The Dinning Sisters were an American sisters singing group, active from the late 1930s to 1955. They made a handful of film appearances and had several hit records at the height of their popularity in the late 1940s.
The trio originally consisted of Ella Lucille "Lou" Dinning (1920–2000), Eugenia Doy "Jean" Dinning (1924–2011), and Virginia Moy "Ginger" Dinning (1924–2013). [1] Jean and Ginger were twins.
Lou Dinning left the group in 1946 to be replaced by Jayne Bundesen (1921–2010). Beginning in 1949, another Dinning sister was added to the lineup, replacing Bundsen: Dolores May "Tootsie" Dinning (1929-2015). This version of the Dinning Sisters lasted through about 1953, before Dolores left to continue her musical career as a session singer. Ginger and Jean continued to release material through 1955, before breaking up the act.
Jean and Dolores both remained in the music business. Jean co-wrote the 1959 hit single "Teen Angel" for her brother Mark Dinning, [2] while Dolores was a co-founder of The Nashville Edition, a singing group heard as backing vocalists on numerous records of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. [3]
The original three Dinning Sisters (Lou, Jean and Ginger) reunited in the 1980s, and performed through the 1990s.
The three sisters (Lou, Jean and Ginger) were born in Caldwell, Kansas, United States, and raised in Oklahoma. [4] From a family of nine children, all of whom sang harmony in church, the three sisters won amateur singing contests. [5] Older sister Marvis was a vocalist with Wally Stoefler and His Orchestra from the late 1930s through the early 1950s. [6]
By 1939, the Dinnings had a program on WENR in Chicago, Illinois. [7] They first gained national exposure on the WLS, Chicago and national NBC "Blue Network" radio show "National Barn Dance". [4]
By 1942, the sisters appeared regularly on NBC radio, and had made an appearance in the 1942 Ozzie Nelson film Strictly in the Groove . In 1943, the group was signed by Capitol Records to be that label's answer to The Andrews Sisters, [4] who recorded exclusively for Decca Records. Lucille (Lou) Dinning once said, "Let's face it, the Andrews Sisters were way ahead of us. We tried our darndest to be as commercial as they were, but weren't flashy enough. We were all kind of shy. We came from a farm in Oklahoma. We never took dancing lessons or anything." [8] The Dinnings sounded rather like The Andrews Sisters in fast-paced recordings such as the boogie-woogie influenced "Pig Foot Pete", as well as "Down in the Diving Bell", "The Hawaiian War Chant", and "They Just Chopped Down the Old Apple Tree", [9] an "answer" song to "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)". The Dinning sound could also be compared, especially in slower ballads, to the soft blend of The Lennon Sisters, who appeared in the 1950s on The Lawrence Welk Show . [8]
The Dinning Sisters began issuing recordings for Capitol in 1945, and the original trio (Lou, Jean and Ginger) also appeared in the films The National Barn Dance (1944), That Texas Jamboree (1946) [10] and Throw a Saddle on a Star (1946)., [4] [11] performing several musical numbers in each film. A later line-up without Lou can be heard in the animated Disney presentations Fun and Fancy Free (1947), Melody Time (1948) and the short Blame It on the Samba (1948).
As recording artists their greatest period of success came in 1947 and 1948, when they charted four hits, including two top 10 successes ("My Adobe Hacienda" and "Buttons and Bows"). By this time, Lou had left the act to marry songwriter Don Robertson; she was replaced by Jayne Bundesen. The act remained billed as "The Dinning Sisters", although Bundesen was no relation.
Based in Chicago through most of the 1940s, Jean and Ginger decided to move to Hollywood in 1949, while Bundesen, married to a Chicago attorney, elected to stay in Illinois. To keep the act going, Jean and Ginger recruited younger sister Dolores to fill the third spot, and The Dinning Sisters were once again a trio of actual sisters.
The Dinning Sisters issued a steady stream of recordings over the next few years, but chart hits were no longer forthcoming. The group left Capitol for Decca Records in 1953, and Dolores left the group the same year. The Dinning Sisters' last recordings were issued for Essex Records in 1955, with the duo using overdubbing techniques to allow them to continue to sound like a trio.
The original three Dinning Sisters (Lou, Jean and Ginger) reunited in 1987, performing at the Grand Ole Opry and other venues. They later issued a collaborative gospel album with The Jordanaires in 1993. Rhinestone Christian, credited to The Jordanaires and The Dinning Sisters, featured six songs penned by Jean, alongside several gospel standards.
Year | Single | US Chart position | Label | Catalog Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1947 | "My Adobe Hacienda" | 9 [14] | Capitol | 389 [14] |
"I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" | 12 [14] | Capitol | 433 [15] | |
1948 | "Beg Your Pardon" | 12 [14] | Capitol | 490 [15] |
"Buttons and Bows" | 7 [14] | Capitol | 15184 [16] |
Notably, all four of the charted hits by The Dinning Sisters were contemporaneous covers of songs that were bigger hits for other artists at exactly the same time.
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 (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie Andrews (1918–2013). The sisters have sold an estimated 80 million records. Their 1941 hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" can be considered an early example of jump blues. Other songs closely associated with the Andrews Sisters include their first major hit, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön " (1937), "Beer Barrel Polka " (1939), "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" (1940), "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree " (1942), and "Rum and Coca-Cola" (1945), which helped introduce American audiences to calypso.
Ella Mae Morse was an American singer of popular music whose 1940s and 1950s recordings mixing jazz, blues, and country styles influenced the development of rock and roll. Her 1942 recording of "Cow-Cow Boogie" with Freddie Slack and His Orchestra gave Capitol Records its first gold record. In 1943, her single "Get On Board, Little Chillun", also with Slack, charted in what would soon become the R&B charts, making her one of the first white singers to do so. Morse stopped recording in 1957 but continued to perform and tour into the 1990s. In 1960 she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Margaret Eleanor Whiting was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.
Mary Ford was an American guitarist and vocalist, comprising half of the husband-and-wife musical team Les Paul and Mary Ford. Between 1950 and 1954, the couple had 16 top-ten hits, including "How High the Moon" and "Vaya con Dios", which were number one hits on the Billboard charts. In 1951 alone they sold six million records. With Paul, Ford became one of the early practitioners of multi-tracking.
The Golden Gate Quartet is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active.
Max Edward "Mark" Dinning was an American pop music singer.
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is a 1933 hit song with lyrics by Al Dubin and music by Harry Warren. Deane Janis with Hal Kemp's Orchestra recorded the original version on October 31, 1933, in Chicago, which was issued by Brunswick Records. In 1934, a rendition sung by Constance Bennett appeared in the film Moulin Rouge, but was unreleased on record.
"You Can't Be True, Dear" is a popular German song.
"I Don't Want to Walk Without You" is a popular song.
"Lady of Spain" is a popular song composed in 1931 by Tolchard Evans with lyrics by "Erell Reaves", a pseudonym of Stanley J. Damerell and Robert Hargreaves (1894–1934)I, and by Henry Tilsley. The sheet music was published in London by the Peter Maurice Music Company and in New York by the Sam Fox Publishing Company.
"Darktown Strutters' Ball" is a popular song by Shelton Brooks, published in 1917. The song has been recorded many times and is considered a popular and jazz standard. There are many variations of the title, including "At the Darktown Strutters' Ball", "The Darktown Strutters' Ball", and just "Strutters' Ball".
"Jealous Heart" is a classic C&W song written by American country music singer-songwriter Jenny Lou Carson. In the mid 1940s it spent nearly six months on the Country & Western charts. It was subsequently recorded by several pop singers.
Conrad Thibault was an American baritone vocalist who frequently appeared on radio, recordings, and concert tours.
William F. Denny was an American vaudeville performer and pioneer recording artist.
John Marcus Lathrop was an American vocalist and guitarist with the Tune Twisters, Glenn Miller, and Hal McIntyre. Beginning around 1947, Lathrop was leader of the Drug Store Cowboys.
Bohumir Kryl was a Czech-American financial executive and art collector who is most famous as a cornetist, bandleader, and pioneer recording artist, for both his solo work and as a leader of popular and Bohemian bands. He was one of the major creative figures in the era of American music known as the "Golden Age of the Bands".
Bob Manning was an American big band singer who was popular in the 1950s, and well known through his radio and television appearances.
The Air Lane Trio was a musical group active in the 1940s and 1950s. Popular over several years as a nightclub act, the group achieved minor chart success in 1947 with their recording of My Guitar Is My Sweetheart on the DeLuxe label. This recording's top chart position was #23. This song featured vocals by Ted Martin.
Discography of Elmo Tanner, an American whistler, singer, bandleader and disc jockey, best known for his whistling on the chart-topping song “Heartaches” with the Ted Weems Orchestra.
"Louise" is a song written by Leo Robin and Richard A. Whiting for the 1929 film Innocents of Paris, where it was performed by Maurice Chevalier. The song was Chevalier's first hit in the United States, and was among the best selling records for 10 weeks in the summer of 1929. Chevalier recorded the song again in 1946 with Henri René's Orchestra for RCA Victor.