The King Sisters were an American
big band-era vocal group consisting of six sisters: Alyce, Donna, Luise, Marilyn, Maxine, and Yvonne King.
History
Born and raised in
Pleasant Grove, Utah, the King sisters were part of the
Driggs family of entertainers. They were members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their father was William King Driggs.
[DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 152.]
Their first professional job was with a Salt Lake City radio station, from which they graduated to a station in Oakland, California. In the early 1930s sisters Luise, Maxine, and Alyce formed a vocal trio along the lines of their idols, the
Boswell Sisters
The Boswell Sisters were an American close harmony singing trio of the jazz and swing eras, consisting of three sisters: Martha Boswell (June 9, 1905 – July 2, 1958), Connie Boswell (later spelled "Connee", December 3, 1907 – October 11, ...
, and traveled to San Francisco to audition for radio station
KGO (to replace the Boswell Sisters themselves, who were leaving the station). After this, Maxine retired to home life in Oakland and sisters Donna and Yvonne were added to the roster.
In 1935, the King Sisters accepted a job with bandleader
Horace Heidt. Gradually, relations between the King Sisters and Heidt deteriorated to the point where they left the band. In the following years, they separately and together sang with the bands of
Artie Shaw's Old Gold program and
Charlie Barnet and Al Pearce series. They turned down a request to be the vocal group for the
Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most popular and com ...
. They recorded for
Bluebird Records, a sub-label of
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
and the same label as Miller, and also had their first hit with a vocal version of Miller's hit, "
In the Mood".
In 1937, Luise married guitarist
Alvino Rey. At the peak of the sisters' success, they appeared in a number of 1940s Hollywood films. During
World War II, they appeared regularly on
Kay Kyser's radio series. In late 1953, Alyce, Marilyn, and Yvonne joined
Gene Autry's Melody Ranch on
CBS Radio
CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
as the Gene Autry Blue Jeans, replacing the Pinafores (Eunice, Beulah, and Ione Kettle), and continued there along with Alvino Rey until the program's end in early May 1956. In 1965, the King Sisters began hosting their own ABC TV series, ''
The King Family Show'', which featured family members including Alyce's husband, actor
Robert Clarke, and her sons,
Ric and
Lex de Azevedo, and
Cam Clarke, as well as other talent. The show ran from 1965 to 1966, with a 1969 revival.
A second generation of the King Family, the
Four King Cousins, continues to carry on the musical tradition. More prominently, Luise's grandsons
Win and
William Butler are also musicians as part of the rock band
Arcade Fire.
Deaths
Alyce King Clarke died on August 23, 1996, from respiratory problems, aged 81. Luise King Rey died on August 4, 1997, aged 83, from cancer, in the year of her 60th wedding anniversary to Alvino Rey. Donna King Conkling died on June 16, 2007, aged 88, in
Plano, Texas. Maxine King Thomas died on May 13, 2009, aged 97 in
Corona, California
Corona (Spanish for "Crown") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 157,136, up from 152,374 at the 2010 census. The cities of Norco and Riverside lie to the north and north ...
. Yvonne "Vonnie" King Burch died on December 13, 2009, aged 89, after suffering a fall at her home in
Santa Barbara, California. Marilyn King died on August 7, 2013, aged 82, from cancer, also in
California; she was the last surviving sister.
Hit singles
References
External links
*
The King Sisters fan page, started in 2001
{{DEFAULTSORT:King Sisters, The
Bluebird Records artists
Capitol Records artists
Family musical groups
King family (show business)
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Musical groups established in 1935
Musical groups from Utah
People from Pleasant Grove, Utah
RCA Victor artists
Sibling musical groups
Swing music
Vocal quartets
Vocal trios
Warner Records artists