal styles and wartime entertainment. Four of their recordings earned induction into the , a designation for historically significant works: "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" (recorded 1937, inducted 1996), "" (1941, inducted 2000), "" (1943, inducted 2008), and "" (1945, inducted 2009). These honors reflect their commercial dominance, with the sisters achieving 19 gold record certifications for sales exceeding one million copies each during their active years.

Media Appearances and Performances

Film and Soundtrack Roles

The Andrews Sisters entered the film industry in 1940, leveraging their recording success into musical comedy roles primarily with , where they typically performed as a trio integrated into wartime-themed features and service comedies. Their debut was in Argentine Nights, a low-budget musical starring the , in which they sang numbers like "Rhumboogie" and supported the film's vaudeville-style humor without substantial acting dialogue. This marked the start of approximately 18 film appearances through 1948, mostly B-movies that prioritized their harmonious vocals over narrative depth, aligning with Hollywood's demand for escapist entertainment during . Breakthrough came with (1941), a Universal service comedy co-starring and , where the sisters played entertainers performing for recruits and introduced "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," a song that became their signature hit and propelled the film to commercial success with over 12 million attendees in the U.S. They reprised similar cameo-style roles in subsequent vehicles, including (1941), featuring songs like "I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time," and (1941), emphasizing their energetic stage presence amid ghostly hijinks. These films grossed significantly, with alone earning Universal approximately $4 million domestically, underscoring the trio's draw as morale-boosting performers. Subsequent Universal productions expanded their repertoire, such as Private Buckaroo (1942), a musical with bandleader , , and , where they contributed patriotic tunes like "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" in a storyline about drafted musicians; the film highlighted their versatility in swing ensembles. They starred in sister-focused vehicles like Give Out, Sisters (1942), portraying vaudeville performers reuniting for a benefit show, and Swingtime Johnny (1943), a shipyard wartime musical with songs including "Pennsylvania ." Later entries included Always a (1943) and Her Lucky Night (1945), both light comedies emphasizing romantic subplots around their performances. In animation, the sisters provided vocals for anthology films, singing "The Lord Is Good to Me" in a segment of (1948) and contributing to (1946), roles that extended their influence into family-oriented soundtracks without on-screen presence. Postwar shifts in Hollywood, favoring dramatic narratives over musical revues, limited their live-action roles, though their pre-recorded tracks appeared in later films' soundtracks, such as "" in non-performing contexts. Overall, their film work solidified their status as WWII-era icons, with performances generating hit singles that outsold many contemporaries, though critics noted their limited dramatic range confined them to musical interludes.
Film TitleYearKey Co-Stars/NotesNotable Songs Performed
Argentine Nights1940Ritz Brothers; debut feature"Rhumboogie"
Buck Privates1941Abbott & Costello; service comedy hit"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"
In the Navy1941Abbott & Costello; naval-themed sequel"I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time"
Hold That Ghost1941Abbott & Costello; haunted house comedy"The Nicolai Polka"
Private Buckaroo1942Harry James, Donald O'Connor; revue format"Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree"
Give Out, Sisters1942Universal B-musical; sister reunion plot"Give Out, Sisters"
Swingtime Johnny1943Wartime shipyard setting"Pennsylvania Polka"
Always a Bridesmaid1943Romantic comedy focus"Always a Bridesmaid"
Melody Time (animation)1948Disney anthology; vocal-only"The Lord Is Good to Me"

Radio, Stage, and Television Engagements

The Andrews Sisters began their radio with local broadcasts in during the early 1930s, transitioning to national exposure in 1937 via the Saturday Night Swing Club, aired from New York City's Edison Hotel. Their frequent appearances on programs such as Command Performance, including an episode on September 11, 1943, hosted by , solidified their wartime popularity among listeners and troops. From 1944 to 1951, they hosted self-titled shows on networks including ABC, , and the , with "Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch" debuting on December 31, 1944, sponsored by American Breweries and featuring guest stars like Curt Massey. In 1947, they became regulars on CBS's Club Fifteen, appearing three times weekly for five years alongside rotating hosts such as and appearing in episodes documented in old-time radio archives, including variety segments with numbers on , 1945. These engagements, spanning over 500 documented broadcasts from to 1960, emphasized their close-harmony style and contributions to morale-boosting entertainment, often collaborating with figures like on his Chesterfield broadcasts as early as February 22, 1950. On stage, the trio toured circuits in the Midwest during before achieving broader success, performing live alongside bands and at benefits to build their reputation. During , they conducted extensive USO tours, appearing frequently at domestic military bases starting in 1941 and extending to overseas venues; a notable eight-week tour in summer 1945 reached troops in , , and other theaters, performing for thousands in support of Allied forces. These live shows featured synchronized and hits like "," adapting to varied settings from camps to front-line areas. Television engagements proliferated in the and , with guest spots on variety programs showcasing their enduring appeal. On September 15, 1957, they performed "Down in the Valley" on . Additional appearances included What's My Line? as mystery guests on July 19, 1959, and a medley of hits like "" and "" on a 1966 broadcast. One of their final trio performances aired on on February 11, 1966, featuring "I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time" shortly before LaVerne Andrews's death in 1967. These spots, often on networks like and ABC, highlighted their versatility in adapting stage routines to the small screen.

Cultural Legacy and Influence

The Andrews Sisters pioneered close singing in during the swing and eras, establishing a template for tight, brass-like vocal arrangements that emulated horn sections and emphasized rhythmic precision over individual solos. Their style, which blended jazz-inflected swing with upbeat tempos, popularized the beat in mainstream hits and introduced novel harmonic voicings, such as predominant 1-3-6 chord structures, that contrasted with the looser ensembles of prior acts like , whom they initially emulated but surpassed in clarity and commercial adaptability. This approach not only defined the vocal group sound of the but also facilitated their versatility across genres, from novelty tunes to folk ballads, broadening pop music's appeal beyond orchestral dominance. Their influence extended to subsequent vocal ensembles, setting standards for sibling and female harmony groups that shaped post-war pop formations. Acts such as and directly adopted their multi-part blending and stage synergy, while later groups like drew on the Andrews' model of synchronized performance and rhythmic drive to transition harmony singing into rock-influenced eras. The group's emphasis on collective vocal power over star soloists prefigured the ensemble dynamics in and girl groups, contributing to the of pop from big band dependency toward self-contained vocal units. Enduring emulation underscores their legacy, with artists including , , and recording covers of their repertoire and replicating their harmonic signatures in tribute performances. By achieving over 75 million records sold and defining the era's sound, they entrenched close as a staple of , influencing its resilience amid stylistic shifts like the rise of rock 'n' roll.

Enduring Reception and Modern Tributes

The Andrews Sisters' recordings have sustained commercial viability through posthumous compilations and streaming, with albums like The Best of the Andrews Sisters: 20th Century Masters (Millennium Collection) reissuing hits such as and reflecting ongoing listener interest in their swing-era harmony style. Their tight vocal arrangements influenced subsequent harmony groups, including , , , , and modern a cappella ensembles like , as evidenced by stylistic parallels in layered female vocals and upbeat tempos. A 2019 exhibit at for the highlighted this legacy, curating artifacts to demonstrate their role in shaping vocal group dynamics across genres. Modern tributes include direct covers and interpolations of their catalog. En Vogue's 1990 rendition of "" updated the track for R&B audiences, peaking at number 92 on the Hot 100. Christina Aguilera's 2006 single "Candyman" incorporated melodic and lyrical elements from the original "," contributing to its top-10 chart performance and Grammy nomination. sampled the song in his 2017 electronic track "Feel the Riddim," bridging swing to contemporary beat-driven genres. Tribute performances persist via specialized acts, such as Voctave's 2019 a cappella medley of Andrews hits released on their album, and The Attitunes' 2024 live cover of "Straighten Up and Fly Right" styled in the sisters' harmony tradition. These efforts underscore a niche but dedicated reception, often tied to nostalgia for World War II-era morale music rather than mainstream revival.

References

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