The Chordettes
Template:Short description Template:Infobox musical artist
The Chordettes were an American female vocal quartet, specializing in traditional pop music. They are best known for their 1950s hit singles "Mr. Sandman" and "Lollipop", both of which sold over a million copies.
Career
The group organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1946. The original members of the group were Janet Ertel Bleyer (née Buschmann), Alice Mae Buschmann Spielvogel, Dorothy "Dottie" (Hummitzsch) Schwartz and Jinny Osborn (née Lockard). Originally they sang folk music in the style of The Weavers, but eventually changed to a harmonizing style of the type known as barbershop harmony or close harmony.
After performing locally in Sheboygan, they won on Arthur Godfrey's radio program Talent Scouts in 1949. They held feature status on Godfrey's daily program, and in 1950 recorded their first LP, a collection of standards titled Harmony Time for Columbia Records. Three more LPs followed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1953, Godfrey's music director and orchestra leader, Archie Bleyer, founded Cadence Records.<ref name="Larkin50s">Template:Cite book</ref> He signed a number of Godfrey regulars and former regulars, including the Chordettes, who had a number of hit records for Cadence.<ref name="Larkin50s"/>
Beginning in January 1954, the group sang on the Robert Q. Lewis Show, a weekday afternoon program on CBS-TV.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Chordettes had released a couple of singles with Arthur Godfrey on Columbia in 1950–51 but did not cut a solo single until their breakout hit, "Mr. Sandman", released in late 1954 and which went on to become a number one 1955 hit for seven weeks.<ref name="Larkin50s"/> It sold in excess of a million copies and was awarded gold disc status.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">Template:Cite book</ref> Archie Bleyer himself was on that record along with the group; Bleyer stripped down the sound to highlight the women's voices. They also reached number two with 1958's "Lollipop", another million album seller, and a number 2 on the charts,<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs 2">Template:Cite book</ref> also charted with a vocal version of the themes from Disney's Zorro (U.S. number 17) (1958) and the film Never on Sunday (U.S. number 13) (1961).
Other hits for the group included "Eddie My Love" (U.S. number 14) (a cover of a song by doo-wop group The Teen Queens), "Born to Be With You" (U.S. number 5), "Lay Down Your Arms" in 1956, and "Just Between You and Me" (U.S. number 8) in 1957.<ref name="Larkin50s"/> Their cover of "The White Rose Of Athens" reached the Australian Top 15 in May, 1962. The US single "In The Deep Blue Sea" was a one-week Music Vendor entry four months later (number 128).
The Chordettes appeared on American Bandstand on August 5, 1957, the first episode of that show to be broadcast nationally on the ABC Television Network. The Chordettes also appeared on American Bandstand on February 22, 1958, and again on April 26, 1958.Template:Citation needed
In 1961, Jinny Osborn again left the group. Unable to find a satisfactory replacement, the group disbanded in the mid-1960s.<ref name="Larkin50s"/>
Awards and recognition
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Deaths
Alice Mae Buschmann Spielvogel died in 1981 at the age of 55.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Janet Ertel Bleyer died on November 22, 1988, at the age of 75.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Jinny Osborn (later known as Jinny Janis) died in 2003 at the age of 76.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Nancy Overton died on April 5, 2009, at the age of 83 after a long battle with esophageal cancer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Dorothy "Dottie" (Hummitzsch) Schwartz died on April 4, 2016, at the age of 89.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Lynn Evans Mand died on February 6, 2020, at the age of 95.<ref name=obit>Template:Cite news</ref>
Carol Buschmann died in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on September 30, 2023, at the age of 96.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Marjorie “Margie” Needham Latzko, the last surviving member of the Chordettes, died in Saratoga Springs, New York, on August 22, 2025, at the age of 96.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Members
Original
- Janet Ertel (1946–1963; was later replaced by Nancy Overton for touring around 1959)
- Alice Mae Buschmann Spielvogel (1946–1947)
- Dorothy "Dottie" (Hummitzsch) Schwartz (1946–1952)
- Jinny Osborn/Lockard (1946–1953, 1957–1961)
Additional
- Carol Buschmann (1947–1963)
- Lynn Evans (née Hargate) (1953–1963)
- Margie Needham (1953–1957)
- Nancy Overton (1957–1963; replaced Janet Ertel for touring around 1959)
Timeline
<timeline> ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:65 bottom:50 top:0 right:0 DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1946 till:31/12/1963 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1946 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1946
Colors =
id:Janet value:Red id:Alice value:Orange id:Jinny value:Yellow id:Nancy value:Green id:Dorothy value:Teal id:Lynn value:Blue id:Carol value:Purple id:Margie value:Pink
BarData =
bar:Janet text:"Ertel" bar:Alice text:"Spielvogel" bar:Jinny text:"Osborn" bar:Nancy text:"Overton" bar:Dorothy text:"Schwartz" bar:Lynn text:"Evans" bar:Carol text:"Buschmann" bar:Margie text:"Needham"
PlotData =
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Janet from:01/01/1946 till:end color:Janet bar:Alice from:01/01/1946 till:31/12/1947 color:Alice bar:Jinny from:01/01/1946 till:31/12/1953 color:Jinny bar:Jinny from:01/01/1957 till:31/12/1961 color:Jinny bar:Nancy from:01/01/1957 till:31/12/1963 color:Nancy bar:Dorothy from:01/01/1946 till:31/12/1952 color:Dorothy bar:Lynn from:01/01/1953 till:31/12/1963 color:Lynn bar:Carol from:01/01/1947 till:end color:Carol bar:Margie from:01/01/1953 till:31/12/1957 color:Margie
</timeline>
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | US BB <ref name="Whitburn">Template:Cite book</ref> |
Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Harmony Time | 3 | Columbia |
| 1951 | Harmony Time Volume II | — | |
| 1952 | Harmony Encores | — | |
| 1953 | The Chordettes Sing Your Requests | — | |
| 1955 | The Chordettes | — | |
| Listen | — | ||
| Close Harmony | — | Cadence | |
| 1957 | The Chordettes | — | |
| 1959 | Drifting and Dreaming | — | Harmony |
| 1962 | Never on Sunday | — | Cadence |
Singles
| Year | Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated |
Chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
US R&B <ref name="Awards">Template:Cite web</ref> |
US A/C <ref name="Awards"/> |
CAN CHUM |
UK <ref>Nugent, Stephen / Fowler, Anne / Fowler, Pete (1976): Chart Log of American/British Top 20 Hits, 1955-1974. In: Gillett, Charlie / Frith, Simon (ed.): Rock File 4. Frogmore, St. Albans: Panther Books, p. 113f</ref> | |||
| 1950 | "Down by the Old Mill Stream" (with Arthur Godfrey) | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks |
| "If It Wasn't for Your Father" (with Arthur Godfrey) b/w "Gone Fishin'" (non-album track) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Time Out for Tears" (with Bill Lawrence) b/w "Can't Seem to Laugh Anymore" (non-album track) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hawaii" (with Arthur Godfrey) b/w "Driftin' Down the Dreamy Ol' Ohio" (non-album track) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1951 | "Candy & Cake" (with Arthur Godfrey) |
— | — | — | — | — | |
| 1954 | "Mr. Sandman" b/w "I Don't Wanna See You Cryin'" (non-album track) |
1<ref>Whitburn, Joel (1973): Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, p. 13</ref> | — | — | — | 11 | The Chordettes |
| 1955 | "Lonely Lips" b/w "The Dudelsack Song" (non-album track) |
— | — | — | — | — | All the Very Best of the Chordettes |
| "Humming Bird" b/w "I Told a Lie" (non-album track) |
— | — | — | — | — | The Chordettes | |
| 1956 | "The Wedding" b/w "I Don't Know, I Don't Care" (non-album track) |
91<ref>Whitburn, Joel (1994): Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., p. 112</ref> | — | — | — | — | All the Very Best of the Chordettes |
| "Eddie My Love" b/w "Whistlin' Willie" (non-album track) |
14 | — | — | — | — | The Chordettes | |
| "Born to Be with You" b/w "Love Never Changes" |
5 | — | — | — | 8 | ||
| "Lay Down Your Arms" / | 16<ref>Whitburn, Joel (2005): The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7. überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage, New York City, New York: Billboard Books, p. 129</ref> | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Teen Age Goodnight" | 45 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1957 | "Come Home to My Arms" b/w "(Fifi's) Walkin' the Poodle" (non-album track) |
— | — | — | — | — | |
| "Echo of Love" b/w "Like a Baby" (from The Chordettes) |
— | — | — | — | — | Non-album track | |
| "Just Between You and Me" / | 8 | — | — | 15 | — | The Chordettes | |
| "Soft Sands" | 73 | — | — | 16 <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | — | ||
| "Baby of Mine" b/w "Photographs" |
— | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| 1958 | "Lollipop" b/w "Baby, Come-a Back-a" (non-album track) |
2 | 3 | — | 1 | 6 | All the Very Best of the Chordettes |
| "Zorro" b/w "Love Is a Two-Way Street" (non-album track) |
17 | — | — | 17 | — | ||
| 1959 | "No Other Arms, No Other Lips" [Cadence 1361] b/w "We Should Be Together" (non-album track) |
27 | — | — | — | — | |
| "A Girl's Work Is Never Done" [Cadence 1366] b/w "No Wheels" (non-album track) |
89 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960 | "A Broken Vow" b/w "All My Sorrows" |
102 | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks |
| 1961 | "Never on Sunday" / | 13 | — | 4 | 16 | — | Never on Sunday |
| "Faraway Star" | 90 | — | — | — | — | All the Very Best of the Chordettes | |
| "The Exodus Song" b/w "Theme from 'Goodbye Again'" |
— | — | — | — | — | Never on Sunday | |
| 1962 | "The White Rose of Athens" b/w "Adios" |
— | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks |
| "In the Deep Blue Sea" b/w "All My Sorrows" |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963 | "True Love Goes On and On" b/w "All My Sorrows" |
— | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||
See also
- List of vocal groups
- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
- List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
References
External links
Template:External links Template:Commons category
- Picture and names of The Chordettes
- 'The Chordettes' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
- Template:AllMusic
- Template:Discogs artist
- Template:Imdb name
- The Chordettes' page on the Primarily A Cappella site
- Chordette Lynn Evans harmonizes in classroom while a teacherTemplate:Dead link
- The Chordettes : Official Covers Discography
- Carol Buschmann Interview at NAMM Oral History Library (2010)
- Dorothy Schwartz Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2010)
- Chordettes collection of musical arrangements, 1938-1995 at the Library of Congress
- Pages with broken file links
- Apex Records artists
- Cadence Records artists
- Vocal quartets
- Barbershop quartets
- Doo-wop groups
- Traditional pop music singers
- American pop music groups
- American girl groups
- Sheboygan, Wisconsin
- Musical groups from Wisconsin
- Musical groups established in 1946
- Musical groups disestablished in 1961
- Columbia Records artists
- 1946 establishments in Wisconsin
- 1961 disestablishments in Wisconsin