The McGuire Sisters

The vocal trio The McGuire Sisters consisted of real-life sisters Ruby, Dorothy, and Phyllis McGuire. Natives of Middletown, Ohio, the trio first began performing in public at the beginning of the 1930s when Phyllis, the baby of the group, was just 4 and Ruby, the oldest, was 9. They started performing in their mother’s church, and over the course of the next twenty years they built up a secular setlist as well. By 1949 they were performing at military bases, and that encouraged them to audition for the popular Arthur Godfrey Show by simply showing up at the studio unannounced and without an appointment. They signed with Godfrey and became a staple of his program for nearly a decade. They began their recording career with a series of singles in 1953, but did not land a chart hit until 1954’s “Pine Tree, Pine Over Me” hit number 26. Their debut album, 1954’s By Request featured three top ten hits, “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight”, “Muskrat Ramble”, and their first Number 1, “Sincerely”. Often compared to The Andrews Sisters, the McGuires’ style of white-bread pop hits untouched by the birth of rock and roll remained popular for the next few years. They rung up thirteen additional top 40 hits through 1961 including their only other Number 1, 1957’s “Sugartime”. They performed regularly on various TV variety programs throughout the 1960s, though they ceased live appearances in the in 1968, purportedly due in part to Phyllis’ close relationship with gangster Sam Giancana. Touchstones of the Eisenhower era, they would perform for various presidents throughout the decades, and would eventually be honored with induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the National Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Dorothy passed away in 2012, Christine in 2018, and Phyllis in 2020.

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