Songwriters Hall of Fame

Patty, Maxene and LaVerne Andrews emerged from Minneapolis to become the most popular female vocal group of the entire pre-1955 era. Led by Patty, the trio appeared in many 1940’s movies and their unmistakable sound helped define the wartime era.

From 1938 to 1951, the Andrews Sisters were responsible for nearly 100 top twenty recordings including the #1 hits, ‘Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen’ (1938), ‘Ferryboat Serenade’ (1940), ‘Shoo Shoo Baby’ (1943), ‘Rum and Coca-Cola’ (1945), ‘I Can Dream, Can’t I’ (1949) and ‘I Wanna Be Loved’ (1950).

The girls got their start when Larry Rich hired them to go on tour with his 55 member troupe. In 1932 they stopped touring with Rich, but the girls continued to sing at fairs, vaudeville shows and club acts. In the 1940s the sisters found themselves in high demand, and became the most profitable stage attraction in the entire nation. Aside from singing, the sisters were established radio personalities, and made appearances in 17 Hollywood movies.

During World War II, the sisters were active in their patriotic duty of wartime entertainment. They volunteered their free time to entertain enlisted and wounded men by singing, dancing and signing autographs. In June of 1945 they participated in an eight-week USO tour and performed for thousands of servicemen.

In 1954, Patty left the group to pursue a solo career. While she never matched the success she had with her sisters, she did have two Billboard hits with ‘The Pussy Cat Song (Nyow! Nyot! Nyow!)’ (#12, 1949) and ‘Too Young’ (#19, 1951). Maxene and LaVerne continued performing together and in 1956 the trio reunited however they never matched their previous success.

After LaVerne died in 1968 from Cancer, Maxene and Patty pursued other careers, Maxene became a College administrator while Patty continued performing. The two sisters reunited with starring roles in the stage performance Over Here! which had a successful run on Broadway before closing two years later. Maxene and Patty continued solo careers into the 1990’s.

Maxene died in 1995 in Cape Cod Massachusetts. Patty, the sole remaining sister of one of the greatest girl vocal groups in American Popular Music continues to perform today.