A Woman's War, Too by Virginia Wright-Peterson

Author:Virginia Wright-Peterson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press
Published: 2020-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

12

BETWEEN “BOOGIE WOOGIE BUGLE BOY” AND “SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW”

On January 31, 1941, Universal Studios released the movie Buck Privates, which included the song “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” sung by a trio originally from Minneapolis, the Andrews Sisters. The movie was a comedy about army life starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. On September 16, 1940, President Roosevelt signed into law the selective service registration act, which required all men between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-five to register for one year of service in the military. Later that year, men began service, and Buck Privates, a lighthearted view of military life, was released soon after. The film was a hit for Universal Studios, grossing more than $4.7 million at a time when tickets were twenty-five cents. The Andrews Sisters were already one of the most popular groups in the United States, but this movie and the four songs they sang, especially “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “I’ll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time,” received excellent reviews and a high ranking on US Billboard’s lists of songs played on the radio and records sold.

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The Andrews Sisters got their start in the entertainment business in 1931 during the Depression. LaVerne, Maxene, and Patty Andrews entered a talent contest at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Minneapolis over their Easter break from school. The competition was sponsored by a band leader who was looking for new talent to travel with his orchestra on the vaudeville circuit. The girls took first place, and Larry Rich asked their parents’ consent for them to travel with his show. Their mother came from a musical family and was supportive, but their father was more reluctant because the girls were so young. Patty, the youngest, was only thirteen years old. He eventually relented, and the girls boarded a bus to join the vaudeville troupe in Atlanta, Georgia.

LaVerne, Maxene, and Patty were born in Minneapolis in 1911, 1916, and 1918. Their father, Peter Andreos, changed his name to Andrews after immigrating from Greece. Their mother, Olga Sollie, was born in Norway. The couple moved around the Minneapolis area and occasionally lived in Mound, where two of Olga’s brothers owned a grocery store. Peter was an ice cream maker in 1911, when LaVerne was born. He subsequently owned a pool hall, a restaurant, and a fruit company.

The young Andrews girls were inspired by the Boswell Sisters from New Orleans, the first female vocal group to attain national recognition. They heard the Boswells perform on Bing Crosby’s radio show. They started singing three-part harmony like the Boswell Sisters, with Patty, the youngest, singing lead and La-Verne and Maxene singing soprano and contralto or bass. They sang at schools, political meetings, and hospitals.

The Andrews Sisters quickly learned to engage their audiences and maintain a strong stage presence while they were with the vaudeville troupe in 1931 and 1932. After that tour, they moved with their parents to New York City. Vaudeville was being replaced by the big band sound.

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