Boswell Sisters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Boswell Sisters were a close harmony singing group that attained national prominence in the USA in the 1930s.
Sisters Martha Boswell (1905-1958), Connee Boswell (December 3, 1907-October 11, 1976), and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell (May 20, 1911 - 1988) were raised by a middle-class family on Camp Street in uptown New Orleans, Louisiana. Martha and Connee were born in Kansas City, Missouri. Helvetia was born in Birmingham, Alabama.
They came to be well known locally while still in their early teens, making appearances in New Orleans theaters and radio. They made their first recordings for Victor Records in 1925. They did not attain national attention, however, until they moved to New York City in 1930 and started making national radio broadcasts. After a few recordings with Okeh Records, they made numerous recordings for Brunswick Records from 1931-1935. These Brunswick records are milestone recordings; Connee's complicated reworking of the melodies and rhythms of the popular songs, together with Glenn Miller's hot arrangements, made these recordings quite amazing. Melodies were rearranged, slowed down, major key changed to minor key and visa versa. The Boswell Sisters were about the only performers allowed to make these changes to current popular tunes. (At that time, the music publishers had a lot of power and it wasn't usually accepted to alter current popular songs.) Connee also recorded a series of more conventional solo records for Brunswick during the same period.
The name of their song "Rock and Roll" is an early use of the term (though far from the first). It is not one of the sisters' hotter numbers; it refers to "the rolling rocking rhythm of the sea".
In 1936, the group signed to Decca and after just 3 records, broke up (the last recording was February 12, 1936). Connee Boswell continued to have a successful solo career as a singer for Decca. She had changed the spelling of her name from Connie to Connee, reputedly because it made it easier to sign autographs. (It's interesting to note that Connee sang from a wheelchair - or seated position - during her entire career, due to an accident she suffered as a young child. Amazingly, when she tried to get involved with the U.S.O. during World War II, she was not given permission to travel overseas. (The "powers that be" apparently thought it might not be a morale-booster to have a "cripple" perform for the troops!)
The Andrews Sisters started out as Boswell Sisters imitators. Young Ella Fitzgerald loved the Boswell Sisters and in particular idolized Connee, after whose singing style she patterned her own.
Current groups "The Pfister Sisters" and "Boswellmania" continue to imitate the sister's recordings.
In 2001, The Boswell Sisters, a major musical based on their lives, had its world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California. The play starred Michelle Duffy, Elizabeth Ward Land, and Amy Pietz and was produced by the same team that produced Forever Plaid. The show was a hit with audiences and a critical success, but failed to be picked up for a much hoped-for Broadway run.
The Boswell Sisters were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
[edit] External Links
- The Boswell Sisters at IMDB [1]
