Dandridge Sisters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (January 2008)

The Dandridge Sisters (1934-1940) were a trio containing legendary actress Dorothy Dandridge,Vivian Dandridge and Etta Jones. The Dandridge Sisters disbanded in 1940.

Contents

[edit] The Starting Of the Dandridge Sisters

With the help of Geneva Williams and Ruby Dandridge, they encourage Dorothy and Vivian to start a singing which started in 1934. In 1934, after moving to Chicago and subsequently Los Angeles, the Wonder Kids changed their stage name to the Dandridge Sisters and added the talents of thirteen-year-old Etta Jones. Together the trio triumphed in an amateur competition on radio station KNX, Los Angeles, defeating twenty-five white contestants.

Two years later the Dandridge Sisters were invited to perform at New York's famed Cotton Club, a nightclub that featured black talent and catered to white audiences. The act was so successful that they were given a spot in the regular program, performing on the same bill as the legendary artists Cab Calloway and W. C. Handy. Another prominent act found regularly in the line-up was the dynamic dance team of Harold and Fayard Nicholas, the Nicholas Brothers.

[edit] The Dandridge Sisters

The Dandridge Sisters were a hit in The Cotton Club and the critics gave them glowing reviews. Their success earned them another exciting engagement - they would tour in Europe. Again, the girls received good reviews but their tour was cut short by the advent of World War II. At the height of their career, The Dandridge Sisters toured in Hawaii with a famous singing troupe and toured with the rest of the country.

[edit] Dandridge Sister's Tour's With Jimmy Lunceford

At the height of their stardom the Dandridge Sisters were now touring with Band Vocalist Jimmy Lunceford and recorded with his band. The Dandridge Sisters record with Jimmy Lunceford were: Minnie the Moocher Is Dead, Aint Goin Study No War and Red Wagon.

[edit] Films

The Dandridge Sisters now appeared in movies such as It Can't Last Forever, Snow Get Into Your Eyes, The Big Broadcast of 1936, A Day at the Races, Irene, and Easy to Take. In the film It Can't Last Forever the Dandridge Sister had a part singing with the Jackson Brothers and also in Going Places the Dandridge Sisters shared the set with legendary Louis Armstrong and Maxine Sullivan.

[edit] Dandridge Sister Disbands

The girls returned to Hollywood, where ironically The Nicholas Brothers were filming Down Argentine Way. Dorothy and Harold resumed dating. The Dandridge Sisters played a few more engagements but they eventually split up due in part to Dorothy's increasing desire to have a solo career. In 1937 the Dandridge Sisters made their Hollywood debut, with minor roles in the Marx Brothers classic film A Day at the Races. But after several one-night stands and recording dates with Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra, the trio dissolved.