Boswell Sisters — Career Timeline

Constance F. Boswell comes kicking and screaming into the world. She would lose the kick at age 3 when polio left her with partially paralyzed legs. But the scream eventually mellowed into one of the biggest voices of the century.

The Boswell family leaves Birmingham and settles in New Orleans where AC becomes the agent for the Fleischmann Yeast Company.

Just weeks after joining the Army, 18-year old Alfred Clyde Boswell Jr. is tragically stricken with influenza and dies in a medical camp on the outskirts of New Orleans. “Clydie” had played the violin and worked as an automobile mechanic before going to serve his country.

Martha and Connie win a talent contest on radio station WAAB in New Orleans. This leads to their first professional engagement – a three-day booking at the Palace Theatre where they earned $25 apiece.

The Boswell’s big break. An act cancels at the Orpheum Theater, New Orleans’ top vaudeville venue and the Boswell Sisters get a chance to perform. They bring down the house and close down the schools (literally – they let classes out at the school the Sisters were attending so the students could watch their show). The Sisters performed on their instruments (Martha on piano, Connie on saxophone and Vet on banjo) as well as singing. It was a turning point in their career.

The Sisters are booked in the Orpheum Theater for a return engagement. This time it attracts the attention of the Max Richards Agency who sends a letter in early 1928 inviting the Sisters to bring their act to Chicago. Connie would later recall that it was actually a form letter that was sent to all the acts that performed in the Orpheum chain, inviting them to a “try-out” theater where booking agents would size up the acts. But the girls initially thought it was an invitation to come play a major Chicago theater. Martha’s baby and Connie’s vocal chord surgery in June 1928 cause several delays.

The Sisters sign a contract with Western Vaudeville Management Company for a 5-week tour of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas for $50 per performance. Vet Boswell recounted their experience of playing to audiences of blanket-wrapped Indians, flagging down trains in the middle of the night and the rigors of playing one-night stands. When she learned that women were not usually sent out on this rough and tumble circuit she asked Max Richards, “Whadda we look like? Three Ducks?”

After traveling across the country with fellow vaudeville performers, the Sisters land in San Francisco. They check into the Warfield hotel where desk clerk, Harry Leedy, takes an interest in them. They get booked on the Burt Levy vaudeville circuit and play cities in the bay area.

Warner Brothers affiliate KFWB hire the Sisters. Connie remembered when they began working they did a show with Russ Columbo, the Valentinoesque singer and violinist. In the beginning the show also featured a pianist. But when management found out all the things the Sisters could do, Columbo and his compatriot were given their walking papers. The Boswell’s filled a full two hours with a combination of piano solos by Martha, harmony singing, specialty songs, solos by Connie and instrumentals.

The Sisters are heard from coast-to-coast on the “California Melodies” program, broadcast on the CBS network from KHJ in Los Angeles.

NBC’s Pacific Coast Network puts the Boswell’s under contract and they return to San Francisco where they broadcast from radio station KGO. They are featured on the “Camel Pleasure Hour” in several network broadcasts. During time a woman from Oakland California writes to KGO complaining that the Boswell Sisters sound like “savage chanters”. Connie and Vet later said that the letter had so upset Martha that she had started to tear it up. But Connie grabbed it from her hands and told her sisters that this was proof that what they were doing was completely different.

The Sisters travel to what Connie recalled as “some place in New Jersey”. But records show that it was New York City where the Boswell Sisters made their first hit record: When I Take My Sugar to Tea and Whadya Do to Me. The title of the latter would be what songs would ask the Boswell’s for the next five years as they invent arrangements and create harmonies like no one before them. The Brunswick house orchestra backing them includes the up-and coming Dorsey Brothers. Connie told a reporter this had been the first time they’d met these guys, so they ran through their number and showed them how they wanted to record. When they were through the band gave them a standing ovation, a rare act for a group of house musicians. But they knew better than anyone that something new and wonderful was about to happen to music.

I Surrender Dear, Stardust

Heebie Jeebies is heard and SEEN by one of the earliest commercial television audiences as the Boswell’s make their TV debut on CBS.

The “Boswell Sound” is set and the Sisters’ long association with Victor Young is cemented by the time they record It’s the Girl and It’s You for Brunswick. Victor Young’s orchestra became a favorite of the Sisters. Not only did it include the Dorsey Brothers but by this time Joe Tarto had become the bass/tuba player of choice. Joe Venutti’s playful jazz violin and Eddie Lang’s swinging guitar were also requested for Boswell sessions. The Sisters made their own arrangements (but never wrote the singing parts down) and Connie would write the charts for the orchestra. Much like African American jazz musicians from New Orleans, the Boswell’s encouraged their sidemen to “jam”. Some historians credit the Boswell’s as the first to allow white musicians this kind of creative freedom.

Makin’ Faces at the Man in the Moon, I Can’t Write the Words

The Boswells crash Broadway in a smashing performance at the Palace. It was the climax to a run in vaudeville houses that began in August 1931. The Sisters continued working closely with Brunswick producer Jack Kapp who will supervise their recordings for the rest of their career. They cut sides with the Kapp’s stable of stars on October 25 titled Gems from George White’s Scandals featuring Bing Crosby, Frank Munn and the Mills Brothers. Connie told a reporter that most of their recordings were made between midnight and dawn. They’d finish up a show at the Paramount or the Roxie, then go to a little bar off Broadway to pick up the Dorsey’s, Bunny Berrigan, Manny Klein, Stan King and the rest of the boys. They’d try to get the boys sobered up on black coffee, then start the recording session. But sometimes the coffee didn’t do the trick and they would ruin 20-30 “waxes” before they’d get an acceptable take. But Connie remembered them as a fun bunch of great musicians who really understood what they were trying to do with the music.

River Stay Away from My Door, An Evening in Caroline

The Sisters record Nothing Is Sweeter than You, the theme song from their Baker’s Chocolate Radio Show which ran from October to December 1931. They perform on the show and record with Bob Haring’s Orchestra, which includes their favorite bass man, Joe Tarto.

Was That the Human thing to Do, We’ve Got to Put the Sun Back in the Sky.

Was That the Human Thing to Do, We’ve Got to Put the Sun Back in the Sky (Yes, they recorded and released these songs twice within a month.)

“Vocal gymnastics” is a term that has been used to describe the way Martha, Connie and Vet put a song together. Nowhere is this more jaw-droppingly evident than in the amazing recording of Everybody Loves My Baby. It starts out energetically to a nice fast swing clip and soon Connie is scatting through the verse. Then, out of the blue, the Sisters double-time the chorus in gibberish. The velocity of the staccato notes, the clarity of diction and the perfection of the pitch is mind boggling. But there’s more – Connie “gulls” through the bridge and the chorus repeats again. The band comes back in at a much slower speed and a delayed cymbal crash seems to say “whoa, what just happened here?” When the sisters come back in they pick up the tempo and throw out the melody. Heck, why not throw out the words! They do and scat along in perfect three part harmony interspersed with the song title when it’s convenient. It is a perfect 10! There’s plenty of drama on the flip side, too, which features Stop the Sun, Stop the Moon (My Man’s Gone).

Connie Boswell, Art Jarrett – New Orleans Part 1, Boswell Sisters, Sid Garry, California Part 1

There’ll Be Some Changes Made, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Connie Boswell – Lullabye of the Leaves, My Lips Want Kisses - Boswell Sisters – If It Ain’t Love, Got the South in My Soul.

With Fran Frey, Frank Munn, Mills Brothers, Carmen Lombardo, Okay, America Part 2

Between radio shows, appearances at theaters and recording a series of great songs that included Connie’s solo Hummin’ to Myself and The Night That Love Was Born (June 16), Martha, Connie and Vet on Doggone I’ve Done It, Hand Me Down My Walkin’ Cane (June 17), and Old Yazoo, the Sisters work in three film appearances, shot in Astoria, Queens. They appear in tableau in a Dave Fleischer cartoon called Sleepy Time Down South, singing the title song as the audience “follows the bouncing ball”. Next they shoot a little number where their rehearsal of Lou’siana Waddle is crashed by band leader Abe Lyman who accuses them of singing off key in the Vitaphone Short “Rambling Round Radio Row #1”. They also shot a portion of their theme song Shout Sister Shout and Crazy People for Paramount Film “Big Broadcast of 1932.” The Crazy People clip is interesting thanks to a slip that Connie seems to make at the end. Using “daffy” where she uses “crazy” in the Dec. 7 1932 recording, her sisters manage to follow her until the final verse when they can’t seem to decide whether to say “go crazy over people like you” or “go crazy over things you go”. But they cover it up so well that apparently no one noticed. Connie sits at the piano with a sort of “oh heck” look on her face. Although released years later (1937) the Boswells also record Heebie Jeebies during this same set. Those fortunate enough to have seen the Boswells perform say that these two shorts are the best examples of how the Sisters appeared onstage. But it must nor have been the best of experiences. Connie, who in her later life is described as “always smiling” has a less than pleased appearance in a photo taken at the time.

Connie Boswell – Say It Isn’t So, Where

Connie Boswell – I’ll Never Have to Dream Again, Me Minus You

Their radio career flourished, they began touring and cut some classic Boswellian sides with It Don’t Mean a Thing, Lou’siana Hayride and Minnie the Moocher’s Wedding Day (Nov. 22, 1932), Crazy People and Mood Indigo (Dec. 7, 1932). On Mood Indigo could be called the truly “low down” example of the Boswell Sisters lowered pitch. Connie plunks a chorus of Mornin’ Blues right in the middle of the song and it works fabulously. They appear at the Capitol Theater and other cinema houses during January 1933 performing live onstage before the main features. This leads to a tour across the Midwest in February and March where they headline on the bill ABOVE Paul Whiteman!

Even while touring the Boswell’s manage to keep their radio schedule going. Hot on the heels of the Busby Berkley hit, the girls record their take on Forty Second Street and Shuffle Off to Buffalo (April 11, 1933). The latter has been virtually deconstructed in pure Boswell style and the former runs through a series of wild tempo changes that range from low-down blues to bouncy ballad. The next day, April 12, 1933, Connie records her not-so-subtle admonishments in You’ll Never Get to Heaven That Way, and song of romance on the rocks in A Little Second Hand Store.

The Gold Diggers’ Song (We’re in the Money), It’s Sunday Down in Caroline

Connie Boswell – It’s the Talk of the Town, This Time It’s Love

Benny Goodman adds his clarinet to the trio’s Sophisticated Lady and That’s How Rhythm Was Born. This was the first time the great Ellington hit had been recorded as a vocal.

Connie Boswell – I Had to Change the Words, In Other Words We’re Through

The trio appears with Joe Penner and break all box office records at the Keith’s Memorial Theater in Boston raking in $40,000 worth of business.

is the beginning of another fruitful and frantic period of creativity for the Sisters. They cut I Hate Myself and the lovely You Oughta Be in Pictures. Glen Miller plays trombone with the Dorsey Brothers orchestra in this session. The young Miller would lend his arrangements to a number of Boswell tunes.

Connie Boswell – Over and Over Again

The Sisters cut the rollicking Alexander’s Ragtime Band and the classic Darktown Strutter’s Ball which was only released in Australia. Even today, the tempo changes in Darktown that range from blues, to two-step to rumba make this a classic example of genius the Sisters had to completely recast a song.

Two very interesting songs are recorded. Don’t Let Your Love Go Wrong starts out with a rumba beat and shakes along to the verse where it changes to a foxtrot then seamlessly goes back to the maraca infused rumba . Their switch to a slow tango on the bridge is startling but flawless. Tempo changes weren’t new but the latin beat had just entered their lexicon. Why Don’t You Practice What You Preach is another song admonishing a man to be true. There is a great example of harmonic gulling as Connie and Vet back up a brief solo by Martha with vocal banjo-like sounds. The following week they go Galveston, Texas for a four-week engagement.

The Boswell Sisters become the regular guest of Bing Crosby on the Woodbury Hour. Back in Hollywood they make “Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round” with Jack Benny, Nancy Carroll and Gene Raymond. The Sisters are featured on two songs in the film. In the first, they are in a faux boat in faux waves with little captains’ hats on singing Rock and Roll. In the second they stand and sway for a few moments to the strains of If I Had a Million Dollars. They cut these numbers for record along with Connie’s “Lost in a Fog” and “Isn’t It a Shame” on October 4, 1934.

Connie Boswell – Lost in a Fog, Isn’t It a Shame

Boswell Sisters, Dinah – Connie Boswell, With Every Breath I Take, I’m Growing Fonder of You

It’s back to the Big Apple as they join Rudy Vallee on the Fleischman Hour.

The Decca era begins as the Sisters cut I’ll Never Say Never and Lullabye of Broadway for Dodge Brother’s Corp Vol. 5 in Decca Studios, New York. Jack Kapp is on the way to making Decca an international recording company. Next stop: Europe!

Connie jams with the Ramblers Dance Orchestra at Casino Harmdorff in Laren, Holland and cuts I Can’t Give You Anything But Love and Life Is a Song. The Sisters will play Paris before returning to the States in September.

Reporter Hilda Cole asks Connie why she is performing without her sisters on radio. Connie’s answer has Vet taking care of her ailing husband who may be shipped to South America when he recovers. Martha has gone home to New Orleans to consider whether to marry a man from New York. All plans are on hold for the trio until they decide what they are going to do. This is the first time since Vet’s marriage is announced September that the public hears of major choices that may change the course of the trio’s career.

Connie marries manager Harry Leedy in a very quiet ceremony in Peekskill, New York. The next day Harry enters the hospital for a kidney operation. While he is still recovering in the hospital Connie records Moon Over Miami and With all My Heart on December 23.

Three married ladies get together to record I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter and the playful The Music Goes Round and Around the week after Martha takes her vows. They make several performances during January for Goodrich Silvertown Time promoting their recent recordings.

Connie Boswell continues on as a solo artist and hits #1 several more times. Her remarkable solo career will be detailed by Bozzies.com in a future rendering.

Connie changes the spelling of her name to Connee

Meldania Foore Boswell passes away in Peekskill, New York

Vet and Martha go to see Connee at Jimmy Fazios Supper Club in Milwaukee. Connee persuades her sisters to join her onstage. After a couple of false starts they perform the song they would also start a show with for good luck: Heebie Jeebies. It was their last public appearance.

Martha Boswell Lloyd passes away after a long illness in Peekskill, New York.

Connie Boswell succumbs to cancer in New York City.