# Eight Guilty Pleasures - Episode One



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Sometimes our taste in non-classical music can be as revealing as our classical choices. I've picked out eight of my popular music faves to extol and perhaps justify, starting chronologically with:

*THE BOSWELL SISTERS*









Martha, Connee(Connie) and Vet Boswell were truly sisters (dates of birth 1905-1911) who started their professional careers in 1920's New Orleans and reached stardom in New York City in the 1930s.

They are referred to as a "close-harmony" group. "Close" doesn't even begin to describe it. They were so unique, and uniquely talented, that music publishers uncharacteristically allowed them to toy with their songs - changing keys and tempos mid-song and rearranging things to suit their prodigious harmonic and rhythmic skills.

If you purchase a compilation of their music on CD today, you are likely to get a combination of their trio songs and Connee's own solo material recorded later on. Now Connee was greatly respected by her peers (Ella Fitzgerald supposedly tried to copy her style), but her solo stuff is pretty unexciting by today's standards. If you want the real Bozzie experience, stick to the trio.

If you can find KINO on VIDEO's short subject of them singing "Heebie Jeebies" go for it. Amazing.

On disc, try "The Object of My Affection", "That's How Rhythm Was Born", "Shout, Sister, Shout", "Rock and Roll", or any other of a number of fantastic arrangements.

The Boswell Sisters - a treasure worth searching for.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

another similar kind of harmony group, that came later in post-1945 era, was andy and the bey sisters. i've got THIS compilation which includes a couple of tracks from them. they are pretty good. i like this kind of style & will see if i can listen to something by the boswell sisters, sounds interesting...


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Thanks, "Sid". I hadn't heard of this group before, but I'll look out for it. My guess is, that being from the 40's, they are going to have a bit more modern sound to them than the Bozzies. But, it's all good - I love close harmony groups of all eras.


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