Remember? It was the days when boogie-woogie was the most popular music. And the Andrews Sisters were America’s most popular female singers.
They were entertainment attractions for 30 years. They recorded 37 songs with Bing Crosby, as well as their own special arrangements.
You might say the end of a musical phenomenon ended on January 30 when Patty Andrews died at age 94. The Andrews Sisters hadn’t sung together since the 1950s. But they sold close to one million records when they were the preeminent sister act. They dominated the pop music charts for more than a decade.
In their distinctive three-part harmony, Patty, Maxine, and LaVerne were versatile in a range of genres. Their songs were hits in music types ranging from swing to country western. They performed at fairs, in Hollywood movies and on Broadway.
Hits that can’t be forgotten included “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B,” “Rum and CocaCola,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,” And their first success, “Bei Mir,” which sold 350,000 copies — Billboard’s No. 1 pick for five straight weeks.
The Andrews Sisters may well be remembered by their service during World War II, entertaining troops. That’s something you don’t see much of now from film stars or celebrities. The sisters sold War Bonds and traveled to all major theaters of war.
In the 1940s, the Andrews Sisters became the most profitable stage attraction in the nation. They appeared in 17 Hollywood movies. Their rendition of “I Can Dream, Can’t I” was considered one of the most memorable ballads ever recorded. It stayed No. 1 on the Billboard chart for 20 weeks.
Patty tired of being part of the group in 1954 and went out on her own. But they reunited two years later. LaVerne died of cancer in 1957. Maxine died in 1995, some time after she and Patty starred in a theater production that ran for 341 performances. After that Patty performed on cruise ships for several years.
If you’re too young to remember or to have been charmed by the talents of the Andrews Sisters, you can go online to The Andrews Sisters and scroll down to an item where all their most popular songs can be heard and enjoyed. Listen. It will bring back lost memories.
Tait Trussell is an old guy and fourth-generation professional journalist who writes extensively about aging issues among a myriad of diverse topics.