The Boswell Sisters - The Boswell Sisters (1934)

 

"Shout, Sister, Shout" by The Boswell Sisters (with Victor Young and His Orchestra)

The Boswell Sisters were Martha, Connee, and Helvetia (Vet) Boswell six years apart.  They played the piano, the saxophone, and the banjo respectively, but they were best known for their vocal harmonies and interplay (the latter two would drop their instruments to focus on singing).  They recorded their first single "Nights When I am Lonely" in 1925 to no traction but soon after got their big break on the vaudeville circuit.  The girls developed their stage act while on the road while Connee's bluesy voice developed into the group's natural soloist.

After a few years on the road, the sisters moved out to Hollywood with all the dreams of the silver screen.  They got their first consistent radio gig with the Continental Broadcasting Corporation as regular performers.  Their work with the CBC led to radio spots on major players like NBC and CBS, a record deal with Okeh Records, singing roles in Hollywood shorts, and an early spot on television (all before 1932 and thanks in part to their manager Harry Leedy).  Their records were increasingly popular (singing both big band pop and jazz) and increasingly experimental in their harmonies and arrangements.  Connee also developed one of the most iconic jazz voices of the 1930s.  The girls worked with the talented likes of Glenn Miller (arranger), Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, Victor Young, Eddie Lang, The Mills Brothers, and many others.  The Boswell's success led to an inevitable series of copycat "sister" groups that included The Andrews Sisters, and Ella Fitzgerald revered and imitated Connee Boswell's singing voice in her early career.

Here is the discography for The Boswell Sisters's early recordings:

Nights When I Am Lonely (1925 single)
Continental Broadcasting Corporation Program 3091 (1930 radio broadcast)
Continental Broadcasting Corporation Program 3133 (1930 radio broadcast)
Continental Broadcasting Corporation Program 3191 (1930 radio broadcast)
Continental Broadcasting Corporation Program 4129 (1930 radio broadcast)
Continental Broadcasting Corporation Program 4132 (1930 radio broadcast)
We're on the Highway to Heaven (1930 single)
My Future Just Passed (1930 single)
Gee, But I'd Like to Make You Happy (1930 single)

I'm Keepin' Company (1931 single)
Wha' dja Do To Me (1931 single)
Roll On, Mississippi, Roll On (1931 single)
Sing a Little Jingle (1931 single)
I Found a Million Dollar Baby (1931 single)
I Surrender, Dear (1931 single)

It's the Girl (1931 single)
Makin' Faces at the Man in the Moon (1931 single)
Shine On, Harvest Moon (1931 single)
Gems from George White's Scandals, Parts 1 & 2 (1931 radio broadcast)
Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries (1931 single)
Time on My Hands (1931 single)
River, Stay 'Way from My Door (1931 single)
Liza Lee (1931 single)
Nothing Is Sweeter Than You (1931 single)
We've Got to Put That Sun Back in the Sky (1932 single)
Was That the Human Thing to Do? (1932 single)
Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon (1932 single)
There'll Be Some Changes Made (1932 single)
If It Ain't Love (1932 single)

Lawd, You Made the Night Too Long (1932 single with Bing Crosby)

Doggone I've Done It (1932 single)

Old Yazoo (1932 single)

Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1932 single)

Sentimental Gentleman from Georgia (1932 single)

It Don't Mean a Thing (1932 single)

Crazy People (1933 single)

Louisiana Hayride (1933 single)

Forty Second Street (1933 single)

Puttin' It On (1933 single)

The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money) (1933 single)

Sophisticated Lady (1933 single)

Coffee in the Morning (Kisses in the Night) (1933 single)

You Oughta Be in Pictures (My Star of Stars) (1934 single)

Goin' Home (1934 single)

Why Don't You Practice What You Preach (1934 single)

Rock and Roll (1934 single)

The Object of My Affection (1934 single)

Dinah (1934 single)
The Boswell Sisters

'Way Back Home (1935 single)

Trav'lin' All Alone (1935 single)

Fare-Thee-Well Annabelle (1935 single)

Cheek to Cheek (1935 single)

Airshots and Rarities 1930-1935 (compilation album)

Never-Issued Tunes & Takes (compilation album)

I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter (1936 single)

I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket (1936 single)

The Boswell Sisters Collection (compilation album)

Shout, Sisters, Shout! 1925-1936 (compilation album)

It's the Girls! (1982 compilation album)

That's How Rhythm Was Born (1995 compilation album)

Nothing Was Sweeter Than The Boswell Sisters (2006 compilation album)

Syncopating Harmonists from New Orleans (2007 compilation album)

"Heebie Jeebies" by The Boswell Sisters


"Close Farmony" by The Boswell Sisters (with Billy Hughes)


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