Minnie Bagelman (April 6, 1923 – October 31, 1976) and Clara Bagelman (October 17, 1920 – November 22, 2014),NOTE: Claire Barry was not born in 1923, the year that had previously been cited as her year of birth, but in 1920, as all notices of her death give her age as 94, and her gravestone cites 1920 as her year of birth. best known under the stage names Merna and Claire Barry, were popular American

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

entertainers from the 1940s to the early 1970s.

Early years

Minnie and Clara were born in the

Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

parents, Herman and Ester, from the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

s, respectively. Herman Bagelman was born in present-day Berdychiv, Ukraine. Minnie and Clara also had two younger sisters, Celia and Julia. When Minnie and Clara decided to entertain by singing in

, as The Bagelman Sisters, their father told them they would need to do it in the manner of the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

and not with American accents. The young girls got their first break as singers on WLTH Radio's ''Uncle Norman'' show for children and were still then known as ''The Bagelman Sisters''. They cut their first recordings with

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

in the late 1930s, and made a name for themselves as

jazz singers. When the

Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

' version of the Yiddish song, " Bei Mir Bistu Shein" (as "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön"), became a hit, musician and composer Sam Medoff, known professionally as

Dick Manning Dick Manning (born Samuel Medoff (Самуил Медов), June 12, 1912 – April 11, 1991) was a Russian-born American songwriter, best known for his many collaborations with Al Hoffman. Manning composed the first full-length musical to be ...

, started his ''Yiddish Melodies in Swing'' radio program on New York's WHN. Before joining the radio show, the sisters made a change of their stage surname, from Bagelman to Barry. From 1937 until the mid-1950s they performed on the program, where they would sing jazz recordings in Yiddish. Their recordings included popular tunes, such as "

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it w ...

", translated into Yiddish ("Trop'ns Fin Regen Oif Mein Kop"). They also performed in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

's Catskills resort hotels. They eventually toured with

Mickey Katz Meyer Myron "Mickey" Katz (June 15, 1909 – April 30, 1985) was an American musician and comedian. He was the father of actor Joel Grey and paternal grandfather of actress Jennifer Grey. Early life Meyer Myron Katz was born on Sawtell Court in ...

. During the height of their popularity, they made appearances on the ''

Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night ...

'', ''The

Jack Paar Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, author, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time'' magazine's obituary of Paar repo ...

Program'' and ''

The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

''. They were one of the few American acts to tour the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1959. The sisters also entertained

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

troops during the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

. The Barry Sisters "didn't look like the typical Yiddish theater stars or singers of that era", it was observed. "They looked glamorous. And they spared no expense for their orchestrations—they always had the best orchestrations possible." The sisters' 11th and final album, ''Our Way'', was issued in 1973.

Personal lives

Merna Barry, later Mrs. Emanuel Pine, was born on April 6, 1923 and died on October 31, 1976, aged 53 (not 51 as was misreported) from a brain tumor following a lengthy hospitalization in Manhattan's Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospital. Claire Barry (later Mrs. Easton) was born on October 17, 1920 and died on November 22, 2014, aged 94, in

Aventura, Florida Aventura is a planned, suburban city in northeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, 17 miles north of the city of Miami and part of the Miami metropolitan area. The city is especially well-known for Aventura Mall, the 5th largest ...

, having survived her younger sister by 38 years. She was survived by a daughter, Joy Pargman.Notice of death of Claire Barry
forward.com; accessed November 26, 2014. Claire Barry Easton was featured in the 2002

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

radio show, ''The Yiddish Radio Project''.

Discography

* ''The Barry Sisters (10", Album)''; 1951 Banner Records LP 058 * ''The Barry Sisters''; Banner Records BAS-1009 (compilation of recordings originally released as 78 rpm records) * ''The Barry Sisters Sing…''; 1957 Cadence CLP-4001 (w/Abe Ellstein) * ''At Home with the Barry Sisters''; 1959 Roulette SR-25060 (w/Abe Ellstein) * ''Side by Side''; 1961 Roulette SR-25136 (w/Joe Reisman) * ''We Belong Together''; 1961 Roulette SR-25156;(w/Jerry Fielding) * ''Shalom''; 1961 Roulette SR-25157 (w/Joe Reisman) * ''The Barry Sisters in Israel'' (live); 1963 Roulette SR-25198 * ''The World of the Barry Sisters: Memorable Jewish Melodies''; Roulette SR-25258 * ''The Barry Sisters Sing Fiddler On The Roof''; 1964 ABC-Paramount ABCS-516 * ''Something Spanish''; ABC-Paramount ABCS-578 (arranged and conducted by

Chico O'Farrill Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill (October 28, 1921 – June 27, 2001) was a Cuban composer, arranger, and conductor, best known for his work in the Latin idiom, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz or "Cubop", although he also composed traditional jazz pieces a ...

) * ''A Time To Remember''; 1966 ABC-Paramount ABCS-597 * ''The Best Of The Barry Sisters''; 1966 Roulette RR-30748; * ''Jewish Favourites''; 1969 Saga Eros; * ''Our Way (Tahka-Tahka)''; 1973 Roulette/Mainstream/Red Lion MRL-393; 1973 (w/Jim Tyler, Jerry Graff) * ''Moishe Oysher With The Barry Sisters - A Gala Concert With Moishe Oysher And The Barry Sisters. Volume 2 (2xLP, Album)''; 1973 The Greater Recording Co., Inc. GRC-296;

References

External links

Freedman Catalogue discographyProfile
mtv.com; accessed November 26, 2014.

rainloresworldofmusic.net; accessed November 26, 2014.
Barry Sisters – I Love You Much Too Much on youtube.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry Sisters, The Jewish American musicians Jewish musical groups Jewish jazz musicians Jewish women singers American jazz singers American women jazz singers Sibling musical duos Yiddish-language singers of the United States RCA Victor artists Apex Records artists Yiddish theatre performers Cadence Records artists Musical groups established in the 1940s People from the Bronx Musicians from New York City Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers Female musical duos