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Taps for the Boogie Woogie Bugle Girl: Last Living Sister of the Best-Selling Female Group in Pop Music History Dies

Jan 30, 2013  •  Post A Comment

The last living sister of the best-selling female group in pop music history has died. 

The lead singer of the Andrews Sisters, Patty Andrews, has died at age 94 in Los Angeles, USA Today reports.

According to the story, the Andrews Sisters ruled the pop charts in the 1930s and the 1940s. “[Patty] was the youngest of the group, which included LaVerne and Maxene Andrews, and her dancing and humorous antics made her a crowd favorite. The sisters were the best-selling female vocal group in pop music history, selling an estimated 75 million to 100 million records, and were in constant demand for concerts, radio shows, films and product pitches.”

The article  notes that besides the hit “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” — later re-recorded by Bette Midler — other hits sung by the Andrews Sisters include ” ‘Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,’ ‘Shortenin’ Bread,’ ‘Eight to the Bar,’ and ‘(I’ll Be With You) In Apple Blossom Time.’ They also had hits with Danny Kaye, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman and their bands. They worked most frequently with Bing Crosby, with whom they made ‘Don’t Fence Me In,’  ‘Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby’ and ‘Accentuate the Positive.’ “

The story continues: “But their influence went beyond the numbers, which included 113 charting Billboard hits, 46 of which made the top 10. They influenced a wide range of artists: Mel Torme, the McGuire Sisters, the Lennon Sisters, Manhattan Transfer, Barry Manilow and Christina Aguilera.”

Here are the Andrew Sisters singing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” in the 1941 Abbott and Costello movie “Buck Privates”:

One Comment

  1. I WAS 11 WHEN I HEARD THESE THREE WONDERFUL SINGERS FOR THE FIRS TIME. NOW I AM 83 AND STILL FEEL THE SAME JOY WHEN I HEAR THEM…
    MARCOS ETTEDGUI
    CARACAS, VENEZUELA

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