The Andrews Sisters : Says My Heart
CD:PPCD 78123 / CASSETTE: / RUNNING TIME: 58:00
The most commercially successful female vocal trio present 20 stylish close-harmony classics. With Jimmy Dorsey, and Vic Schoen
Says My Heart << sound clip
Why Talk About Love?
Love Is Where You Find It
It's Easier Said Than Done
Oooooh Boom!
Oh! Faithless Maid
Lullaby To A Jitterbug
Joseph, Joseph
Tu-Li-Tulip Time
Shortenin' Bread
Bei Mir Bist Du Schon
Just A Simple Melody
Billy Boy
Where Have We Met Before? << sound clip
Ti-Pi-Tin
From The Land Of The Sky Blue Water
Sha-Sha
Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)
Hold Tight, Hold Tight << sound clip
Pross-Tchai (Goodbye)
If you were able to browse through the vast number
of record company catalogues produced since 1930 (presuming
you could find them all!) and check the roster of
artistes, it would soon become apparent to you that
there was never a time when a female vocal trio was
not included. The earliest would be the Boswell Sisters,
with records issued from 1930 until 1936. The Pickens
Sisters were also there, from 1932 to 1934. Then,
very much later, in 1946, we find the Dinning Sisters,
and by the time popular music had become big business
there were the DeMarco, Fontane, McGuire and Beverley
Sister acts. But bridging the large gap from 1936
to 1946 were three girls who must surely rank as the
best-known trio of all time, and commercially the
most successful – The Andrews Sisters.
They were all born in Minneapolis, LaVerne in July
1915, Maxene in January 1918, and Patti in February
1920, to a Greek restaurant owner and his Norwegian-born
wife. In 1926 (when Patti was only six years old!)
the girls began singing at amateur nights in local
theatres, and even managed to get heard on the radio.
Their father didn’t exactly approve of all this, but
mother offered them encouragement, if only to get
some peace from her quarrelsome daughters. They disagreed
on just about everything except one – music. They
were entranced by the Boswell Sisters’ close harmony
singing, and would always try to be near a radio when
they were scheduled to broadcast. In 1932, when still
only teenagers, the sisters toured the vaudeville
circuit with a band led by Larry Rich. Although the
youngest, Patti sang the lead parts and solos, serving
as a very personable leader and the one who acted
as a spokeswoman for the trio. They joined the Leon
Belasco band in 1937 and Patti’s leadership was soon
in evidence when they cut four titles with the band
in March of that year, two with vocals by the trio,
and two with Patti already doing a solo turn. Radio
was quick to take advantage of this new talent and
one night later that same year, during a broadcast
from the Hotel Edison in New York they were heard
by Dave Kapp, brother of the famous Jack. Dave immediately
signed them to a contract with Decca Records and they
made their first record in October. Then, on November
24, they were in the studios again, and hit the jackpot
with a song that was to destined to become exclusively
their own, and which went on to sell a million copies
– Bei mir bist du Schon. With the success of this
record they rapidly became a household name, and it
served as a wonderful Christmas present for the three
girls after so many years of hard work and struggling
to gain recognition. Then before they could catch
their breath, they were in the studios again in February
1938 when they cut another great title, Ti-Pi-Tin
– there was no holding this infectious, bubbly trio.
1938 was the start of the big-time for the Andrews
Sisters, with their signing to appear with Phil Baker
on the ‘Dole Pineapple Show’, and although the series
ran for only one season there were plenty of opportunities
for guest slots on other broadcasts – they were now
very much in demand. Personal appearances accounted
for a lot of their time between radio dates and continued
into 1939. At the end of April in that year, they
played the New Haven Arena in Connecticut and on the
same bill was the Glenn Miller Orchestra. For the
first week of May, the girls toured with Miller, taking
in one-night stands in Massachusetts, Vermont and
Philadelphia, and finally the Georgetown University
Senior Prom in Washington. Miller must have been immensely
impressed with the trio for he had them join the band
again when he took over from Paul Whiteman on the
Chesterfield Show on December 27. They stayed together
for thirteen weeks when the girls left, only because
of prior commitments. There could have hardly been
anything better than broadcasting weekly with the
Miller band. Such was the popularity of the Andrews
Sisters by 1940 that when the impending marriages
of Patti and Maxene threatened to break up the trio,
and family problems meant that only Patti was able
to sing on the January 30 broadcast, fan mail jumped
to ten times its normal amount. The problems were
quickly resolved, and radio audiences placated for
the remainder of the season until March 21 1940, the
date of their last broadcast together, when Miller
and the girls had to go their separate ways.
1940 was a momentous year for yet another reason,
when they made their screen debut in the 20th Century
Fox film ‘Argentine Nights’, co-starring with the
zany Ritz Brothers – there must have been mayhem on
the studio lots! In 1941, Universal Pictures signed
the girls to a contract and they appeared in three
Abbott & Costello movies. It was in the first of these
that they sang the now famous ‘Boogie-Woogie Bugle
Boy’, the hit always used in later years by various
impersonators. They were great favourites of Bing
Crosby, made many recordings with him and frequently
guested on his radio show. They also had a guest spot
in the Bing Crosby/Bob Hope film ‘Road To Rio’, in
which they sang ‘You Don’t Have To Know The Language’.
By chance, this 1948 movie was their last, but by
this time they had appeared in fifteen pictures.
On March 6 1974 at New York’s famous Shubert Theatre,
in a stomping evocation of the era of boogie-woogie
and jitter-bugging, Maxene and Patti made a triumphal
come back in a show called ‘Over Here’. An ecstatic
audience heard them reprise many of their old hits
with assistance from Janie Sell. The show ran a whole
year, proving the popularity of The Andrews Sisters.
GEOFF MILNE