Jinny Lockard (previously Osborn) Carol Buschmann Lynn Evans Janet Ertel (aka Bleyer) Margie Latzko Dorothy “Dottie” (Hummitzsch) Schwartz Nancy Overton Alice Mae Spielvogel (née Buschmann) Joyce Weston
The Chordettes (Amsterdam, 1959)
The Chordettes were an American female vocal quartet, specializing in traditional pop music. They are best known for their 1950s hit singles "Mr. Sandman" and "Lollipop", both of which sold over a million copies.
The group organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1946. The original members of the group were Janet Ertel Bleyer (née Buschmann), Alice Mae Buschmann Spielvogel, Dorothy "Dottie" (Hummitzsch) Schwartz and Jinny Osborn (née Lockard). 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.
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 in 1950 recorded their first LP, a collection of standards titled Harmony Time for Columbia Records. Three more LPs followed.[1]
In 1953, Godfrey's music director and orchestra leader, Archie Bleyer, founded Cadence Records.[2] He signed a number of Godfrey regulars and former regulars, including the Chordettes, who had a number of hit records for Cadence.[2]
Beginning in January 1954, the group sang on the Robert Q. Lewis Show, a weekday afternoon program on CBS-TV.[3]
The Chordettes had released a couple of singles with Arthur Godfrey on Columbia in 1950–51 but did not cut a solo single until their breakout hit, "Mr. Sandman", released in late 1954 and which went on to become a number one 1955 hit for seven weeks.[2] It sold in excess of a million copies and was awarded gold disc status.[4] Archie Bleyer himself was on that record along with the group; Bleyer stripped down the sound to highlight the girls' voices. They also reached number two with 1958's "Lollipop", another million album seller, and a number 2 on the charts,[5] also charted with a vocal version of the themes from Disney's Zorro (U.S. number 17) (1958) and the film Never on Sunday (U.S. number 13) (1961).
Other hits for the group included "Eddie My Love" (U.S. number 14) (a cover of a song by doo-wop group The Teen Queens), "Born to Be With You" (U.S. number 5), "Lay Down Your Arms" in 1956, and "Just Between You and Me" (U.S. number 8) in 1957.[2] Their cover of "The White Rose Of Athens" reached 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 (number 128).
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. The Chordettes also appeared on American Bandstand on February 22, 1958, and again on April 26, 1958.[citation needed]
In 1961, Jinny Osborn again left the group. Unable to find a satisfactory replacement, the group disbanded in the mid-1960s.[2]
↑ "Monday (11)"(PDF). Ross Reports on Television. January 11, 1954. p.1. Archived(PDF) from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
↑ Talevski, Nick (2010). "Jinny Osborn". Rock Obituaries: Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p.478. ISBN9780857121172. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
↑ 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
↑ Whitburn, Joel (1973): Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, p. 13
↑ Whitburn, Joel (1994): Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., p. 112
↑ Whitburn, Joel (2005): The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7. überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage, New York City, New York: Billboard Books, p. 129
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