The Brox Sisters
The Brox Sisters was an American a cappella girl group . The vocal trio enjoyed success as a female jazz vocal group in the United States in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Members
The vocal trio consisted of three birth sisters:
Josephine ("Bobbe") Brox (* 1900 in Memphis / Tennessee, † May 2, 1999 in Glen Falls , New York), Eunice ("Lorayne") Brox (* November 11, 1900 in Memphis / Tennessee, † 14. June 1993 in Los Angeles / California) and Kathlyn ("Patricia") Brox (born June 14, 1903, † 1988). The original family name was "Brock", it was later changed to "Brox" because of the better publicity, and the sisters' first names were also changed. Josephine Brox first changed her first name to "Dagmar" before she finally adopted the stage name "Bobbe".
Bobbe Brox married William Perlberg in 1928, a manager of the artist agency "William Morris" who later became a major film producer in Hollywood. The marriage, which resulted in a son, ended in divorce in the mid-1960s, and in 1969 Bobbe Brox was the second marriage to composer Jimmy Van Heusen , who had written numerous hits for Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra .
Career
Broadway shows 1921–1927
After performing as a vocal trio with jazz orchestras in their teens, Irving Berlin wrote the song Everybody Step especially for the three sisters in 1921, and the Brox Sisters became the attraction of Irving Berlin's Broadway show The Music Box Revue , which ran from 1921 to 1924 ran at the New York Theater. In 1925 and 1926, the Brox Sisters appeared with the Marx Brothers in the Broadway comedy Cocoanuts . In 1927 they appeared with comedian Eddie Cantor on the Broadway show Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 at the New Amsterdam Theater.
Records
In March and April 1922, the Brox Sisters recorded their first record, School House Blues, composed by Irving Berlin, and Some Sunny Day , which was released by Brunswick Records . By March 1924 another five singles had been released by Brunswick, including the songs Learn To Do The Strut and Bring On The Pepper by Irving Berlin. The first single the Brox Sisters recorded for Victor Records was a song by Irving Berlin: Lazy . By 1927, eight more singles had appeared on the Victor label, all of which were recorded in the recording studios in Camden , New Jersey.
Films 1927–1932
After two short films in which she starred in 1927 ( Down South ) and 1928 ( Headin 'South ), her first role was in a motion picture in Hollywood Review Of 1929 , in which almost all the stars who were then under contract with MGM appeared. Singin 'In The Rain , sung by the Brox Sisters, became an evergreen. In 1930, the films Spring Is Here , The Dogway Melody and The King Of Jazz followed . In the film King Of Jazz they are accompanied by the Paul Whiteman orchestra and the Rhythm Boys, which consisted of Bing Crosby , Harry Barris and Al Rinker , in the title A Bench In The Park . Their last appearance in a Hollywood film was in Hollywood On Parade in 1932 .
After the Brox Sisters broke up as a singing group in 1932, mainly because Bobbe Brox as Mrs. Perlberg was meanwhile the wife of an influential Hollywood producer and could not or did not want to work as a singer at the same time, the Brox Sisters joined together again in 1939 on. On the occasion of the public launch of Irving Berlin's new film, Alexander's Ragtime Band , the Brox Sisters appear on a nationwide radio show hosted by Al Jolson to help promote the film.
Musical historical significance
From a musical history point of view, the Brox Sisters are at the beginning of a long line of girl groups , had a role model for the female singing groups of the jazz era, both musically and in terms of marketing, and can be seen as the forerunners of the Boswell Sisters and Andrews Sisters .
Remarks
- ^ Compare obituary by Tom Vallance: Bobbe Brox . In: The Independent , May 19, 1999 edition
- ↑ Order number Brunswick 268
- ↑ order number Victor 19298; B-side: Cover Me Up With The Sunshine Of Virginia
- ↑ Director: Charles Reisner. On Singin 'In The Rain see versions by Gene Kelly and Guy Mitchell et al. a.
- ↑ Director: John Francis Dillon. In the film they sang the title Crying For The Carolines (music / lyrics: Harry Warren, Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young), which became one of their hits.
- ↑ Directed by Zion Myers and Jules White
- ↑ Director: John Murray Anderson
- ↑ Directed by Louis Lewyn. In the film, the Brox Sisters perform the song Falling In Love Again , a track that Elvis Presley covered decades later .
- ↑ In this context, the anecdote has been passed down that the moderator Al Jolson thanked the Brox Sisters as follows: Thank you, Lorayne, Patricia and ... Mrs Perlberg! I'm no fool! . Compare Tom Vallance: Bobbe Brox . In: The Independent , May 19, 1999 edition
literature
- Tom Vallance: Bobbe Brox . In: The Independent , May 19, 1999 edition
