Last of the ANDREWS SISTERS left us today

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PATTY ANDREWS, youngest and last of the ANDREWS SISTERS, died today at her home in Northridge, California. She was 94.
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The ANDREWS SISTERS earned 19 Gold Records and sold about 100 million singles.
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When Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne -- the three Andrews Sisters -- performed, Patty was always the one in the middle. No musicians were more popular during World War II, especially with American GIs. The sisters performed on troop ships, in airplane hangars and on barely-secured battlefields for the troops, headlining USO shows worldwide throughout World War II.
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They were major stars on the home front, where defense plant workers -- "Rosie the Riveter" -- and everyone else bought their 78 rpm records and flocked to see them perform with famous big bands and small swing ensemble combos.
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"Patty always [sang] the lead, Maxene the high harmony and LaVerne the low harmony, inventing a unique blend that came from their hearts, since none of the girls could read music," according to the official biography released late today by her publicist, ALAN EICHLER.
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One of the sisters' biggest hits, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," became a World War II anthem and has been performed and recorded many times since. BETTE MIDLER had a hit with it in the 1970s. The Recording Industry of America Association (RIAA) and the National Endowment for the Arts both place the song at #6 on their "Songs of the Century" lists covering all the music of the 20th century; the list was issued in 2001.
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Other major songs by the trio include "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon," "Don't Fence Me In," "Apple Blossom Time," "Rum and Coca Cola," and "I Can Dream, Can't I?"
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Sister LaVerne was seven years older than Patty. She died of cancer in 1967. Maxene, older than Patty by two years, died of a heart attack in 1995.
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Eichler's statement says, "They had begun to sing together at home, with LaVerne teaching her younger siblings the 'hot' songs of the day, like the BOSWELL SISTERS rendition of 'Dinah' and 'When I Take My Sugar to Tea.' "
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LARRY RICH, who operated a traveling show in vaudeville days, offered the sisters a spot after seeing them sing at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis. Patty Andrews, who had been born and raised in Minnesota, was just 10 years old at the time.
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"It was always important to the girls that they were the children of immigrant parents, and when their father's business was wiped out during the Depression, the sisters left school and went out on the road to sing, using their music to support their family as best they could," says the bio from Eichler.
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Eventually, they made it to New York City with JACK BELASCO'S ORCHESTRA and toured the Vaudeville circuit with TED MACK, famous for his radio work, including the original "Amateur Hour."
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In 1937, when the sisters were "literally at the end of the road" and "stranded in New York City," their recording career began in one of those famous by-the-skin-of-their-teeth show biz miracles.
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Eichler chronicles the story: "Through an arranger they had met on the road, VIC SCHOEN, they landed one show, for one night only at the Edison Hotel with THE BILLY SWANSON ORCHESTRA, where they sang exactly one verse of one song. As luck would have it, that part of the show was being broadcast on the radio, and the head of Decca Records, JACK KAPP, was getting into a taxi that had the radio tuned to that station. The next day, LOU LEVY, who would soon become their manager and later the husband of Maxene, was sent to the Edison Hotel with instructions to find 'those girls.' "
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They appeared in 16 motion pictures during the 1940s, including "Hollywood Canteen" and "Road to Rio" with BOB HOPE and BING CROSBY, "Hold That Ghost" with BUD ABBOTT & LOU COSTELLO, "Buck Privates," "In the Navy," and in a number of Hollywood musicals.
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In the 1950s, the sisters enjoyed a resurgence
when they were booked at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. That led to their first appearances on early television, and to more recording.
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Their music still has a cult following, thanks to several tribute acts who tour with plenty of 40s-era costume changes and near-perfect replication of those Andrews Sisters harmonies and vocal layerings. These include the LINDY SISTERS; SOS / aka the SISTERS OF SWING; and THE SWING DOLLS USO TOUR. All have performed in recent months in Southern California, in shows listed in the Acoustic Americana Music Guide.
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We don't know if Patty was in the audience at any of those performances. After all, she lived in the San Fernando Valley. We do hope she knew that the musical legacy that she and her sisters left us has plenty of younger fans today.
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