The Del Rubio Triplets were an American folk/acoustic cover band who rose to fame in the 1980s due mostly to their
campy style of dress and their cover versions of songs. They earlier performed from the 1940s through the 1960s as The Boyd Triplets as singers in
Xavier Cugat's band, in night clubs, and in at least one movie.
Biography
The Del Rubio Triplets were born as Edith, Elena, and Mildred Boyd on August 23, 1921, in the
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
. They were of Scottish, English, and Spanish descent, and were also direct descendants of
Pocahontas through the Bolling family lineage. Their grandfather was Rolfe Emerson Bolling, and their great aunt was
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, the wife of United States President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
. The girls grew up in the
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
and
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
They had one older sister Lola Boyd, who died in 1992.
Their stage name comes from the color they dyed their hair; the word "rubio" means "blonde" in
Spanish. The girls never got married or had children because they didn't want to break up their act. They came up with their stage name The Del Rubio Triplets after their mother died from a stroke in 1965. The triplets were Christians.
They first achieved fame in the U.S. in the 1950s, when they were popular night club performers, appearing often on television, including several Bob Hope programs on
NBC. They appeared on ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' and ''
Late Night with David Letterman
''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...
''.
Grammy-winning songwriter
Allee Willis is credited with re-discovering the Del Rubio Triplets in 1985 and presenting them at her parties where they garnered much notable attention. Their biggest hits were cover versions of "
Whip It" by
Devo
Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...
, "
Neutron Dance
"Neutron Dance" is a song written by Allee Willis and Danny Sembello which was introduced by the Pointer Sisters on their 1983 album '' Break Out''. The song became a Top Ten hit in 1985, its success augmented by being prominently featured on the ...
" by
The Pointer Sisters
The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, b ...
, "
Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" from ''
The Wizard of Oz'', "
Walk Like an Egyptian" by
The Bangles, "
These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by
Nancy Sinatra, and "
Hey Jude
"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' first release o ...
" by
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
. They released three albums ''Three Gals Three Guitars'', ''Whip It'', and ''Jingle Bells: Christmas with the Del Rubio Triplets''. In 1999 they released their compilation album ''Del Rubio Triplets Anthology'' three years after Eadie died.
They made various television appearances such as ''
Married... with Children'', ''
Full House'', ''
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
''Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme'' (also known as ''Shelley Duvall's Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme'' or ''Shelley Duvall's Rock in Rhymeland'') is a 1990 American musical television film that aired on the Disney Channel. The film stars Shelley Duvall a ...
'', ''
The Golden Girls
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...
'', ''
Night Court
''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portray ...
'', ''
Hangin' With Mr. Cooper'', ''
New Monkees
''New Monkees'' is the name of both an American pop rock music group and a 1987 syndicated television show featuring the group.
Overview
Background
The 20th anniversary of ''The Monkees'' TV series in 1986 generated enough interest that ''Ne ...
'', ''
Square One TV
''Square One Television'' (sometimes referred to as ''Square One'' or ''Square One TV'') is an American children's television program produced by the Children's Television Workshop (now known as Sesame Workshop) to teach mathematics and abstract ...
'', ''
Ellen
Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004.
People named Ellen include:
* Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress
* Elle ...
'', and ''
Pee-wee's Playhouse
''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was developed from Reubens's po ...
'' wearing
bouffant hairdos and gaudy blue eye shadow. They often appeared scantily clad (usually showing off their legs) despite the fact that they were in their 60s at the time. They often are remembered for their contribution of "Winter Wonderland" to the ''
Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special
This is the complete episode list for ''Pee-wee's Playhouse''. A total of 45 half-hour episodes and 1 primetime special were recorded for CBS from 1986 until 1990.
Series overview
Episodes Season 1 (1986)
Season 2 (1987)
Special (1988)
S ...
'' that originally aired in 1988. They briefly appeared in the movie ''
Americathon
''Americathon'' (also known as ''Americathon 1998'') is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Neal Israel and starring John Ritter, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, Harvey Korman, and Nancy Morgan, with narration by George Carlin. It is based on ...
'', playing "America the Beautiful" behind several posing bodybuilders. They also appeared in ''
Sliders
Slider or Sliders may refer to:
Arts
* K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise
* ''The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex
* ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series
* S ...
'', season 1 episode 8, "The King Is Back" as themselves, performing "Whip It". In the late 1980s, they were featured in a
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
fast food advertisement.
The three performed until Eadie was diagnosed with cancer in 1996; she died that year at
Torrance Memorial Medical Center
Torrance Memorial Medical Center is a private hospital located in Torrance, California. Torrance Memorial was the first hospital in the Los Angeles South Bay region and is currently one of the three burn centers in Los Angeles County.
History ...
in
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...
. After Eadie's death, Elena and Milly never performed again, but lived together until Elena died of cancer in 2001. Milly died from pneumonia on July 21, 2011. All triplets are interred in a family plot at
Holy Cross Cemetery Holy Cross Cemetery may refer to:
United States
California
*Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, California)
*Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California
* Holy Cross Cemetery (Menlo Park, California)
* Holy Cross Cemetery (Pomona, California)
*Holy C ...
in
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
next to their father.
Members
Albums
* ''Three Gals Three Guitars'' (1988)
* ''Jingle Belles: Christmas with the Del Rubio Triplets'' (1991)
* ''Whip It'' (1991)
Compilation albums
*''Del Rubio Triplets Anthology'' (1999)
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Eadie Del Rubioat Find A Grave
Elena Del Rubioat Find A Grave
Milly Del Rubioat Find A Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Rubio Triplets, The
Outsider musicians
Sibling musical trios
Triplets
Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
American satirists