The painters arrived - the head painter was normal sized, but all the rest were about 8 feet tall.

The head painter said, "Excuse me Maam, but I manage the Chordettes and they are trying to make a comeback."

I jumped right off the ground and clapped my hands and exclaimed, "I love them".

The painter was surprised and responded, "You do?"  like he was surprised I knew who they were.

The painter said, "Well, it's 1962 and we didn't know if people would remember them".

I had a little cabinet nearby and I opened and took out a little white box, and on it was the name, Dr. Luis Turi (he's an astrologer) so I thought maybe it was a box of tiny Tarot cards, but I was looking for a date on it, and it said, 'April 14, 1959'

So below, I present the Chordettes:

Formed in 1946 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the quartet of Dorothy Schwartz (lead), Jinny Lockard (tenor), (or Lockard) (April 25, 1927-May 19, 2003). Carol Buschman (baritone), and Janet Ertel (bass) (1913-November 4, 1988) practiced their barbershop-style harmony to perfection in the late ‘40s. 

They joined the Arthur Godfrey’s “Talent Scouts” show on radio in 1949 and soon graduated to his TV show as regulars. In 1953, both Dorothy and Jinny were replaced by Lynn Evans and Margie Needham, respectively. They disbanded in 1961/62.

They were inducted into the Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

MR. SANDMAN  

Mister Sandman, bring me a dream
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen
Give him two lips like roses in clover
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over

Mister Sandman, I'm so alone
Don't have nobody to call my own
Please turn on your magic beam
Mister Sandman, bring me a dream

Mister Sandman, bring me a dream
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen
Give him the word that I'm not a rover
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over

Mister Sandman, I'm so alone
Don't have nobody to call my own
Please turn on your magic beam
Mister Sandman, bring me a dream

Mister Sandman, (yeesss?) bring us a dream
Give him a pair of eyes with a congeal of gleam
Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci
And lots of wavy hair like Liberace

Mister Sandman, someone to hold
Would be so peachy before we're too old
So please turn on your magic beam
Mister Sandman, bring us
Please, please, please
Mister Sandman, bring us a dream
 

LOLLIPOP\

Lollipop lollipop
Oh lolli lolli lolli
Lollipop lollipop.....
Call my baby lollipop
Tell you why
His kiss is sweeter than an apple pie
And when he does his shaky rockin' dance
Man, I haven't got a chance
I call him
Lollipop lollipop
Oh lolli lolli lolli
Lollipop lollipop.....
Sweeter than candy on a stick
Huckleberry, chimry or lime
If you had a choice
He'd be your pick
But lollipop is mine
Lollipop lollipop
Oh lolli lolli lolli
Lollipop lollipop.....
Crazy way he thrills me
Tell you why
Just like a lightning from the sky
He loves to kiss me till I can't see straight
GEE, MY LOLLIPOP IS GREAT
I call him
Lollipop lollipop
Oh lolli lolli lolli
Lollipop lollipop.....

The Chordettes were one of the longest living groups.

NEVER ON SUNDAY

I CRIED A TEAR   - 1954

LONELY LIPS - 1955

BORN TO BE WITH YOU - 1956

WE SHOULD BE TOGETHER - 1956

NO WHEELS  - 1956

LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS - 1956

THE WEDDING - 1956

TEENAGE GOODNIGHT - 1956

YOUR WILD HEART - 1957

ECHO OF LOVE - 1957

JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME - 1957

NO OTHER LIPS - NO OTHER LIPS - 1959

WOODEN HEART - 1962

In the aftermath of the Mr. Sandman sensation, The Chordettes found themselves in the whirlpool of stardom. Nightclubs around the country clamored for them. They perfumed on radio programs (including Alan Freed's), entertained for President Eisenhower along the way, and sustained their television presence with Ed Sullivan, Gary Moore, and Robert Q. Lewis (on whose show they became regulars).

Their hit of early 1956, Eddie My Love, pulses with an entrancing torch vocal of sensuousness and innocence. Later that year Born to Be With You and Lay Down Your Arms rose through the charts and in 1957 they reemerged with the playful ballad Just Between You and Me.

Then there was Lollipop, and gold record in 1958, sparked by the gook line, "Lollipop, lollipop, ooh lolli, lolli, lolli," instantly recognizable even today. That opening of the song carved out the contemporary rock 'n' roll sound that producer Archie Bleyer sought for the group.

Their very next single, a version of the theme song from the TV series Zorro, was yet another chart record as was their 1961 rendering of the title song of the movie Never on Sunday.

Put on a Chordettes disk now and you're treated to the endearing freshness on the voices. The recordings evoke memories and impressions of the Fifties, or at least the Fifties as we've come to idealize them that simpler planet of pastel convertibles and hands entwined through a long summer evening. Yet the music outruns the nostalgic tether. On one hand these are good voices, each full of personality, each enriching the distinctive blend. On the other the exuberance of human voices in harmonized song, the soul of barbershop singing, infused all the groups recordings: the pop, the rock, the ballads, and the themes. Archie Bleyer thirsted to animate well-written songs with fresh sounds, but his musical playfulness never compromised his gift. Chordettes records are fun, they're often lovely, and yet they're free of the precariousness that wearies the novel into novelty.

Discography

Harmony Time Vol 1 & 2

"Harmony Time, Vol. I & II" is a very generous slice of pre-Sweet Adelines history. By generous we mean two LPs (16 cuts) of the Chordettes by themselves, plus 8 songs with Arthur Godfrey and one with Bill Lawrence. It was 1946 in Sheboygan, WI, and four young women were singing together, working out some intricate harmonies that sounded pretty good. They named themselves the Chordettes. Encouraged by an early SPEBSQSA, they appeared in an all-male Sheboygan barbershop parade, then auditioned for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, which they won easily. After that they joined the talented Godfrey troupe. We can't call them Sweet Adelines Champs, as SA hadn't been formed yet, so how about pre-Champs? The pioneering intricate, soaring harmonies the Chordettes worked out themselves are a revelation for lovers of pure barbershop of any gender. Favorites? "Moonlight Bay," "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," "Ballin' The Jack," "Shine on Harvest Moon," "Moonlight on the Ganges," "Love's Old Sweet Song" and "Alice Blue Gown." We also liked the Godfrey tunes, but they are accompanied (sometimes by Godfrey on piano), and feature Godfrey more than the Chordettes, who frankly could sing rings around him. In any case, this CD is a joy on many levels!
 

Harmony Encores / Your Requests

As this is another two-LPs for the price of one CD, we can hear you say, "Let me guess, they'll love this one too." Bingo! The Chordettes, who we think of as the first great Sweet Adelines group, pioneered women's barbershop singing when there was no such thing, and they did it with class, professionalism and style. "Harmony Encores" was released by Columbia in 1952, and "Sing Your Requests" in 1954, and they contain 23 classics of harmony and arrangement. While finding the original LPs in any kind of condition to play is unlikely, here you get the original master recordings on a CD with pictures of the four women, the original album covers and the original liner notes. From the opening cut, "Carolina Moon," to "Drifting and Dreaming," "Kentucky Babe," "The Anniversary Waltz," "Wait 'Til the Sun Shines, Nellie," "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now," "Hello! Ma Baby" and the final cut "Darkness On The Delta," this is Entertainment!
 

The Best Of

The Chordettes' career spanned from 1954-1961, during which they were one of the most popular girl groups of the era. Their founder, Jinny Osborn, was the daughter of the then President of the Barbershop Society; she began to adapt barbershop arrangements for women's voices. (Their greatest hit, "Mr. Sandman," in fact utilizes one of barbershop's favorite embellishments, the bell chord, as it's motif. ) Subsequently they began their long partnership with arranger/producer Archie Bleyer. This association resulted in the aforementioned "Sandman," "Lollipop," "Eddie My Love" and many others included here. The Chordettes sound was mainstream pop, though they flirted with the new rock music that was developing at the end of the 'fifties, as can be heard on "No Wheels," which sounds a bit of a period piece now. Their final hit was "Never on Sunday" in 1961, and indeed, as the sixties began, a chapter closed in musical history, and for the Chordettes as well.
 

The Fabulous Chordettes

Barbershop Harmony Time

DREAM DATABASE ON THIS SITE

DREAMS OF THE GREAT EARTHCHANGES - MAIN INDEX