Video embed from YouTube, blog post by John Hoff
I didn't know until today the Andrews Sisters were from North Minneapolis. They were responsible for such songs as Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy Of Company B.
Patty Andrews, the last survivor of the group, died today at the age of 94.
I would love to know what specific North Minneapolis addresses were associated with the Andrews sisters and their family, so if anybody knows please comment.
In regard to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," it is...
...not just a great song, but a great commentary on the individual who, finding himself within a regimented and hierarchical system, not only finds a way to avoid having his individuality and creativity squashed but actually strengthens the system through a contribution of individual creativity and expressiveness.
Note, if you will, the lyrics.
He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way
He had a boogie style that no one else could play
He was the top man at his craft
But then his number came up and he was gone with the draft
He's in the army now, a-blowin' reveille
He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B
They made him blow a bugle for his Uncle Sam
It really brought him down because he couldn't jam
The captain seemed to understand
Because the next day the cap' went out and drafted a band
And now the company jumps when he plays reveille
He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B
Though it is sad to see the passing of the last Andrews sister, I believe our neighborhood will continue to make notable musical contributions.
This would, of course, be a terrible time to publish a YouTube embed of my song Ball Chopping Axes, but of course I'm going to do it anyway.
13 comments:
Aww...Good news, Bad news,
The Andrews Sisters -- LaVerne Andrews (born July 6, 1911; died May 8, 1967), Maxene Andrews (born January 3, 1916; died October 21, 1995), and Patty Andrews (born February 16, 1918) -- were each born in Mound, MN, the children of a Greek immigrant father and a Norwegian immigrant mother who ran a restaurant in Minneapolis. They turned to singing as children, entertaining on local radio and in amateur revues, with Patty taking the lead, Maxene singing high harmony, and LaVerne low. They were particularly inspired by the Boswell Sisters, who scored a number of hits in the early '30s. Their first professional engagement came in December 1932 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. In November 1933, they joined a vaudeville troupe for six months, traveling around the Midwest. Afterwards, their parents closed the restaurant to devote themselves to their career, and they spent the years 1934-1937 touring with bands. In 1937, they went to New York as part of Leon Belasco's band and while there made their first recordings, albeit under Belasco's name, for Brunswick Records. After the Belasco band broke up that summer, they were signed to Decca Records on their own. Decca had recorded the Boswell Sisters successfully until they broke up in 1935, and the label was on the lookout for a similar group.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/the-andrews-sisters#ixzz2JWQ1CNZS
But- Where was Peter Andreas Restaurant located?
If they have any direct ties to NoMi, I have yet to find it.
Here is what I have found thus far:
"n 2008 and 2009, the BBC produced a one-hour documentary on the history of the Andrews Sisters from their upbringing in Mound, Minnesota, to the present. The American premier of the show was June 21, 2009 in Mound. In 2008, Mound dedicated "The Andrews Sisters Trail". The sisters spent summers in Mound with their uncles Pete and Ed Solie, who had a grocery store there. Maxene Andrews always said that the summers in Mound created a major sense of "normalcy" and "a wonderful childhood" in a life that otherwise centered on the sisters' careers. The Westonka Historical Society has a large collection of Andrews Sisters memorabilia."
The two oldest sisters were born in Minneapolis and the third (Patty) was born in Mound. I didn't find anything that mentioned what part of Minneapolis they were born in and considering Patty was born in Mound, it would suggest that the eldest two of the trio were toddlers during the time they were in Minneapolis. No mention of North Minneapolis at all.
A number of mass media articles are saying "raised in North Minneapolis" including the original article I linked and this article from KARE-11.
http://www.kare11.com/rss/article/1002579/14/Land-of-10000-Stories-Remembering-the-Andrews-Sisters
MANY MANY THANKS to my behind-the-scenes researcher. We found documentation that between 1920 and the early 1930s, the family lived at 1600 Lyndale Ave. N.
At first they rented, then they bought the house. I will try to dig into this more later but in the meantime, readers who are interested can start their own digging.
1600 Lyndale Ave. N. is mentioned in a University of Minnesota Directory from 1910 to 1911, but it appears that address doesn't EXIST in our present day.
http://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/52250/1/Directory1910-1911.pdf
They lived in North Minneapolis in at least the thirties and forties. My mother baby sat for a couple of the sisters. More later and you know who i am
Patty was a friend of Aunt Eliz but I don't know where they lived at the time. I have the feeling they went to school together. I will try and find out more.
Yes, they went to north high school. Go polars!
They went to north high school. Go Polars!
That sooo figures that if they lived in North Minneapolis, their home was demolished!
This professional baseball player lived in Hawthorne - in a house now owned by Bashir Mogul on the 300 block of 27th Ave N.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Schauer
To my behind the scenes commenter:
YES, YES, I want the info but could you PLEASE send it by email? So much easier to work with in that format.
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