The Sollie family disapproved of Olga's marriage, but the relationship was repaired once their first child, LaVerne, was born July 6, 1911. 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." They practically grew up on the vaudeville circuit, roughing it and toughing it with various bands and orchestras.Signed by orchestra leader Leon Belasco in 1937, the girls made their very first recordings with "There's a Lull in My Life" (an early solo by Patty), "Jammin'" and "Wake Up and Live." In addition, they produced three hi-fi albums, including a vibrant LP of songs from the dancing 1920s with Billy May's orchestra. Lynda Wells, a niece, confirmed the death. They also appeared in 16 films, including alongside Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Buck Privates and with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in Road to Rio. As Patty Andrews said in 1985, The Andrews Sisters really had only one big fight. None of these achieved any major success. The Andrews Sisters, with Patty singing soprano, sold tens of millions of records in the 1930s and '40s. They were inducted into the Minnesota Rock/Country Hall of Fame in May 2006. (Tonight's The Night) was a song recorded by the Andrews Sisters in 1939 arranged with Vic Schoen. [3] Writing for Bloomberg, Mark Schoifet said the sisters became the most popular female vocal group of the first half of the 20th century. 2. The Andrews Sisters' second Decca single, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen," an Anglicized version of a song from the Yiddish theater, became a massive hit. "She just seemed to effuse that warmth and personality and charm and smile and vigor more so than the other two sisters. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. When Decca settled with the union in 1943, they embarked on a series of hits, many of them with Bing Crosby. Childhood was, for the most part, lost to them. Maxene died from a heart attack in 1995, andPatty passed on January 30, 2013. 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). [5] All three attended Franklin Junior High School and North High School, both in Minneapolis. Maxene's was kind of high, and I was between. Maxene suffered a serious heart attack while performing in Illinois in 1982 and underwent quadruple bypass surgery, from which she successfully recovered. By the time they were done selling records, they'd moved some 100 million units, and racked up a whopping 46 Top 10 hits. The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. They appeared in more than a dozen films during the next seven years sometimes just singing, sometimes also acting. She was 94. ", in 1937. )", "I Wish I Had a Dime (For Every Time I Missed You)", "I'm Bitin' My Fingernails and Thinking of You", 75100 million records sold from a little over 600 recorded tunes, record-breaking theater and cabaret runs all across, countless appearances on radio shows from 1935 to 1960 (including their own), guest spots on every major television show of the 1950s and 1960s, including those hosted by, "A Penny a Kiss-A Penny a Hug" (1950) (No. In November 1933, they joined a vaudeville troupe for six months, traveling around the Midwest. The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. Maxene died in 1995. Patty not only sang lead; she was clearly the star of the group. 3.11. Their big break came in 1937 when they were signed by Decca Records, but their first recording went nowhere. 13. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne. She was born in Mound, Minnesota on 16 February 1918, the daughter of Peter Andreos (changed to 'Andrews' upon arriving in the US) and Olga Sollie. The Andrews Sisters were vibrant figures in the entertainment industry for about 30 years, and they still appeal to both the young and old. Their 1941 hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" can be considered an early example of jump blues. That year, they scored a Top Ten hit on the Billboard chart with "Ferryboat Serenade (La Piccinina)." 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. 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! The 2010 video game Mafia II features numerous Andrews Sisters songs, with "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Strip Polka" and "Rum and Coca-Cola". [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. They were getting ready to perform outside Naples, Italy, for troops headed to the Pacific when Patty was handed a piece of paper to read. (Between 1940-1948, they appeared in 17 films, including lending their voices to two animated features for Disney.) It started in 1937 and its still going. Though their fame declined in the postwar years, their act remained popular into the 1960s. They were popular during the swing and boogie-woogie eras. 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. Soundtrack: Repo Man. opened on Broadway on March 6, 1974. They began their career in New York city with Jack Belasco's orchestra and later with Ted Mack making the Vaudeville circuit. 1975 in New York City, NY. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. As Maxene Andrews recalled. The Andrews Sisters. It launched the careers of many now notable theater, film, and television stars, including John Travolta, Marilu Henner, Treat Williams, and Ann Reinking. [40] Levy was the sisters' manager from 1937 to 1951. lasted only a year, and its end marked the last time the sisters would ever sing together. Patty Andrews's spokesman, Alan Eichler, said she died from natural causes at her Los Angeles home. The 2011 video game L.A. Noire features the song "Pistol Packin' Mama", where the sisters perform a duet with Bing Crosby. Corrections? Female vocal trio who were one of the most popular and influential acts of the Big Band era. Patty was the youngest of the sisters whose hits included Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B. They were born in Middletown, Ohio. The girls vocalized perfectly and stepped in swinging time for two other Bud Abbott - Lou Costello comedies, In the Navy (1941) and Hold That Ghost (1941).Box-office sellouts on stage and in personal appearances across the nation, they were given their own radio show in late 1944, which continued through 1946, featuring such weekly guest stars as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Eddie Cantor, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Carmen Miranda, Judy Garland, Ethel Merman, Rudy Vallee, and many other prominent celebrities. LaVerne was considered the closest to her parents and often mediated family conflicts. But the women were determined to convey the effect of three trumpets. The youngest of the sisters, Patricia Marie Andrews was just 19 when the trio became an overnight sensation crooning "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen," a tune originally written for the Yiddish theater. [49] Universal Pictures, always budget-conscious, refused to hire a choreographer, so the Ritzes taught the sisters some eccentric steps. A final salute to the Andrews Sisters came in 1991 in the form of Company B, a ballet by the choreographer Paul Taylor subtitled Songs Sung by the Andrews Sisters. The work, which featured nine of the trios most popular songs, including Rum and Coca-Cola and, of course, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, underscored the enduring appeal of the three sisters from Minneapolis. [citation needed] The imitation occurred internationally; the Harmony Sisters, a popular group that performed from the 1930s to the 1950s in Finland was one such singing group.[44]. a perfect example of the way in which the Andrews Sisters adapted their vocal lines to the sound of a horn chart. . They had numerous hit records during these years, both on their own and in collaboration with Bing Crosby. Their second daughter, Anglyn, died at eight months of age on March 16, 1914. The group was also inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. Her mother, Olga, was Norwegian. The influence of the Andrews Sisters looms large over the last half-century of music: Their catalog, some 1,800 songs, has been thoroughly mined by other artists. [citation needed], 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. "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." which ran for 10 months in 197475. [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. In 1940, signed to Universal Pictures, they made the first of a series of low-budget "B" movies, Argentine Nights. Greek father Peter was a restaurateur in the Minneapolis area; their mother Ollie was a Norwegian homemaker. [46][47], 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. 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. 80. During their first weeks with the label, the sisters made the rather idiosyncratic choice to record a jazz-influenced rendition of the Yiddish song Bei mir bist du schon. The recording was released after Christmas 1937; by New Years Eve it had become the most popular song on New York radio stations, and it went on to become the first million-selling record by a female singing group. with Vic Schoen and his orchestra, unless otherwise noted: From top: Maxene (top left), LaVerne (top right), and Patty (center) in October 1943. LaVerne and Maxene attempted to duo for a time until Maxene attempted suicide, of a drug overdose in 1954, heartbroken over the brittle breakup of the group. Moreover, the girls squabbled over their parents' estate shares and individual career desires.In 1953, Patty, the group's lead, declared she was going solo. "[31], 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 mood-master Gordon Jenkins, whose orchestra and chorus accompanied them on such successful soft and melancholy renditions as "I Can Dream, Can't I?" 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. Patty Andrews, the last of the Andrews Sisters, the jaunty vocal trio whose immensely popular music became part of the patriotic fabric of World War II America, died on Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles. Subsequent radio work eventually led to the Decca Records label. As her sister Maxene told NPR in 1993, Patty "opened up this piece of paper, and she looked at it, and then she started to cry. Their next big hit was "I Can Dream, Can't I?," a gold single on which Patty sang lead with her sisters providing backup; it hit number one in January 1950. 1.150. They were particularly inspired by the Boswell Sisters, who scored a number of hits in the early '30s. Patty, the youngest, became the lively melodic leader, engulfed by the warm harmonies of LaVerne and Maxene.The old Yiddish song "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon" was translated into English for them by Sammy Cahn and the girls walked off with their first huge hit in late 1937 (and paid a flat fifty dollars and no royalties!). In 1951 she married Wally Weschler, who had been the sisters pianist and conductor and who later became her manager. LaVerne Andrews died of cancer in 1967 and Maxene Andrews died in 1995 after suffering a heart attack. 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. Offstage, the sisters well-publicized feuds kept them in the gossip pages. [19] The English lyrics were written by Mitchell Parish. 17), "Down in the Valley (Hear that Train Blow)" (1944) (No. They delivered an optimistic, upbeat war campaign that instilled hope, joy and allegiance through song, comedy, and lively movement. 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 toured extensively during the 1960s, favoring top nightclubs in Las Vegas, California, and London, England.[23]. Patty and Maxene reclaimed some success when they starred in the Broadway musical Over Here! 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. In 1953, the group broke up with Laverne going to New York to study dramatics. With a never-say-die flair, they finished up their Universal contract rather inauspiciously with Her Lucky Night (1945), just as WW2 had come to an end.Still highly in demand in the recording studio, on radio, on stage and in clubs, they had no trouble moving on. [citation needed], Buck Privates, with Abbott and Costello, featured the Andrews Sisters' best-known song, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. Instrumental to the sisters' success over the years were their parents, Olga and Peter, their orchestra leader and musical arranger, Vic Schoen (19162000), and Jack and David Kapp, who founded Decca Records. Patty was the star of the sibling act. Patty and Maxene's careers experienced a resurgence when Bette Midler covered "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" in 1973. Her singing was." "Then in one year our dream world ended. Maxene and Patty went through painful divorces (Maxene split with the group's manager Lou Levy; Patty lost agent and husband, Martin Melcher to singer Doris Day), and lost their parents within a year of each other, as did their mentor Jack Kapp of Decca Records. This was a follow-up to Patty's success in Victory Canteen, a 1971 California revue. [citation needed]. The collection is remastered in superb sound with surprising presence and vivid detail, the material is priceless, and . Their reign is all the more remarkable given that they swam against the current of contemporary music trends while making it seem effortless. Patty was only ten at the time. Ms. Andrews and her sisters, Patty and Laverne, were one of the most successful women's singing groups, with 19 gold records and sales of nearly 100 million copies. A failed radio performance in 1937 turned out to be the sisters big break. They consisted of real life sisters LaVerne Andrews, Maxene Andrews, and Patty Andrews. It was there they were discovered by Larry Rich, who offered them a job with his traveling revue. [28], Patty continually distanced herself from Maxene, until her death, and would not explain her motives regarding the separation. 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. . They were doing a show near Naples, Italy, for servicemen preparing to ship out for the South Pacific when they were given a note to read from the commanding officer. According to Patty Andrews, "We had a recording date, and the song was brought to us the night before the recording date. 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.". The show opened in March 1974 and was the sisters belated Broadway debut. Patty died of natural causes at her home in Northridge, California, on January 30, 2013, at the age of 94. This button displays the currently selected search type. the Andrews Sisters, singing trio, one of the most popular American musical acts of the 1940s. Patty was only 11 when the trio caught the show business bug following a nervous first performance in a 1931 singing contest. The Andrews Sisters (from left, Maxene, Patty and LaVerne) in the 1940s. By the time she was six she was entertaining at veterans hospitals, for the Mayor of Minneapolis and at Daughters of American Revolution luncheons. 20), "Money Is the Root of All Evil (Take it Away, Take it Away, Take it Away)" (with, "Pross Tchai (Goodbye-Goodbye)" (1939) (No. I wish I had the ability and the power to bridge the gap between my relationship with my sister, Patty. Some of their accomplishments include selling over 90 million records, recording about 700 songs and earning nine gold records. Other hits followed, and in 1940 they were signed by Universal Pictures. 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. 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. Their singing was initially influenced by the Dixieland style of the Boswell Sisters of New Orleans, but they soon expanded their repertoire to include a wide range of current song types. 1947 brought the Top Ten hits "Tallahassee" (with Crosby), "Near You," and "The Lady From 29 Palms." Cancer took LaVerne in 1967, and within a year Maxene was teaching college in the Lake Tahoe area. The Andrews Sisters - Artist Details. [54][55][56] The trio headlined at the London Palladium in 1948[57] and 1951. "There was no such thing as being married at that time," she said. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" is a World War II jump blues song written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince which was introduced by The Andrews Sisters in the Abbott and Costello comedy film, Buck Privates (1941). Maxene retired shortly after and became Dean of Women at a Tahoe, Nevada college. [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. Maxene Andrews was on a vacation from her role in the off-Broadway musical Swingtime Canteen when she suffered another heart attack and died in the fall of 1995. Vocal. Patty remained in seclusion in her Northridge home near Los Angeles with husband Wally for years. Eldest sister LaVerne died in 1967 at the age of 55 after a year-long bout with cancer[24] during which she was replaced by singer Joyce DeYoung (May 24, 1926 March 7, 2014). In 2007, their version of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schn" 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. Oh!," and their first two duets with Bing Crosby in 1939: "Ciribiribin" and "Yodelin' Jive" (both featuring jazz violinist Joe Venuti and his orchestra).The country was absolutely enthralled and captivated. By this point however, rock-and-roll and doo-wop were dominating the charts and older artists were left by the wayside. Patty was the star of the sibling act. The sisters grew up singing together in Minnesota. Bei Mir Bist Du Schn (Means That Youre Grand),, her own recording of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,. The two sisters remained estranged from then on, although they made occasional joint appearances and Patty visited the hospital when Maxene suffered a heart attack in 1982. 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). Read Full Biography. As the war ended, the Andrews Sisters became the stars of their own radio program, The Andrews Sisters Show. He had no other alternative but to as k the cashier to keep them in case the lost gl oves were found. 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!!). She was 94. All three of us were upset, and we were at each other's throats all the time." hide caption. Disbanded . In an interview in 1971, Patty said: "There were just three girls in the family. Styles. Thus, in Argentine Nights and the sisters' next film, Buck Privates, the Andrews Sisters dance like the Ritz Brothers. 15), "That's the Moon, My Son" (1942) (No. ", With the U.S. entry into World War II, the Andrews Sisters began appearing frequently at military bases; they later traveled overseas to entertain the troops. Like many popular entertainers, they hit the road to tour military bases and installations, says NPR, not only in the United States, but in Africa and Italy as well. This however did not sit well with Patty and a cease and desist order was sent to Skelton. In 1972, Bette Midler introduced "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" to a new generation of music fans with her own hit version. After the Belasco band broke up that summer, they were signed to Decca Records on their own. They hired Patty and lured Maxene back into show business as well. They played a crucial role in the war effort, performing for troops at USO shows around the world and entertaining radio listeners across the U.S. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January 3, 1916 October 21, 1995), and mezzo-soprano Patricia "Patty" Marie Andrews (February 16, 1918 January 30, 2013). The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. This was followed by a 1-2-3 punch back at the recording studio with their renditions of the rollicking "Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar," a reinvention of the WW1 waltz "I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time" and the soft, sentimental ballad "Mean to Me. Read Full Biography, The Andrews Sisters were the most successful female vocal group of the first half of the 20th century in the U.S. One source lists 113 singles chart entries by the trio between 1938-1951, an average of more than eight per year. You get with an orchestra, and you listen to three great trumpets playingso we knew that this is the way you wanted to blend. [51], Universal hired the sisters for two more Abbott and Costello comedies and then promoted them to full-fledged stardom in B musicals. They continued to record for Decca through the end of 1953, at which point Patty Andrews left the group for a solo career while Maxene and LaVerne Andrews continued to perform as the Andrews Sisters. She then married Walter Weschler, the trio's pianist, in 1951. Patty Andrews returned to her solo career and in 1971 appeared in a musical revue called Victory Canteen in Los Angeles. [4] They are still widely acclaimed today for their famous close harmonies. In 1987, the group was honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star for their recording work. Patty visited her sister while she was hospitalized. The two remained together until LaVerne's death from liver cancer on May 8, 1967, at the age of 55. It was like God had given us voices to fit our parts. Their All-Time Greatest Hits Review. After his death in 2010, Patty began a slow and steady decline and died on January 30, 2013, just two weeks before her 95th birthday.Fortunately, The Andrews Sisters' legendary feuding can never overshadow their exhaustive musical contributions and unparalleled success during 36 years of performing together. [41] "Her art was. The sisters bold, brassy vocal style initially caused them to fail several auditions. The sisters were LaVerne Sofia Andrews (b. July 6, 1911, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.d. [citation needed], The Andrews Sisters were the most sought-after singers in theater shows worldwide during the 1940s and early 1950s, always topping previous house averages. MinnPost explains that the sisters' unique song stylings contrasted sharply with the prevailing winds of popular singers at the time, particularly women. They boasted an exuberant, close-harmony style well-suited to cheery novelty songs, and their intricate vocal . Ethnicity: *father - Greek. In a 1974 interview with The New York Times, Patty explained what that was like: When our fans used to see one of us, theyd always ask, Where are your sisters? Every time we got an award, it was just one award for the three of us. This could be irritating, she said with a touch of exasperation: Were not glued together.. [58] They hosted their own radio shows for ABC and CBS from 1944 to 1951,[59] singing specially written commercial jingles for such products as Wrigley's chewing gum,[60] Dole pineapples,[61] Nash motor cars, Kelvinator home appliances,[62] Campbell's soups, and Franco-American food products. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. In 1956 they regrouped and sang in Las Vegas at the Flamingo Hotel along with a host of TV offers and a new Capitol recording contract. She was 79. 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. Patty Andrews, the last of the Andrews Sisters, died at her home in Los Angeles in January 2013; she was 94 years old. Don Raye also wrote the sisters' famous songs such as, \"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy\", \"Beat Me Daddy, Eight to The Bar\" and \"I Love You Much Too Much\".\rI will also be posting \"I Love You Much Too Much\". Laverne started the trio of sisters and they appeared in kiddie revues on local radio stations and at the Orpheum in their hometown of Minneapolis. [16] In the 1950s, Patty Andrews decided to break away from the act to be a soloist. The preeminent singing sister act of all time with well over 75 million records sold by which the swinging big-band era could not be better represented were the fabulous Andrews Sisters: the blonde melodic mezzo Patty Andrews, the brunette soprano Maxene Andrews and the red-headed contralto Laverne Andrews.With their precise harmonies and perfectly syncopated dance moves, the girls reached heights of worldwide fame still unattained by any group which followed. [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. In late1947, CBS Radio signed the sisters as regulars on "Club Fifteen" (they appeared three times a week for five years with alternating hosts Bob Crosby and crooner Dick Haymes.In 1942, Universal decided it was the right time to spruce them up and give them a bit more on-screen persona by featuring them front-and-center in what turned out to be an unfortunate string of poorly-produced "quickies." Afterwards, their parents closed the restaurant to devote themselves to their career, and they spent the years 1934-1937 touring with bands. The trio's last Top Ten hit was "Sparrow in the Tree Top," another pairing with Bing Crosby, in 1951. Her real name was Patricia Marie (Patty nickname). 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