The Dandridge Sisters were an American all-girl singing trio, started in 1934 in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and ended in 1940, comprising the sisters
Vivian and
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She is the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in '' C ...
together with their friend Etta Jones (not the more well-known jazz vocalist
Etta Jones
Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Gene A ...
). They had a short period of fame traveling around the United States performing for night clubs, theatres, radio shows, and eventually left the U.S. to tour in Europe. Dorothy Dandridge decided to become a solo artist, the band split, and each woman then pursued projects individually.
Claim to fame
Both Vivian and Dorothy Dandridge originally made up the band The Wonder Children, organized by their mother
Ruby Dandridge
Ruby Jean Dandridge (née Butler; March 3, 1900 – October 17, 1987) was an American actress from the early 1900s through to the late 1950s. Dandridge is best known for her role on the radio show '' Amos 'n Andy'', in which she played Sadi ...
(also a performer) in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. When they added Etta Jones to the group, they changed their name to The Dandridge Sisters and moved to Los Angeles. They originally began performing as aspiring dancers after studying at the Loretta Butler School of Dance and the Nash Dancing Company in Los Angeles as well as the Mary Bruce School of Ballet in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
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. However, the trio entered a radio show contest at
KNX Radio in Los Angeles just for the fun and ended up winning over more than 30 white contestants. This win brought them recognition in the music world as singers. They began performing shows around Los Angeles in various night clubs and theatres, and then were invited by
Joe Glazer
Joe Glazer (June 19, 1918 – September 19, 2006), closely associated with labor unions and often referred to as "labor's troubadour," was an American folk musician who recorded more than thirty albums over the course of his career.
Early l ...
(the promoter for the
Cotton Club
The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...
) to perform at the Cotton Club in New York City. They moved to New York with their mother Ruby Dandridge, but they were each only 14 years old at the time. They were so well-liked at the Cotton Club that they were given a regular spot on the show.
["Look Alike- but Just a Little Different," ''Afro-American,'' April 22, 1939, p. 11.]
Career
The trio became highly recognized as a musical trio at the Cotton Club and often were compared to the
Andrews Sisters. Although the Dandridge Sisters studied as dancers, their music career led them to study music technically so as to be stable artists. After working in New York, they began to be chaperoned by their aunt Geneva Williams rather than their mother. They moved to
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
for five months performing a show, and then moved to Hollywood to work on musical shorts. In Hollywood, they worked for
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
and appeared in ''
Going Places'' (1938) featuring
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
. They then went back to New York to perform at the Cotton Club and other nightclubs and theatres. They eventually went to Europe in 1939 to perform and travel around in cities in England and Ireland. They performed at the
London Palladium
The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...
in a show with the Jack Harris Orchestra and comedian Jack Durant. When they returned to the U.S., they hit the height of their stardom in 1940. They toured with
Jimmie Lunceford
James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.
Early life
Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, Mi ...
and his big band orchestra, and recorded four songs with them.
The Sisters' relationship
Vivian Dandridge acted as the leader of the group, in that she arranged all the meetings, rehearsals, and was the group’s spokeswoman. The sisters all mentioned that they spent much of their spare time (when not performing) dancing and making scrapbooks. The three were all seemingly religious (Etta was
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
) and attended church each Sunday in every city they visited. They claimed to make all of their decisions as a musical trio after consulting in a group, but on the whole, the three girls were similar. They claimed to have very similar opinions on everything including the way they dressed and their daily habits. They also said that they all preferred to be successful women in their musical career rather than seek love and marriage.
Vivian Dandridge
After the trio stopped performing together in 1940, Vivian performed in a few movie roles. She was an extra in the movie ''
Stormy Weather'' (1943), and the voice of "So White" in a controversial cartoon short ''
Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs
''Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs'' is a 1943 '' Merrie Melodies'' animated cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on January 16, 1943.
The film is an all-black parody of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale ''Snow White'', known to ...
'' (1943). She then released an album titled ''The Look of Love'' in 1968, but it was unsuccessful.
She lived in Seattle for the last eight years of her life, but changed her stage name to Marina Rozell after her third marriage. She seldom performed any longer except at open-mic nights. She died at the age of 70 in 1991 from a stroke.
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy often went by the nickname Dot while in the Dandridge Sisters. After quitting the group, Dorothy became the most successful of the trio. She got minor roles in Hollywood films. She was the first African-American woman to receive a nomination for an
Academy Award for Best Actress
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. ...
for the title role in ''
Carmen Jones
''Carmen Jones'' is a 1943 Broadway musical with music by Georges Bizet (orchestrated for Broadway by Robert Russell Bennett) and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II which was performed at The Broadway Theatre. Conceptually, it is Bizet's o ...
'' in 1954. ''
Porgy and Bess
''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...
'' (1959), in which Dorothy played Bess, was another large role for her, after which her career went downhill. Her second marriage to Jack Denison (after her first husband
Harold Nicholas
Harold Lloyd Nicholas (March 27, 1921 – July 3, 2000) was an American dancer specializing in tap. Nicholas was the younger half of the tap-dancing pair the Nicholas Brothers, known as two of the world's greatest dancers. His older brother was ...
) ended poorly, and she developed an alcohol problem. On September 8, 1965, she was found dead in her apartment from an overdose of barbiturates. She had written her will four months earlier and given it to her manager.
Etta Jones
Etta Jones, a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, was born in 1919 (but often is confused with the other jazz singer
Etta Jones
Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Gene A ...
born in 1928). She attended both of Dorothy Dandridge’s weddings.
Little other information is known about her whereabouts after the splitting up of the Dandridge Sisters. It is known that she sang with the
Jimmy Lunceford
James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.
Early life
Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, Mi ...
orchestra for some time, and her first husband, trumpeter
Gerald Wilson
Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...
was a member of the group. After retiring to raise a family, Etta later worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, teaching dance to young children in the parks and playgrounds. She died of heart failure in Los Angeles on June 29, 1997.
Film
The sisters performed in a few films, including:
* ''
The Big Broadcast of 1936
''The Big Broadcast of 1936'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Norman Taurog, and is the second in the series of ''Big Broadcast'' movies.
The musical comedy starred Jack Oakie, Bing Crosby, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Ethel Merman, Nic ...
'' (1936)
* ''
A Day at the Races'' (1937)
* ''Easy to Take'' (1937)
* ''
It Can't Last Forever
''It Can't Last Forever'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Hamilton MacFadden and starring Ralph Bellamy, Betty Furness, and Robert Armstrong.Etling p.179 It is also the debut film for an unbilled 11-year-old Donald O'Connor, who would ...
'' (1937)
* ''
Going Places'' (1938)
* ''Snow Gets in Your Eyes'' (1938)
* ''
Irene
Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace".
Irene, and related names, may refer to:
* Irene (given name)
Places
* Irene, Gauteng, South Africa
* Irene, South Dakota, United States
* Irene, Texas, United Stat ...
'' (1940)
Recordings
The only known recorded songs that the Dandridge Sisters made on vinyl were "Undecided" (1939), and "If I Were Sure of You" recorded for the
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
label while they were in London, and "Minnie the Moocher is Dead", "You Ain’t Nowhere", "Ain’t Goin to Study War No More", and "That’s Your Red Wagon", recorded in 1940 with
Jimmie Lunceford
James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.
Early life
Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, Mi ...
and his big band orchestra.
The Cotton Club
The
Cotton Club
The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...
was a club for white audiences only, but featured many famous African-American entertainers. It was most popular during the
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
era. At the Cotton Club, The Dandridge Sisters performed alongside many famous African-American artists and entertainers, including
Cab Calloway
Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...
,
["Starring at Cotton Club,"''The Chicago Defender,'' December 3, 1938, p. 19.] W.C. Handy, and
Harold Nicholas
Harold Lloyd Nicholas (March 27, 1921 – July 3, 2000) was an American dancer specializing in tap. Nicholas was the younger half of the tap-dancing pair the Nicholas Brothers, known as two of the world's greatest dancers. His older brother was ...
, a dancer who later married Dorothy Dandridge (1942–51).
References
External links
*
{{authority control
American musical trios
African-American girl groups
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Vocal trios