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Three X Sisters
The Three X Sisters were an American all-girl harmony singing trio initially known as The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce. They were on stage singing together in New York City, on Broadway, as early as 1922[permanent dead link] and formed their trio in 1924, which was composed of Pearl Santos (née Hamilton) and Violet Hamilton from Cumberland, Maryland, and Jessie Fordyce from Brooklyn, New York.[permanent dead link] They were known on NBC radio as "radio's foremost harmony trio".
The Hamilton family had been in Cumberland for nearly a century by the early 1910s, with their European heritage coming from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. They also descended from the Native American population who lived in the Allegheny Mountains. The Hamilton sisters sang individually in Cumberland theaters, winning prizes for their music. Pearl's early sheet music was inspired by Frédéric Chopin and Stephen Foster. The sisters began singing harmony during their careers in Cumberland.
Jessie's family, the Yules, immigrated from Scotland. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and performed alongside her father, Arthur Yule. She was in the Brooklyn vaudeville circuit with the stage name "Baby Helen" when she was a child. By 1914, both the Hamiltons and Jessie were fairly well known in their respective industries.
Pearl Hamilton began her career on Broadway as early as 1917. Her roommate during this era was Joan Page, another 'Stars of the Future' entertainer/singer. The average salary in 1919 was $22.00 per week for the All Jazz Revue "chorus girls." Pearl started out as a soft shoe (ballet style) and high-kick dancer, and received positive dance reviews. The Hamiltons began their professional singing careers in harmony at the Haymarket Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Pearl watched a live performance of the Original Dixieland Jass Band in the Coney Island, New York scene, after her arrival to Broadway stages. Which was an early New York music inspiration. Some walk-on or cameo parts in silent films with Paramount Pictures showed their dancing talents. On August 17, 1919, Pearl's earliest known paired ragtime and jazz piano, was with the 'Jazz Quartet with the Morette Sisters' at the Fremont Opera House in Fremont, Ohio. Later to Chicago, Illinois at the Engelwood Theatre by August 27. A Morette Sisters New York favorite, the Star Theater in New York City. December 30, 1920 paired broadway Pearl's musicianship and jazz piano. Since 1907, the Morette Sisters were accomplished and highly acclaimed instrumentalists. They played violins, alto viola, coronet, and trombone. The Morette Sisters also utilized duet singing along with the terpesciorian dance themes. They had a fluent knowledge of classical and dance music, as well as, the popular Ragtime (here primarily 1907-1910s) music of the day, and played it all very well. A fellow musician/entertainer Stan Stanley played the coronet and Saxophone. Songs the Morettes brought to the new troupe were "Danse d'eve", "Artist's Model" and ragtime favorites like "The Entertainer", and "Ragtime Cowboy". In 1920, Pearl and Violet (Hamiltons), had been part of the vocal chorus. A later addition was friend Jessie (Yule) Fordyce with the 'All Jazz Revue', the Swear Club (a women's club) was reviewed by The Billboard on January 10, 1920. Pearl, "a tall, willowy girl, Is a dancing wonder" as her artistry in dance had become well known. The Morette's had been part of "Oh Baby!", a burlesque theatre circuit act during the 1919-20 season had a sold out performance engagements. Somewhere between a "one liner", as Pearl noted, harmony influence with the Morettes, and a viewed performance by the Ford, and Brox Sisters, then Pearl had decided to try trio harmonies for her dream trio. A song by that name "Oh Baby!" from 1924 must have been an adaptation. "Oh Baby!" must have carried over by the Morettes to the 'All Jazz Revue' showcase. The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce later carried the "Oh Baby!" theme to the 1928 original broadway show "Rain or Shine".
The trio started out on Broadway and in vaudeville, with Helen Kane Schroeder, the original Boop-boop-a-Doop Girl. Broadway singing styles, and Irving Berlin music had inspired this group. The trio did various song and dance acts, eventually settling for close harmony, which was associated with three-part harmony singing. The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce earliest known performance together (as a trio team) was at B.F. Keiths Theater in Syracuse, New York, on May 13, 1923. In 1924, they also toured in vaudeville, with Helen Kane and Anna Mae Wong. Pearl's harmony trio had the musicianship of the Raymond Fagan Orchestra (a band with no known recordings); a band compared to Paul Whiteman or the Vincent Lopez Orchestras. Pearl Hamilton met Ed Santos (a Music Union member), who also had a lengthy stay with, early 1930s Red Nichols; according to Patty Andrews "He [Ed] played with Tony Pastor", she said. Ed played trumpet with Fagan's band, and a year later, Pearl and Ed married in Rochester, New York. During early July 1925, the Hamilton Sisters and Jessie Fordyce were singing at the Eighty-First Street Theatre. In 1926, the trio toured with another popular all-girl act, Jerry and her Baby Grands, appearing together at the Palace Theater in New York. They also toured together in Canada.
The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce gained enough success to tour abroad. After they departed from the "Stars of the Future" entertainment showcase in the spring of 1927, their management, fronted by Ed Wolfe, had them tour Europe. They departed by airplane at a Long Island airport with the American portion of New York's Savoy Orpheans musical unit during the week of May 23, 1927.
In the UK, they met up with American songwriters Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. They also spent time in the recording studio with Bert Ambrose, a British bandleader, musical director Caroll Gibbons, and violinist/director Reg Batton. They toured with the New York engagement and appeared on London and Manchester stages. Played the London Palladium, Alhambra Theatre of Variety, and Plaza. Made a big splash in the theater production Blue Skies.
On October 27, 1927, Harry Plunket Greene, Irish baritone tenor, wrote of the trio after an England performance: "The Hamilton Sisters & Fordyce are just A1 as they are. I wouldn't interfere with them for anything. It's just perfect in its way. I do trust they leave things alone, not try to change."
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Three X Sisters
The Three X Sisters were an American all-girl harmony singing trio initially known as The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce. They were on stage singing together in New York City, on Broadway, as early as 1922[permanent dead link] and formed their trio in 1924, which was composed of Pearl Santos (née Hamilton) and Violet Hamilton from Cumberland, Maryland, and Jessie Fordyce from Brooklyn, New York.[permanent dead link] They were known on NBC radio as "radio's foremost harmony trio".
The Hamilton family had been in Cumberland for nearly a century by the early 1910s, with their European heritage coming from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. They also descended from the Native American population who lived in the Allegheny Mountains. The Hamilton sisters sang individually in Cumberland theaters, winning prizes for their music. Pearl's early sheet music was inspired by Frédéric Chopin and Stephen Foster. The sisters began singing harmony during their careers in Cumberland.
Jessie's family, the Yules, immigrated from Scotland. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and performed alongside her father, Arthur Yule. She was in the Brooklyn vaudeville circuit with the stage name "Baby Helen" when she was a child. By 1914, both the Hamiltons and Jessie were fairly well known in their respective industries.
Pearl Hamilton began her career on Broadway as early as 1917. Her roommate during this era was Joan Page, another 'Stars of the Future' entertainer/singer. The average salary in 1919 was $22.00 per week for the All Jazz Revue "chorus girls." Pearl started out as a soft shoe (ballet style) and high-kick dancer, and received positive dance reviews. The Hamiltons began their professional singing careers in harmony at the Haymarket Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Pearl watched a live performance of the Original Dixieland Jass Band in the Coney Island, New York scene, after her arrival to Broadway stages. Which was an early New York music inspiration. Some walk-on or cameo parts in silent films with Paramount Pictures showed their dancing talents. On August 17, 1919, Pearl's earliest known paired ragtime and jazz piano, was with the 'Jazz Quartet with the Morette Sisters' at the Fremont Opera House in Fremont, Ohio. Later to Chicago, Illinois at the Engelwood Theatre by August 27. A Morette Sisters New York favorite, the Star Theater in New York City. December 30, 1920 paired broadway Pearl's musicianship and jazz piano. Since 1907, the Morette Sisters were accomplished and highly acclaimed instrumentalists. They played violins, alto viola, coronet, and trombone. The Morette Sisters also utilized duet singing along with the terpesciorian dance themes. They had a fluent knowledge of classical and dance music, as well as, the popular Ragtime (here primarily 1907-1910s) music of the day, and played it all very well. A fellow musician/entertainer Stan Stanley played the coronet and Saxophone. Songs the Morettes brought to the new troupe were "Danse d'eve", "Artist's Model" and ragtime favorites like "The Entertainer", and "Ragtime Cowboy". In 1920, Pearl and Violet (Hamiltons), had been part of the vocal chorus. A later addition was friend Jessie (Yule) Fordyce with the 'All Jazz Revue', the Swear Club (a women's club) was reviewed by The Billboard on January 10, 1920. Pearl, "a tall, willowy girl, Is a dancing wonder" as her artistry in dance had become well known. The Morette's had been part of "Oh Baby!", a burlesque theatre circuit act during the 1919-20 season had a sold out performance engagements. Somewhere between a "one liner", as Pearl noted, harmony influence with the Morettes, and a viewed performance by the Ford, and Brox Sisters, then Pearl had decided to try trio harmonies for her dream trio. A song by that name "Oh Baby!" from 1924 must have been an adaptation. "Oh Baby!" must have carried over by the Morettes to the 'All Jazz Revue' showcase. The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce later carried the "Oh Baby!" theme to the 1928 original broadway show "Rain or Shine".
The trio started out on Broadway and in vaudeville, with Helen Kane Schroeder, the original Boop-boop-a-Doop Girl. Broadway singing styles, and Irving Berlin music had inspired this group. The trio did various song and dance acts, eventually settling for close harmony, which was associated with three-part harmony singing. The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce earliest known performance together (as a trio team) was at B.F. Keiths Theater in Syracuse, New York, on May 13, 1923. In 1924, they also toured in vaudeville, with Helen Kane and Anna Mae Wong. Pearl's harmony trio had the musicianship of the Raymond Fagan Orchestra (a band with no known recordings); a band compared to Paul Whiteman or the Vincent Lopez Orchestras. Pearl Hamilton met Ed Santos (a Music Union member), who also had a lengthy stay with, early 1930s Red Nichols; according to Patty Andrews "He [Ed] played with Tony Pastor", she said. Ed played trumpet with Fagan's band, and a year later, Pearl and Ed married in Rochester, New York. During early July 1925, the Hamilton Sisters and Jessie Fordyce were singing at the Eighty-First Street Theatre. In 1926, the trio toured with another popular all-girl act, Jerry and her Baby Grands, appearing together at the Palace Theater in New York. They also toured together in Canada.
The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce gained enough success to tour abroad. After they departed from the "Stars of the Future" entertainment showcase in the spring of 1927, their management, fronted by Ed Wolfe, had them tour Europe. They departed by airplane at a Long Island airport with the American portion of New York's Savoy Orpheans musical unit during the week of May 23, 1927.
In the UK, they met up with American songwriters Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. They also spent time in the recording studio with Bert Ambrose, a British bandleader, musical director Caroll Gibbons, and violinist/director Reg Batton. They toured with the New York engagement and appeared on London and Manchester stages. Played the London Palladium, Alhambra Theatre of Variety, and Plaza. Made a big splash in the theater production Blue Skies.
On October 27, 1927, Harry Plunket Greene, Irish baritone tenor, wrote of the trio after an England performance: "The Hamilton Sisters & Fordyce are just A1 as they are. I wouldn't interfere with them for anything. It's just perfect in its way. I do trust they leave things alone, not try to change."