The Chordettes

The Chordettes

The Chordettes
Background information
Origin Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States
Genres Barbershop music, traditional pop
Years active 1946–1961
Labels Columbia, Cadence, London
Website The Chordettes' page on the Primarily A Cappella site
Past members Jinny Lockard (previously Osborn)
Carol Buschmann
Lynn Evans
Janet Ertel (aka Bleyer)
Margie Latzko
Dorothy “Dottie” (Hummitzsch) Schwartz
Nancy Overton
The Chordettes (Amsterdam, 1959)

The Chordettes were an American female popular singing quartet, usually singing a cappella, and specializing in traditional popular music. They are best known for their hit songs Mr. Sandman and Lollipop.

Career

The group organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1946. The original members of the group were Janet Ertel, Carol Buschmann (her sister-in-law), Dorothy “Dottie” (Hummitzsch) Schwartz, and Jinny Osborn/Lockard (April 25, 1927 – May 19, 2003). In 1952 Lynn Evans replaced Schwartz and in 1953, Margie Needham replaced Osborn (who was having a baby), though Osborn later returned to the group. Nancy Overton also was a member of the group at a later time. Originally they sang folk music in the style of The Weavers, but eventually changed to a harmonizing style of the type known as barbershop harmony or close harmony. Part of this change seems to be influenced by Osborn's father.

Jinny Osborn was born in Seattle, Washington. She was born Virginia Cole, the daughter of O. H. "King" Cole, who was president of the Barbershop Harmony Society (then known as SPEBSQSA), and Katherine Flack.

After performing locally in Sheboygan, they won on Arthur Godfrey's radio program Talent Scouts in 1949. They held feature status on Godfrey's daily program, and then they recorded several 10-inch EPs for Columbia Records.[1]

In 1953, Godfrey's music director and orchestra leader, Archie Bleyer, founded Cadence Records. He signed a number of Godfrey regulars and former regulars, including the Chordettes, who had a number of hit records for Cadence.

Their biggest hit was "Mr. Sandman" in 1954. Archie Bleyer himself is on that record along with the group, Bleyer stripping the sound down the better not to clutter the girls' voices. They also hit No. 2 with 1958's "Lollipop" and also charted with a vocal version of the themes from Disney's Zorro (U.S. #17) (1959) and the film Never on Sunday (U.S. #13) (1961). Other hits for the girls included "Eddie My Love" (U.S. #14), "Born to Be With You" (U.S. #5), "Lay Down Your Arms" in 1956, and "Just Between You and Me" (U.S. #8) in 1957. Their cover of "The White Rose Of Athens" hit the Australian Top 15 in May, 1962. The US single "In The Deep Blue Sea" was a one-week Music Vendor entry four months later (#128).

Janet Ertel married Bleyer in 1954. Her daughter Jackie married another Cadence recording star, Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers.

The Chordettes appeared on American Bandstand on August 5, 1957, the first episode of that show to be broadcast nationally on the ABC Television Network.

In 1961, Jinny Osborn again left the group. Unable to find a replacement with whom they were happy the group disbanded.

Recently

The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.

The longest living member of the Chordettes who has sung on all the Chordettes' recordings, both a cappella and Cadence recordings, is Carol Buschmann. Lynn Evans Mand sang on all the Chordettes' Cadence Recordings. In 2004, Mand appeared on a PBS television special Magic Moments: The Best of 50s Pop, with other 1950s pop icons, singing "Lollipop." Buschmann, Mand and Margie Needham Latzko, are the surviving singers who recorded "Mr. Sandman". Janet Ertel Bleyer, the other singer on that recording, died in 1988.

During Super Bowl XLV, CarMax unveiled a new commercial featuring the Chordettes' 1955 song "Lonely Lips".[2] A 2012 Kia Optima car commercial premiered during Super Bowl XLVI featuring the Chordette's recording of "Mister Sandman."

Their songs "Mr. Sandman" and "Lollipop" were featured in the games Mafia II and Lollipop Chainsaw in 2010 and 2012, respectively. "Pink Shoelaces" was featured in LittleBigPlanet 3 in 2014.

Their song "Lonely Lips" was featured on Season 5, Episode 3 (Goodbye Kitty) of the television show Malcolm In The Middle (2003).

Their song "Mr. Sandman" was featured in the movies Halloween II (1981), Back to the Future (1985), Uncle Buck (1989), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998 film), Mr. Nobody (2009), The Little Death (2014), and Deadpool (2016), and in the "Sleep No More" episode of Doctor Who. It was also featured in the Haven episode "Enter Sandman" (Season 5 Episode 17), just a couple of weeks before the Doctor Who episode was broadcast.

"Lollipop" was included in the 1986 film Stand By Me.

Deaths

Janet Ertel Bleyer died in 1988. Jinny Osborn (later known as Jinny Janis) died in 2003. On April 5, 2009, Nancy Overton died after a long battle with esophageal cancer.[3] Dorothy Schwartz died on April 4, 2016. Margie Latzko, Carol Buschmann, and Lynn Evans are the only living members of the group.

Discography

Singles

Year Single (A-side, B-side)
Both sides from same album except where indicated		 Chart positions Album
U.S.
[4]		 U.S.
R&B		 U.S.
AC		 UK[5]
1954 "Mr. Sandman"
b/w "I Don't Wanna See You Cryin'" (Non-album track)		 1[6] 11 The Chordettes
1955 "Lonely Lips"
b/w "The Dudelsack Song" (Non-album track)		 All The Very Best Of The Chordettes
"Humming Bird"
b/w "I Told A Lie" (Non-album track)		 The Chordettes
1956 "The Wedding"
b/w "I Don't Know, I Don't Care" (Non-album track)		 91[7] All The Very Best Of The Chordettes
"Eddie My Love"
b/w "Whistlin' Willie" (Non-album track)		 14 The Chordettes
"Born To Be With You"
b/w "Love Never Changes"		 5 8
"Lay Down Your Arms" / 16[8]
"Teen Age Goodnight" 45
1957 "Come Home To My Arms"
b/w "(Fifi's) Walkin' The Poodle" (Non-album track)
"Echo Of Love"
b/w "Like A Baby" (from The Chordettes)		 Non-album track
"Just Between You and Me" / 8 The Chordettes
"Soft Sands" 73
"Baby Of Mine"
b/w "Photographs"		 Non-album tracks
1958 "Lollipop"
b/w "Baby, Com-A Back-A" (Non-album track)		 2 3 6 All The Very Best Of The Chordettes
"Zorro"
b/w "Love Is A Two-Way Street" (Non-album track)		 17
1959 "No Other Arms No Other Lips"
b/w "We Should Be Together" (Non-album track)		 27
"A Girl's Work Is Never Done"
b/w "No Wheels" (Non-album track)		 89
1960 "A Broken Vow"
b/w "All My Sorrows"		 102 Non-album tracks
1961 "Never On Sunday" / 13 4 Never On Sunday
"Faraway Star" 90 All The Very Best Of The Chordettes
"The Exodus Song"
b/w "Theme From 'Goodbye Again'"		 Never On Sunday
1962 "The White Rose Of Athens"
b/w "Adios"		 Non-album tracks
"In The Deep Blue Sea"
b/w "All My Sorrows"
1963 "True Love Goes On and On"
b/w "All My Sorrows"

Albums

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Chordettes". Oxford Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 2006-07-04. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  2. ↑ CarMax – Gas Station – 2011 Super Bowl Commercial Ad
  3. ↑ Hevesi, Dennis (April 10, 2009). "Nancy Overton, Singer for the Chordettes, Is Dead at 83". New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  4. ↑ The Chordettes at AllMusic
  5. ↑ Nugent, Stephen / Fowler, Anne / Fowler, Pete (1976): Chart Log of American/British Top 20 Hits, 1955-1974. In: Gillett, Charlie / Frith, Simon (ed.): Rock File 4. Frogmore, St. Albans: Panther Books, p. 113f
  6. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1973): Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, p. 13
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1994): Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., p. 112
  8. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2005): The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Hits. 7. überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage, New York City, New York: Billboard Books, p. 129
  9. ↑ "Chordettes, The – Drifting And Dreaming (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
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