Death of last Andrews sister is the end of an era
LOS ANGELES - Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of the singing Andrews Sisters trio whose hits such as the rollicking “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B’’ and the poignant “I Can Dream, Can’t I?’’ captured the home-front spirit of World War II, died Wednesday. She was 94.Andrews died of natural causes at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge, family spokesman Alan Eichler said in a statement.
Patty was the Andrews in the middle, the lead singer and chief clown, whose raucous jitterbugging delighted American servicemen abroad and audiences at home.
She could also deliver sentimental ballads like “I’ll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time’’ with a sincerity that caused hardened soldiers far from home to weep.
From the late 1930s through the 1940s, the Andrews Sisters produced one hit record after another, beginning with “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen’’ in 1937 and continuing with “Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar,’’ “Rum and Coca-Cola’’ and more. They recorded more than 400 songs and sold over 80 million records, several of them gold (over a million copies).
Other sisters, notably the Boswells, had become famous as singing acts, but mostly they huddled before a microphone in close harmony. The Andrews Sisters - LaVerne, Maxene and Patty - added a new dimension. During breaks in their singing, they cavorted about the stage in rhythm to the music.
Their voices combined with perfect synergy. As Patty remarked in 1971: “There were just three girls in the family. LaVerne had a very low voice. Maxene’s was kind of high, and I was between. It was like God had given us voices to fit our parts.’’
The Andrews’ rise coincided with the advent of swing music, and their style fit perfectly into the new craze. They aimed at reproducing the sound of three harmonizing trumpets.
AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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