BARRY LEVINE: Sister groups often struggled during rock n roll era

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of a two-part series on sister musical acts. today’s column focuses on sister groups after the beginning of the modern rock era.

Here are eight of the premier sister groups from the early part of the modern rock ‘n’ roll era listed in alphabetical order. All of the groups had at least one Top 20 hit. While male groups flourished during the period, their female counterparts struggled.

The Angels, consisting of Peggy Santiglia and sisters Barbara and Phyllis Allbut, had their first hit in 1961 with “Till,” which rose to No. 14 for Gerry Granahan’s Caprice label. Granahan had a Top 20 hit in 1958 with “No Chemise, Please.”

The New Jersey-based trio then hit the top of the charts in 1963 with “My Boyfriend’s Back.”

Besides “Till” and My Boyfriend’s Back,” The Angels had three other Top 40 hits, none of which made the Top 20.

The Bobbettes were comprised of sisters Jennie and Emma Pought and Reather Dixon, Laura Webb and Helen Gathers. It formed in the housing projects in Spanish Harlem in New York in 1955.

They performed at an amateur night contest at the famed Apollo Theater in New York and soon afterward signed with the Atlantic label.

They released their hit, “Mr. Lee,” which became a Top 5 smash in 1957. That was the teens’ only Top 40 hit.

The narrator of “Mr. Lee” proclaimed her devotion to her crush – her high school teacher. The girls actually disliked the real Mr. Lee and the original lyrics to the song were negative toward him. Atlantic demanded the group revise the lyrics to something positive before recording the song.

The Bonnie Sisters, Pat, Jean and Sylvia, were working as nurses at Bellvue Hospital in New York when they starting together. Originally called the Belle Aime, they were signed by Mickey Baker of Rainbow Records. At the urging of Rainbow’s owner, they changed their name to The Bonnie Sisters.

Their first recording was “Cry Baby” and it peaked at No. 18 in 1956. After failing to repeat their success, the sisters quietly retuned to nursing in 1960.

Sisters Barbara Ann Hawkins and Rosa Lee Hawkins and their cousin, Joan Marie Johnson, formed the Dixie Cups during the early 1960s. The trio first began singing together when in grade school in New Orleans.

The group’s first release “Chapel of Love” climbed to No. 1 in the spring of 1964.

They followed with three other Top 40 hits – “People Say” and “You Should Have Seen the Way He Looked at Me” in 1964 and “Iko Iko” in 1965. “Iko Iko,” a New Orleans standard R&B song, was the group’s last chart single.

The Paris Sisters, Priscilla, Albeth and Sherrell, enjoyed success during the early 1960s while working with infamous producer Phil Spector. They were initially trained by their mother, an opera singer.

The San Francisco trio had their most successful recording in the fall of 1961 when “I Love How You Love Me” jumped to No 5.

The Paris Sisters generated one other Top 40 hit – “He Knows I Love Him Too Much” in 1962.

The group split during the early 1970s.

The Ronettes had one of the more successful runs of a sister group during the 1960s. Headed by lead singer Ronnie Bennett, the trio also consisted of Bennett’s sister, Estelle Bennett, and their cousin, Nedra Talley.

The only female group to tour with The Beatles, the Ronettes enjoyed immediate success when the New York trio’s release of “Be My Baby” climbed to No. 2 in the fall of 1963. They also had four Top 40 hits in 1964 – “Baby, I Love You,” “The Best Part of Breaking Up,” “Do I Love You” and the Grammy-winning “Walking in the Rain.”

They got a break in 1961 during the heart of the twist craze when they worked with Joey Dee & the Starliters at the Peppermint Lounge in New York. At the time, the Peppermint Lounge was the hottest night spot in New York.

While working at the Peppermint Lounge primarily as dancers, the group changed their name from Ronnie & the Relatives to the Ronettes.

Despite the British Invasion, the Ronettes were able to maintain their relevance in the U.S. The group split following their tour of Germany in 1967.

The Shepherd Sisters were a quartet from Middletown, Ohio, comprised of Martha, Mary Lou, Gayle and Judy. They had one Top 40 hit – “Alone (Why Must We Be Alone) “ which rose to No. 18 in 1957.

The sisters recorded more than 30 songs, but none had a major impact.

The Shepherd Sisters made many appearances on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand show and toured with Allen Freed’s “America’s Greatest Teenage Recording Stars.” Despite the exposure, the Shepherd Sisters failed to generate another hit.

As the Shepherd Sisters, the Teen Queens were one-hit wonders. Consisting of sisters Betty Collins and Rosie Collins, of Los Angeles, the duo had their only hit in 1956 when “Eddie My Love” reached No. 14.

Their brother, Adam Collins, a member of the Cadets, a Doo-Wop group, penned the song for his sisters.

“Eddie My Love” was also recorded by the Fontane Sisters and Chordettes in 1956. The Fontane sisters’ version reached No. 11, two spots higher than the Chordettes’ version.

Barry Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].