Oh Those Boswell Sisters

Some called the radio station demanding they throw them out of the studio. Others called to brag about their talents, their arrangements, their sass. Boswell sisters had been singing together since their Vaudeville days as teens. Connee played sax and trombone, Vet played banjo and guitar and Martha held down the piano. They were popular in their hometown of New Orleans, playing with big bands. Dorsey Brothers, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman all knew them. These sisters blended “blackness” and “whiteness”, natural for them. They loved to rework and rearrange popular songs; they were musicians. They appeared in a film with Bing Crosby and Cab Calloway. This led to thirteen appearances on the Bing Crosby Show. Ella Fitzgerald patterned her style after Connee Boswell. As did the Andrew Sisters a few years later. The Boswells had a profound effect; incorporating scat, jazz and swing.