[78-L] Patty Andrews & Mel Tormé

[RUSSELL BARNES]

Hello,
 
Reading your e-mail recalled a conversation I had many years ago with a man  - here in the UK early 1944 - who saw the Andrews Sisters accompanied by the US Navy Band (led by Sam Donahue) live at a Service Base in Hampshire.   He described it as an exciting and memorable experience.
 
RB  

________________________________
 From: "kil at roadrunner.com" <kil at roadrunner.com>
To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com 
Sent: Thursday, 31 January 2013, 3:34
Subject: [78-L] Mel Tormé
  
I read once that Mel Tormé was asked who he thought was the best female singer of the Big Band Era, and he surprised everyone by answering, Patty Andrews.  I, for one, totally agree.

I found this tribute on Tormé's Wikipedia site...  

In his 1994 book "My Singing Teachers", Tormé cited Patty Andrews, lead singer of the Andrews Sisters, the most successful show business act of the 1940s (second only to Bing Crosby), as one of his favorite
 vocalists, saying, "They had more hit records to their credit than you could count, and one of the main reasons for their popularity was Patty Andrews. She stood in the middle of her sisters, planted her feet apart, and belted out solos as well as singing the lead parts with zest and confidence. The kind of singing she did cannot be taught, it can't be studied in books, it can't be written down. Long experience as a singer and wide-open ears were her only teachers, and she learned her lessons well."

The Andrews Sisters were not in my Top 5 favorites choices, but they are definitely in my Top 10.  I fear Patty's passing will be much too quickly glossed over and forgotten, as was that of Perry Como. True giants.  I feel older tonight. 
RayK 
_______________________________________________
78-L mailing list
78-L at klickitat.78online.com
http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l