The Andrews Sisters
were an American close harmony singing group, consisting of sisters LaVerne Sophia Andrews (contralto; July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), Maxene Angelyn Andrews (soprano; January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995), and Patricia Marie (a.k.a. Patty) Andrews (mezzo-soprano; lead; born February 16, 1918). All were born in Minnesota to a Greek immigrant father and a Norwegian American mother.
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THE ANDREWS SISTERS TICKETS
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Early history
Patty, the youngest and the
lead singer of the group, was only seven when the group was formed, and just twelve years old when they won first prize at a talent contest at the local
Orpheum Theatre in
Minneapolis, where LaVerne played piano accompaniment for the
silent film showings in exchange for free dancing lessons for herself and her sisters. Once the sisters found fame and settled in
California, their parents lived with them in a
Brentwood estate until their deaths, and several cousins from
Minnesota followed them west. The sisters returned to Minneapolis at least once a year to visit family and friends and/or perform.
They started their career as imitators of an earlier successful singing group, the
Boswell Sisters. After singing with various dance bands and touring in
vaudeville with the likes of comic bandleader Larry Rich, also known as Dick Rich (Dick Rich was actually one of Larry's younger brothers),
Ted Mack, and Leon Belasco, they first came to national attention with their recordings and radio broadcasts in 1937, most notably via their major Decca record hit,
Bei Mir Bist Du Schön
(translation: To me, you are beautiful),
[1] originally a
Yiddish tune, the lyrics of which
Sammy Cahn had translated to English and which the girls harmonized to perfection. It sold a million copies, making them the first female
vocal group to achieve a
Gold Record award. They followed this success with a string of
best-selling records over the next two years and they became a
household name by 1940.
Record setting hits
The Andrews Sisters became the best-selling female vocal group in the history of popular music, setting records that remain unsurpassed to this day:
- between 75-100 million records sold from a little over 600 recorded tunes
- 113 charted Billboard hits, 46 reaching Top 10 status (more than Elvis Presley or the Beatles)
- 17 Hollywood films (more than any other singing group in motion picture history)
- record-breaking theater and cabaret runs all across America and Europe;
- 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 Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Johnny Carson, Joey Bishop, Art Linkletter, and Jimmy Dean.
Some of the trio's best-remembered and most popular hits were:
- "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön",
- "Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)",
- "Hold Tight-Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood, Mama?)",
- "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar",
- "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time",
- "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (Of Company B)",
- "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me)",
- "Pistol Packin' Mama" (w/ Bing Crosby),
- "Jingle Bells" (w/ Bing Crosby),
- "Rum and Coca-Cola",
- "Don't Fence Me In" (w/ Bing Crosby),
- "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" (w/ Bing Crosby),
- "South America, Take It Away" (w/ Bing Crosby)",
- "Cuanto La Gusta" (w/ Carmen Miranda),
- "Blue Tail Fly (Jimmy Crack Corn)" (w/ Burl Ives),
- "Christmas Island" & "Winter Wonderland" (both with Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians),
- "Near You",
- "Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)" (w/ Danny Kaye),
- "Rumors Are Flying" (w/ Les Paul),
- "I Can Dream, Can't I?" and "I Wanna Be Loved" (both w/Gordon Jenkins' orchestra & chorus, and both featuring extended solos by Patty).
World War II
During
World War II, they entertained the
Allied forces extensively in
America, Africa and
Italy, visiting
Army,
Navy,
Marine and
Coast Guard bases, war zones,
hospitals, and munitions factories.
[2] They encouraged U.S. citizens to purchase
war bonds with their rendition of
Irving Berlin's song
Any Bonds Today?. They also helped
actors
Bette Davis and
John Garfield found
California's famous
Hollywood Canteen, a welcome retreat for
servicemen where the trio often performed, volunteering their personal time to sing for and dance with
soldiers,
sailors and
Marines (they did the same at
New York City's
Stage Door Canteen during the war). While touring, they often treated three random servicemen to dinner when they were dining out. They recorded a series of Victory Discs (V-Discs) for distribution to
Allied fighting forces only, again volunteering their time for studio sessions for the Music Branch, Special Service Division of the Army Service Forces, and they were dubbed the "Sweethearts of the
Armed Forces Radio Service" for their many appearances on shows like "Command Performance", "Mail Call", & "
G.I. Journal." Perhaps only
Bob Hope and his troupe did more to entertain the troops.
Setting Records
They recorded 47 songs with crooner
Bing Crosby, 23 of which charted on
Billboard, thus making the team one of the most successful pairings of acts in a recording studio in
show business history. Their million-sellers with Crosby included "
Pistol Packin' Mama", "
Don't Fence Me In", "
South America, Take It Away", and "
Jingle Bells", among other yuletide favorites.
The sisters' popularity was such that after the war they discovered some of their records had actually been smuggled into
Germany after the labels had been changed to read "
Hitler's Marching Songs". Their recording of
Bei Mir Bist Du Schön
became a favorite of the
Nazis, until it was discovered that the song's composers were of
Jewish descent. Still, it did not stop
concentration camp inmates from secretly singing it.
Along with
Bing Crosby, separately and jointly, The Andrews Sisters were among the performers who incorporated
ethnic music styles into America's
Hit Parade, popularizing or enhancing the popularity of songs with melodies originating in
Israel,
Italy,
Spain,
France,
Ireland,
Czechoslovakia,
Russia,
Sweden,
Brazil,
Mexico, and
Trinidad, many of which their manager chose for them.
Movies
Maxene, Patty, and LaVerne appeared in 15 Hollywood films. Their first picture,
Argentine Nights
, paired them with another enthusiastic trio, the
Ritz Brothers.
Universal Pictures, always budget-conscious, refused to hire a choreographer, so the Ritzes taught the sisters some eccentric steps. Thus, in
Argentine Nights
and the sisters' next film,
Buck Privates
, the Andrews Sisters dance like the Ritz Brothers.
Buck Privates
, with
Abbott and Costello, featured the Andrews Sisters' best-known song, "
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." This Don Raye-Hughie Prince composition was nominated for
Best Song at the 1941
Academy Awards ceremony. In 2001, the song was voted #6 on a list of 365 entries for
Songs of the Century, having also returned to popularity via a
1973 rendition by
Bette Midler.
Universal hired the sisters for two more Abbott & Costello comedies, and then promoted them to full-fledged stardom in B musicals.
What's Cookin',
Private Buckaroo,
and
Give Out, Sisters
(the latter portraying the sisters as old ladies) were among the team's popular full-length films.
The Andrews Sisters have a specialty number in the all-star revue
Hollywood Canteen
(1944). They can be seen singing "
You Don't Have to Know the Language" with
Bing Crosby in Paramount's
Road to Rio
with
Bob Hope, that year's highest-grossing movie. Their singing voices are heard in two full-length
Walt Disney features ("
Make Mine Music" which featured
Johnny Fedora & Alice Blue Bonnet, and "
Melody Time", which introduced
Little Toot
, both of which are available on
DVD today).
Stage and radio shows
The Andrews Sisters were the most sought-after entertainment property in theater shows worldwide during the 1940s and early 1950s, always topping previous house averages. Blonde Patty, brunette Maxene and redhead LaVerne headlined at the
London Palladium in 1948 and 1951 to sold-out crowds. They hosted their own radio shows for
ABC &
CBS from 1944-1951, singing specially-written commercial jingles for such products as
Wrigley's chewing gum,
Dole pineapples,
Nash motor cars,
Kelvinator home appliances,
Campbell's soups, and
Franco-American food products.
Musical innovators
When the sisters burst upon the music scene in the late-1930s, they shook a very solid musical foundation: producing a slick harmonic blend by singing at the top of their lungs while trying - successfully - to emulate the blare of three harmonizing trumpets, with a full big band racing behind them. Some
bandleaders of the day, such as
Artie Shaw and his musicians, resented them for taking the focus away from the band and emphasizing the vocals instead. They were in as high demand as the big bandleaders themselves, many of whom did not want to share the spotlight and play back-up to a girl trio.
Nevertheless, 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?" (which shot to number one on
Billboard and remained in the
Top 10 for 25 weeks), "
I Wanna Be Loved", "
There Will Never Be Another You", and the inspirational "
The Three Bells" (the first recorded English version of the
French composition), as well as several solo recordings with Patty, including a cover version of
Nat "King" Cole's "
Too Young", "
It Never Entered My Mind", "
If You Go", and "
That's How A Love Song Is Born."
Many styles
While the sisters specialized in
swing,
boogie-woogie, and novelty hits with their trademark lightning-quick vocal syncopations, they also produced major hits in
jazz,
ballads,
folk,
country-western, seasonal, and
religious titles, being the first Decca artists to record an album of
gospel standards in 1950. Their versatility allowed them to pair with many different artists in the recording studios, producing
Top 10 hits with the likes of
Bing Crosby (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. 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.
Career interruption
The Andrews Sisters broke up in 1953, the main catalyst being Patty's decision to go solo, with her husband acting as her agent. When Maxene & LaVerne learned of Patty's decision from newspaper
gossip columns rather than their own sister, it caused a rather bitter two-year separation, especially when Patty decided to worsen matters by suing LaVerne for a larger share of their parents' estate. Maxene and LaVerne tried to continue the act as a duo and met with good press during a 10-day tour of
Australia, but a reported
suicide attempt by Maxene in December, 1954 put a halt to any further tours (Maxene spent a short time hospitalized after swallowing 18 sleeping pills, which LaVerne told reporters was an accident).
When all was forgiven and the trio reunited in 1956, they signed a new recording contract with
Capitol Records (for whom Patty had become a featured soloist) and they released a dozen singles through 1959, some
rock-and-roll flavored and not very well received, and three
hi-fi albums, including a vibrant
LP of songs from the dancing 1920s with
Billy May's orchestra. In 1962, they signed with
Dot Records and recorded a series of
stereo albums over five years, both re-recordings of earlier hits, 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", the theme from
Come September
, and the theme from
A Man and a Woman
. They toured extensively during the 1960s, favoring top nightclubs in
Las Vegas, Nevada,
California and
London, England.
The act came to an abrupt end in 1967 when eldest sister LaVerne died of
cancer after a year-long bout with the illness, during which she was replaced by singer
Joyce DeYoung. LaVerne had founded the original group, and often acted as the peacemaker among the three during the sisters' lives, more often siding with her parents, to whom the girls were extremely devoted, than with either of her sisters. Once she was gone, Maxene saw no need to continue as a duo (she taught acting, drama, and speech at a
Lake Tahoe college and worked with troubled teens), and Patty was once again eager to be a
soloist.
Comeback
Both surviving sisters had something of a comeback when
Bette Midler recorded her own version of their song "
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" in 1972. Their most notable comeback, however, was in the
Sherman Brothers' nostalgic
World War II musical: "
Over Here!" which premiered on
Broadway at the
Shubert Theater in 1974 to rave reviews. This was a follow-up to Patty's success in "
Victory Canteen" a 1971
California revue. The musical starred Maxene and Patty (with
Janie Sell filling in for LaVerne and winning a
Tony Award for her performance) and was written with both sisters in mind for the leads. It launched the careers of many now notable theater, film and television icons (
John Travolta,
Marilu Henner,
Treat Williams,
Ann Reinking,
et al.
). It was the last major hurrah for the sisters and was cut short due to a lawsuit initiated by Patty's husband against the show's producers, squashing an extensively scheduled road tour for the company, including the sisters.
Patty immediately distanced herself from Maxene, who claimed until her death that she was not aware of Patty's motives regarding the separation. She appealed to Patty for a reunion, personally if not professionally, both in public and in private, but to no avail. Maxene suffered a serious
heart attack while performing in
Illinois in 1982 and underwent
quadruple bypass surgery, from which she successfully recovered. Patty visited her sister while she was hospitalized. 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
. Maxene had a very 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. Patty debuted her own solo act in 1981, but did not receive the critical acclaim her sister had for her performances, even though it was Patty who was considered to be the "star" of the group for years. The critics' major complaint was that Patty's show concentrated too much on Andrews Sisters material, which did not allow Patty's own talents as a very expressive and bluesy vocalist to shine through.
The two sisters did reunite, albeit briefly, on October 1, 1987 when they received a star on Hollywood's famous
Walk of Fame, even singing a few bars of "
Beer Barrel Polka" for the
Entertainment Tonight
cameras. Ironically, an earthquake shook the area that very morning and the ceremony was nearly canceled, which caused Patty to joke, "Some people said that earthquake this morning was LaVerne because she couldn't be here, but it was really Maxene and I on the telephone." Both sisters laughed and shared a hug. Besides this, and a few brief private encounters, they remained somewhat estranged for the last few years.
Shortly after her
off-Broadway debut in
New York City in a show called
Swingtime Canteen
, Maxene suffered another heart attack and died at
Cape Cod Hospital on October 21, 1995. Not long before she died, Maxene told music historian
William Ruhlmann, "I have nothing to regret. We got on the carousel and we each got the ring and I was satisfied with that. There's nothing I would do to change things if I could...Yes, I would. I wish I had the ability and the power to bridge the gap between my relationship with my sister, Patty." Upon hearing the news of her sister's death, Patty became very distraught. As her husband Wally went to her, he fell on a flight of stairs and broke both wrists. Patty did not attend her sisters'
memorial services in
New York, nor in
California. Said
Bob Hope of Maxene's passing, "She was more than part of The Andrews Sisters, much more than a singer. She was a warm and wonderful lady who shared her talent and wisdom with others."
Legacy
Instrumental to the sisters' success over the years were their parents, Olga (d. 1948) and Peter (d. 1949); their orchestra leader and musical arranger
Vic Schoen (d. 2000); music publishing giant
Lou Levy (who passed away only days after Maxene), their manager from 1937 to 1951 as well as Maxene's husband from 1941-1949, ; and both
Jack &
David Kapp, who founded Decca Records.
Patty Andrews married agent
Marty Melcher in 1947, and left him in 1949 when he pursued a romantic relationship with
Doris Day (at the time of his death, Melcher left Day in millions of dollars of debt after mismanaging her money for years, unbeknownst to Doris). Patty then married
Walter Weschler in 1951, the trio's pianist. LaVerne married
Lou Rogers (who died 5 days after Maxene, and 5 days before
Lou Levy in 1995) in 1948, a trumpet player in
Vic Schoen's band, and remained with him until her death.
Throughout their long career, the sisters had sold over well over 75 million records (that being 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.
LaVerne and Maxene Andrews are interred in the
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in
Glendale, California with their parents, and room remains in the crypt for Patty if she chooses that as her final resting place.
The Andrews Sisters' recording of "Don't Sit under the Apple Tree" was sampled in
Soul Coughing's song "Down to This" off their album
Ruby Vroom. Until the advent of
the Supremes, the sisters were the most imitated of all female singing groups, and influenced many artists, including
Mel Tormé,
Les Paul & Mary Ford,
The Four Freshmen,
The McGuire Sisters,
The Lennon Sisters,
The Pointer Sisters,
The Manhattan Transfer,
Barry Manilow, and
Bette Midler; even
Elvis Presley was a fan.
Most of the Andrews Sisters' music has been restored and released in
compact disc form, yet over 300 of their original Decca recordings, a good portion of which was hit material, has yet to be released by
MCA/Decca in over 50 years. Many of these Decca recordings have been used in such television shows and Hollywood movies as
Homefront
,
ER
,
The Brink's Job
,
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
,
Swing Shift
,
Raggedy Man
,
Summer of '42
,
Slaughterhouse-Five
,
Maria's Lovers
,
Harlem Nights
,
In Dreams
,
Murder in the First
,
L.A. Confidential
,
Just Shoot Me
,
Mama's Family
,
War & Remembrance
,
Jakob the Liar
,
Lolita
,
The Polar Express
,
The Chronicles of Narnia
,
Memoirs of a Geisha
, and ''Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back
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. Comical references to the trio in television sitcoms can be found as early as
I Love Lucy and as recently as
Everybody Loves Raymond. In 2007, their version of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" was included in the game
BioShock, a first-person shooter that takes place in an alternate history 1960, and later in 2008, Civilization (with Danny Kaye) was included in the 1940s-50s Atomic Age-inspired video game
Fallout 3''.
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
. The song was co-written by
Linda Perry. The London based trio the
Puppini Sisters uses their style harmonies on several Andrews Sisters and other hits of the 1940s and 1950s as well as later
rock and
disco hits. The trio has said their name is a tribute to The Andrews Sisters.
At age 91, Patty Andrews lives quietly in
Northridge, California, together with Wally, her husband of over 55 years. In interviews, when granted, she rarely speaks personally of her sisters. When asked about their legendary feuding, she jokes about it and quickly moves onto the next topic.
In 2008 and 2009 the BBC produced a one hour show of the history of the Andrews Sisters from growing up in Mound Minnesota through the present. The American premier of the show was June 21 2009 in Mound Minnesota.
In 2008 Mound Minnesota dedicated "The Andrew Sisters Trail". They spent summers in Mound with their uncle's 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 sister's career.
The Westonka Historical Society has a large collection of Andrew Sisters memorabilia.
Repertoire
Hit records
Highest chart positions on Billboard;
with Vic Schoen & his orchestra, unless otherwise noted:
- "Bei mir bist Du schön" (recorded November 24, 1937) (#1)
- "Hold Tight, Hold Tight (Want Some Sea Food, Mama?)" (recorded November 21, 1938) (#2)
- "Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)" (recorded May 3, 1939) (#4)
- "Well All Right! (Tonight's the Night)" (recorded May 3, 1939) (#5)
- "Yodelin' Jive" (recorded with Bing Crosby on September 20, 1939) (#4)
- "Say Si Si (Para Vigo Me Voy)" (recorded February 7, 1940) (#4)
- "Ferryboat Serenade (La Piccinina)" (recorded July 15, 1940) (#1)
- "Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar" (recorded August 28, 1940) (#2)
- "I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time" (recorded November 14, 1940) (#5)
- "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" (recorded January 2, 1941) (#6)
- "The Shrine of St. Cecilia" (recorded November 15, 1941) (#3)
- '"Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me)" (recorded April 4, 1942) (#16)
- "Pistol Packin' Mama" (recorded with Bing Crosby on September 27, 1943) (#2)
- "Victory Polka" (recorded with Bing Crosby on September 27, 1943) (#5)
- "Jingle Bells" (recorded with Bing Crosby on September 29, 1943) (1943: #19 & 1947: #21)
- "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (recorded with Bing Crosby on September 29, 1943) (#22)
- "Shoo Shoo Baby" (recorded October 13, 1943) (#1)
- "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby?)" (recorded with Bing Crosby on[June 30, 1944) (#2)
- "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Town of Berlin (When the Yanks Go Marching In)" (recorded with Bing Crosby on June 30, 1944) (#1)
- "Don't Fence Me In" (recorded with Bing Crosby on July 25, 1944) (#1)
- "Rum and Coca-Cola" (recorded October 18, 1944) (#1)
- "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive" (recorded with Bing Crosby on December 8, 1944) (#2)
- "Along The Navajo Trail" (recorded with Bing Crosby on June 29, 1945) (#2)
- "South America, Take It Away" (recorded with Bing Crosby on May 10, 1946) (#2)
- "Rumors Are Flying" (recorded with Les Paul on guitar on July 2], 1946) (#4)
- "Near You" (recorded August 4, 1947) (#2)
- "Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)" (recorded with Danny Kaye on September 27, 1947) (#3)
- "Toolie Oolie Doolie (The Yodel Polka)" (recorded December 19, 1947) (#3)
- "Underneath the Arches" (recorded in London with Billy Ternant & his orchestra on July 26, 1948) (#5)
- "I Can Dream, Can't I?" (recorded with Gordon Jenkins & his orchestra & chorus on July 15, 1949) (#1)
- "I Wanna Be Loved" (recorded with Gordon Jenkins & his orchestra & chorus on March 30, 1950) (#1)
Other songs
Highest chart positions on Billboard;
with Vic Schoen & his orchestra, unless otherwise noted:
- "Nice Work if You Can Get It" (charted 1938) (#12)
- "Joseph! Joseph!" (1938) (#18)
- "Ti-Pi-Tin" (1938) (#12)
- "Shortenin' Bread" (1938) (#16)
- "Says My Heart" (1938) (#10)
- "Tu-Li-Tulip Time" (with Jimmy Dorsey & his orchestra) (1938) (#9)
- "Sha-Sha" (with Jimmy Dorsey & his orchestra)(1938) (#17)
- "Lullaby to a Jitterbug" (1938) (#10)
- "Pross Tchai (Goodbye-Goodbye)" (1939) (#15)
- "You Don't Know How Much You Can Suffer" (1939) (#14)
- "Ciribiribin (They're So in Love)" (with Bing Crosby & Joe Venuti & his orchestra) (1939) (#13)
- "Chico's Love Song" (1939) (#11)
- "The Woodpecker Song" (1940) (#6)
- "Down By the O-HI-O" (1940) (#21)
- "Rhumboogie" (1940) (#11)
- "Hit the Road" (1940) (#27)
- "Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat" (1940) (#10)
- "I Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi (I Like You Very Much)" (1941) (#11)
- "Aurora" (1941) (#10)
- "Sonny Boy" (1941) (#22)
- "The Nickel Serenade" (1941) (#22)
- "Sleepy Serenade" (1941) (#22)
- "I Wish I Had a Dime (For Ev'rytime I Missed You)" (1941) (#20)
- "Jealous" (1941) (#12)
- "I'll Pray For You" (1942) (#22)
- "Three Little Sisters" (1942) (#8)
- "Pennsylvania Polka" (1942) (#17)
- "That's the Moon, My Son" (1942) (#18)
- "Mister Five By Five" (1942) (#14)
- "Strip Polka" (1942) (#6)
- "Here Comes the Navy" (1942) (#17)
- "East of the Rockies" (1943) (#18)
- "Down in the Valley (Hear that Train Blow)" (1944) (#20)
- "Straighten Up and Fly Right" (1944) (#8)
- "Sing a Tropical Song" (1944) (#24)
- "Tico-Tico no Fubá" (1944) (#24)
- "Corns for My Country" (1945) (#21)
- "The Three Caballeros" (with Bing Crosby) (1945) (#8)
- "One Meat Ball" (1945) (#15)
- "The Blond Sailor" (1945) (#8)
- "Money Is the Root of All Evil (Take it Away, Take it Away, Take it Away)" (with Guy Lombardo & his Royal Canadians) (1946) (#9)
- "Patience and Fortitude" (1946) (#12)
- "Coax Me a Little Bit" (1946) (#24)
- "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" (with Bing Crosby) (1946) (#14)
- "I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)" (1946) (#17)
- "The House of Blue Lights" (with Eddie Heywood & his orchestra) (1946) (#15)
- "Winter Wonderland" (with Guy Lombardo & his Royal Canadians) (1946) (#22)
- "Christmas Island" (with Guy Lombardo & his Royal Canadians) (1946: #7; 1947: #20; 1949: #26)
- "Tallahassee" (with Bing Crosby) (1947) (#10)
- "There's No Business Like Show Business" (with Bing Crosby & Dick Haymes) (1947) (#25)
- "On the Avenue" (with Carmen Cavallaro at the piano) (1947) (#21)
- "The Lady from 29 Palms" (1947) (#7)
- "The Freedom Train" (1947) (#21)
- "Your Red Wagon" (1947) (#24)
- "How Lucky You Are" (1947) (#22)
- "You Don't Have to Know the Language" (with Bing Crosby) (1948) (#21)
- "Teresa" (with Dick Haymes) (1948) (#21)
- "Heartbreaker" (with The Harmonica Gentlemen) (1948) (#21)
- "(Everytime They Play the) Sabre Dance" (with The Harmonica Gentlemen) (1948) (#20)
- "I Hate to Lose You" (1948) (#14)
- "The Woody Woodpecker Song" (with Danny Kaye & The Harmonica Gentlemen) (1948) (#18)
- "The Blue Tail Fly (Jimmy Crack Corn)" (with Burl Ives, vocal & guitar accompaniment) (1948) (#24)
- "You Call Everybody Darling" (recorded in London with Billy Ternant & his orchestra) (1948) (#8)
- "Cuanto La Gusta" (with Carmen Miranda) (1948) (#12)
- "A Hundred and Sixty Acres" (with Bing Crosby) (1948) (#23)
- "Bella Bella Marie" (1948) (#23)
- "More Beer!" (1949) (#30)
- "I'm Biting My Fingernails and Thinking of You" (with Ernest Tubb & The Texas Troubadors directed by Vic Schoen) (1949) (#30)
- "The Wedding of Lili Marlene" (with Gordon Jenkins &; his orchestra & chorus) (1949) (#20)
- "The Pussy Cat Song (Nyow! Nyot Nyow!)" (Patty Andrews & Bob Crosby) (1949) (#12)
- "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (with Russ Morgan & his orchestra) (1949) (#22)
- "Charley, My Boy" (with Russ Morgan & his orchestra) (1949) (#15)
- "Merry Christmas Polka" (with Guy Lombardo & his Royal Canadians) (1950) (#18)
- "Have I Told You Lately that I Love You?" (with Bing Crosby) (1950) (#24)
- "Quicksilver" (with Bing Crosby) (1950) (#6)
- "The Wedding Samba" (with Carmen Miranda) (1950) (#23)
- "Can't We Talk it Over?" (with Gordon Jenkins & his orchestra & chorus) (1950) (#22)
- "A Bushel and a Peck" (1950) (#22)
- "A Penny a Kiss-A Penny a Hug" (1950) (#17)
- "Sparrow in the Treetop" (with Bing Crosby) (1951) (#8)
- "Too Young" (Patty Andrews with Victor Young & his orchestra) (1951) (#19)
- "Torero" Capitol F 3965 (recorded on March 31, 1958)
Film and theatre
Filmography
- Argentine Nights
(Universal Pictures, 1940)
- Buck Privates
(Universal Pictures, 1941)
- In the Navy
(Universal Pictures, 1941)
- Hold That Ghost
(Universal Pictures, 1941)
- What's Cookin'?
(Universal Pictures, 1942)
- Private Buckaroo
(Universal Pictures, 1942)
- Give Out, Sisters
(Universal Pictures, 1942)
- How's About It
(Universal Pictures, 1943)
- Always a Bridesmaid
(Universal Pictures, 1943)
- Swingtime Johnny
(Universal Pictures, 1943)
- Moonlight and Cactus
(Universal Pictures, 1944)
- Follow the Boys
(Universal Pictures, 1944)
- Hollywood Canteen
(Warner Brothers, 1944)
- Her Lucky Night
(Universal Pictures, 1945)
- Make Mine Music
(Walt Disney Studios, 1946)
- Road to Rio
(Paramount Pictures, 1947)
- Melody Time
(Walt Disney Studios, 1948)
- Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
(1975)
- Breach
(background music) (2007)
Broadway
- Over Here!
(1974; Shubert Theater, New York City, 9 months)
In pop culture
In one episode of
My Favorite Husband Liz (
Lucille Ball) claimed she was one of the Andrew Sisters, but she claimed she was their 'brother' Dana
The band
Soul Coughing samples the Andrews Sisters' "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree" in the song "Down To This" (from their 1996 album
Ruby Vroom)
In the episode “Flaming Forties” of Mama's Family the song of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy is lip sung my Vicki Lawrence , Dorothy Lyman ,and Rue McClanahan as Thelma Harper , Naomi Harper and as Fran Crowley
In the sitcom "Step By Step" episode "Beauty Contest", Suzanne Somers and Angela Watson perform "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" as step-mother/step-daughter during a bonding moment for a beauty pageant.
In the episode "Next of Shin" from King of the Hill, Hank Hill goes looking for his father in Las Vegas, and sees an ad for the Andrew Sisters performing at a casino. Saying, "I didn't know they were still alive, they were my dad's favorite group" he goes to the show in search of his father. After the show, he talks to one of the "sisters" only to discover it was actually a "drag" show and the sisters were not sisters at all.
In the 2005
epic fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the Andrews Sisters' rendition of "Oh Johnny, Oh!" is used while the Pevensie siblings are playing
hide-and-seek.
In the 2008 video Game
Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PC, Playstation3) their song "Civilization" with Danny Kaye is featured on the soundtrack.
The 2007 video game
Bioshock uses the song "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen (Means You're Grand)" as background music during game play.
In a 2005 episode of
Gilmore Girls
entitled
We've Got Magic to Do
, Rory organizes a World War II themed D.A.R. function featuring musical guests "The Andrews Sisters".
The 2007 movie "Breach" that tells the true story of the worst breach in the United States of America's national intelligence and secrets, Robert Hanssen requested to listen to the Andrews Sisters when his assistant asked him what would he like to listen on the car radio.
As Muppets
They were parodied on "Sesame Street" as the Androoze Sisters, named Mayeeme (
Audrey Smith), Pattiz (
Maeretha Stewart), and Lavoorrnee (
Kevin Clash).
Awards and Recognition
The Andrews Sisters were inducted into the
Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
See also
- List of best-selling music artists
References
- Secunda-BeiMirBistDuSchoen.htm SHOLOM SECUNDA The Story of Bei Mir Bist du Schön
- Andrews, Maxene and Bill Gilbert. ''Over Here, Over There: The Andrews Sisters and the USO Stars in World War II''. New York: Kensington Publishing Corp, 1993.