Our trio arrangements were never read from paper, although we were all musicians and could darn well read music upside-down and backwards.
Vintage Boz Articles
We’ve scrubbed the archives for newspaper and magazine articles we think might help with our reader’s Bozucation. We add new vintage articles and images regularly as we uncover them, so keep checking back for more.
As always, feel free to email us with any questions, we just might have an answer!
Breaking News: The Boswells Reveal Their Reason for Surrendering to Jazz
A great article from The Shreveport Times printed in December of 1925. Ever wonder just exactly when and how these classically trained musicians found their way into Jazz? Find out here.
A Two-Part Series from Downbeat’s John Lucas on Connee and her Sisters
- Part 1: Cats Hepped by Connee’s Chirping The October 1944 Downbeat cover story of Connee and the Boswell Sisters by John Lucas
- Part 2: Visionary Scoring Put Boswell’s Over The November 1944 Downbeat cover story of Connee and the Boswell Sisters by John Lucas.
Another Boswell Chronicle
John Lucas reprises his overview of Connee and the Boswell Sisters in this article. Great quotes from Connee include one telling of how she got the “ee” at the end of her name. A loving tribute by one of the top jazz writers of the 40s – 50s.
“Bothering the Boswells”
A 1933 Melody Maker article covering the Boswell Sisters debut at the London Palladium
Bozzin’ With the Brian Sisters
One of the sister acts to rise in the wake of the Boswell Sisters’ success was the Brian Sisters. First seen in Hal Roach’s “Our Gang” comedies, Betty, Doris and Gwen amazed audiences with their tight, hot harmonies and were making movies before they were in their teens. Many know that they appeared in MGM’s “Sunday Night at the Trocadero” with Connie Boswell, but few know of how Connie befriended them and helped them reach a new level in their career. Doris Brian Rounds told the story of the struggle she and her sisters faced when they came to Los Angeles and Connie’s influence on their lives to bozzies.com.
“’Blending’ Termed Secret of Boswell Trio’s Success”
Martha explains how the Boswell sound is created in a 1935 interview in her hometown of New Orleans.
“Black Outs”
A compelling story of Connie’s compassion for a child stricken by polio from 1932.
“Those Boswell Sisters Talk”
A fun little interview from a 1933 fan magazine.
“Boswell Sister Nurses Father Back to Health On Visit Here”
Another New Orleans article, this one focused on Martha’s return home in 1937 when her father suffered a stroke.
“Time for the Boswells”
The precision and intricacy of the Bozzies wonderful sound is captured in the metaphor of a fine watch. Dennis Yancey, jazz pianist and Boswell devotee, wrote this essay for “The Second Line” in 1980, and its analysis of the Boswell Blend remains the very best ever written. Yancey invites your questions about this article and the Boswell sound. You may write him (but spambots may not) at “dennistasteful(at)yahoo.com”.
“In Harmony with the Boswell Sisters”
This 1977 article by David McCain captures his first successes in a lifetime of research dedicated to the Boswell Sisters. Over the last 30 years, McCain has ferreted out almost every available shred of history on the Boswells. He and Vet Boswell’s daughter, Vet Boswell “Chica” Minnerly, are completing the first book ever written about the Bozzies.
The scrapbook referenced in the article is now quite full and resides in the Hogan Jazz archives at Tulane University. McCain, who we lovingly and respectfully refer to as “The Wizard of Boz,” has been an invaluable resource for the development of bozzies.com. His vision of a researcher using the work he started in 1975 as a resource for understanding the Boswell Sisters has come true. Bozzies.com would not exist, or at least not with the depth it has now, were it not for David McCain.
We honor his scholarship, tenacity, vision and determination, and thank him for preserving the history of those truly original musicians, the Boswell Sisters.
