The Andrews Sisters were
a prolific and hugely successful close harmony
singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie
eras, consisting of three actual sisters: LaVerne, Maxene and Patty
– Laverne Sophia, contralto and redhead
(July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967); Maxene Angelyn, soprano
and brunette (January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995); and
Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews, mezzo-soprano,
lead singer, and blonde (born February 16, 1918). Their harmonies
and songs are still influential today, and have been covered by
entertainers such as Bette Midler, the
Puppini Sisters
and Christina
Aguilera. Throughout their long career, the sisters sold well
over 75 million records (the last official count released by
MCA
Records in the mid-1970s). The group was inducted into the
Vocal Group
Hall of Fame in 1998. Their hit "Boogie
Woogie Bugle Boy" can be considered an early example of
rhythm and
blues or jump blues.
In 2008 and 2009 the BBC
produced a one-hour show on the history of the Andrews Sisters from
their upbringing in Mound,
Minnesota, to the present. The American premier of the show was
June 21, 2009, in Mound. In 2008 Mound dedicated "The Andrews
Sisters Trail". The sisters spent summers in Mound 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 around the sisters' careers. The Westonka Historical
Society has a large collection of Andrews Sisters memorabilia.
