TheBeverley Sisterswere an English femaleclose harmonytraditional pop vocal andlight entertainmenttrio,consisting of three sisters from London. They were eldest sisterJoy(born Joycelyn Victoria Chinery, 5 May 1924[nb 1][2][3]– 31 August 2015), and twinsTeddie(born Hazel P. Chinery, 5 May 1927) andBabs(born Babette Patricia Chinery,[4]5 May 1927[5]– 28 October 2018). The sisters were each appointedMBEin 2006.
The Beverley Sisters | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joy:5 May 1924 Babs:5 May 1927 Teddie:5 May 1927 Bethnal Green, London,England |
| Origin | Bethnal Green,London, England |
| Died | Joy:31 August 2015(aged 91) Babs:28 October 2018(aged 91) |
| Genres | Traditional pop |
| Years active | 1944–2000s |
| Labels | Columbia,Philips,Decca |
| Past members | Joy Beverley Teddie Beverley Babs Beverley |
The Beverley Sisters were most popular during the 1950s and 1960s, and became well-known through their radio and television appearances. Their style was loosely modelled on that of their American counterparts,The Andrews Sisters.Their notable successes included theIrving Berlin-penned "Sisters"and theChristmas songs"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus","Little Donkey",and"Little Drummer Boy",while in the United States they charted with a version ofGreensleeves.[6]They also toured the cabaret circuit, and were known for their matching outfits, which they wore both on- and off-stage.
Early lives
editThe sisters were born inBethnal Green,London to Victoria Alice Miles and George Arthur Chinery (married 1916), who were known as themusic hallact Coram and Mills,[7]and are related to theLupinoacting and performing family.[8]The eldest, Joy, was born on 5 May 1924; the twins, Babs and Teddie, were born on Joy's third birthday, 5 May 1927. They were evacuated toNorthamptonshireduring theSecond World Warand received secretarial training.[9]
Career
editDuring the Second War, the sisters auditioned successfully to take part in an advertising campaign for themalt drinkOvaltine.[10]Jock Ware, photographer for the Ovaltine poster campaign encouraged them to audition forBBC Radio.They did so in November 1944, changing their name to the Beverley Sisters on the advice of BBC producerCecil Madden,who became their manager.[9]They metGlenn Millerwho, shortly before his disappearance, offered them the opportunity to record with members of his orchestra.[11]
They first appeared in radio programmes for theAllied Expeditionary Forces,recorded inBedford,[12][13]then followed up on BBC Radio'sVariety Bandbox.[14]
Immediately after the war they toured withEric Winstoneand his Orchestra,[8]and began making regular appearances on the BBC's early television programmes. They also performed forNBCin the US with surviving members of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. After their return to Britain, promoterVal Parnellbooked them to appear at theLondon PalladiumwithGracie Fields;although Fields refused, without explanation, to appear with them.[citation needed]
The following year they performed withDanny Kaye.The BBC gave them their own television series, initially calledThree Little Girls on Viewbut later renamed asThose Beverley Sisters,which ran for seven years and on which they gavelive performancesof popular songs of the day.[6]
In 1951, they signed a recording deal with the UKColumbiarecord label, later moving to thePhilipsandDeccalabels before returning to Columbia in 1960. Their biggest hits on theUK singles chartwere versions of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"(no.6, 1953) and"Little Drummer Boy"(no.6, 1959),[15]which were bothChristmas hits.[6]The Beverley Sisters appeared as themselves in the 1954 British film musicalHarmony Lanedirected byLewis Gilbertand wereRecord Mirror"cover stars" for the 12 February 1955 issue.
In 1956, their version of the traditional song "Greensleeves",orchestrated by Roland Shaw, became their only US chart hit, reaching no.41 on theBillboardpop chart.[7][16]Generally preferring livecabaretand television appearances over recording work,[7]the song "Sisters", written byIrving Berlinand originally recorded in 1954 byRosemary Clooneyand her sister Betty, became their theme song;[6]it has been claimed that Berlin wrote the song for the Beverley Sisters.[11]
The sisters are widely credited as having been the highest paid female entertainers in the UK for more than 20 years.[10][11]In 1952, 1958 and 1978, they appeared at theRoyal Variety Performance.[17][18][19]In January 1961, they appeared on the radio show,Desert Island Discs.[20]They appeared on the television showStars on Sunday.[21]They were the subjects ofThis Is Your Lifein 1969 when they were surprised byEamonn Andrews.They also appeared in 1977 on the BBC TV's long running variety showThe Good Old Days.[citation needed]
Their career was revitalised in the 1980s, after their children – who had begun performing together as the Foxes – invited them onstage at theLondon Hippodrome,encouraged by club ownerPeter Stringfellow.A review inThe Stagein March 1985 described the Sisters when appearing in Stringfellow's Hippodrome cabaret as "clad in shimmering pink" and said they had "acquired a glamour and universality that only time and experience can produce".[22]The sisters began performing again for British troops, as well as ingay clubsin Britain, and they produced a new album,Sparkle.[6][7][10]The Beverley Sisters drew comparison with theSpice Girlsin the late 1990s, especially with regard to the marriages of Joy to England footballerBilly WrightandPosh Spice,Victoria toDavid Beckham.[23]
They performed as part of theQueen's Golden Jubileecelebrations in 2002, and toured withMax Bygravesthat year, the 50th anniversary of their appearance at the Royal Variety Performance. They also took part in theD-Day60th anniversary memorial concerts in 2004.[6][7][10]
They entered theGuinness World Recordsin 2002, as the world's longest surviving vocal group without a change in the original line up.[24]As late as 2009, the sisters appeared in concerts and matinee shows in the United Kingdom. They forged links with theBurma Star Association,as well asMcCarthy & Stone,where the sisters were invited to open each new housing development designed specifically for retired people. They later fully retired and lived near each other inBarnet.[11]
Personal lives and honours
editAfter a brief early marriage to American musician Roger Carocari (who adopted the surname Carey), later dissolved,[9]Joy married theWolverhampton WanderersandEnglandfootball captainBilly Wrighton 28 July 1958 atPooleRegister Office, a year before he retired as a player. They were married for 36 years until Wright died of cancer in September 1994. Joy died on 31 August 2015 at the age of 91.[25]
Babs married Scottish dentist James Mitchell in 1963 but the marriage did not last. She suffered a cut forehead and shock when a passenger in a car accident in North Harrow on Boxing Day 1967 and was confined to a Harley Street Nursing Home for at least three weeks.[26][27]Babs died on 28 October 2018, also at the age of 91, leaving no children.[28]
Teddie was engaged toAlyn Ainsworth,[29]but married the British waterskiing champion Peter Felix. She is the last surviving sister.[30]
In the2006 New Year Honours listthe sisters were each appointed anMBE.[10]
Discography
editRobert Tredinnick, in the Gramophone Notes column ofThe Tatlerin January 1952, opined the Beverleys were the best sister act on gramophone since theBoswell Sistersin the early 1930s and "have the gift of making their personalities apparent to an unseeing audience".[31]
Chart singles
edit| Year | Title | UK Singles Chart[32] | US Pop[16] | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" | 6 | - | Philips |
| 1956 | "Willie Can" | 23 | - | Decca |
| 1956 | "Greensleeves" | - | 41 | London |
| 1957 | "I Dreamed" | 24 | - | Decca |
| 1959 | "Little Drummer Boy" | 6 | - | Decca |
| 1959 | "Little Donkey" | 14 | - | Decca |
| 1960 | "Green Fields" | 29 | - | Columbia |
Albums
edit- A Date with the Bevs(Philips, 1955)
- The Enchanting Beverley Sisters(Columbia, 1960)
- Those Beverley Sisters(Decca, 1960)
- The World of the Beverley Sisters(Decca, 1961)
- Together(EMI,1985)
- Sparkle(K-Tel,1985)
- Sisters, Sisters: An Evening with the Beverley Sisters(Pickwick, 1993)
- Bless 'Em All(Pickwick, 1995)
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^Neil Bonner."Whatever Happened to.... The Beverley Sisters".163.photobucket.com.Retrieved1 May2014.
- ^England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916–2005, Joycelyn V. Chinery,Ancestry.com; retrieved 24 April 2014
- ^Laing, Dave (1 September 2015)."Joy Beverley obituary".The Guardian.Retrieved1 September2015.
- ^Laing, Dave (15 November 2018)."Babs Beverley obituary".The Guardian.Retrieved8 January2019.
- ^England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916–2005, Hazel P. Chinery,Ancestry.com; retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ^abcdefSharon Mawer."The Beverley Sisters | Biography".AllMusic.Retrieved25 April2014.
- ^abcdefColin Larkin,The Encyclopedia of Popular Music,Omnibus Press, 2011.
- ^abAndrews, Cyrus (20 September 1947)."Radio Who's Who (1947)".Archive.org.Pendulum Publications.
- ^abcLeigh, Spencer (1 September 2015)."Joy Beverley: One of the Beverley Sisters, obituary".The Independent.Retrieved6 March2024.
- ^abcde"Beverley Sisters' years in limelight".BBC.co.uk.31 December 2005.Retrieved6 March2024.
- ^abcdSophie Kummer,"Showbiz sisters are still high-kicking",times-series.co.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- ^David Fowler,"The BBC in Bedford during World War II",bedford.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- ^Roland Taylor,"Miller's mighty Service Band: the ensemble in focus",BigBandLibrary.com;retrieved 25 April 2014.
- ^"Babs Beverley of the Beverley Sisters".The Sydney Morning Herald.14 November 2018.Retrieved8 March2024.
- ^Betts, Graham (2004).Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004(1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 73.ISBN0-00-717931-6.
- ^abWhitburn, Joel (2003).Top Pop Singles 1955–2002(1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p.56.ISBN0-89820-155-1.
- ^"Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund/1952, London Palladium".EABF. 3 November 1952. Archived fromthe originalon 9 October 2010.Retrieved25 April2014.
- ^"Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund/1958, London Coliseum".EABF. 3 November 1958. Archived fromthe originalon 2 June 2014.Retrieved25 April2014.
- ^"Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund/1978, London Palladium".EABF. 13 November 1978. Archived fromthe originalon 2 June 2014.Retrieved25 April2014.
- ^"BBC Radio 4 – Desert Island Discs, Beverley Sisters".Bbc.co.uk. 16 January 1961.Retrieved25 April2014.
- ^"Stars on Sunday".IMDb.Retrieved19 October2012.
- ^Braun, Eric (21 March 1985)."The Hippodrome - The Beverley Sisters".The Stage.p. 5.Retrieved7 March2024– viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
- ^Young, Graham (31 December 1999)."Sisters still in spotlight".Birmingham Evening Mail.p. 26.Retrieved8 March2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^"Biography for The Beverley Sisters".IMDb.com.Retrieved22 January2013.
- ^"Matches of the Day: How footballing marriages of yesterday compare to Coleen and Wayne's lavish nuptials",Thisislondon.co.uk, 11 June 2008; retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^"Sister Teddy calls on Babs".Daily Mirror.29 December 1967. p. 10.Retrieved7 March2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^"(Photograph caption)".Evening Chronicle.16 January 1968. p. 9.Retrieved7 March2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^Obituaries, Telegraph (13 November 2018)."Babs Beverley of the Beverley Sisters, the 1950s close-harmony trio who found fame with songs like 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus' – obituary".Telegraph.co.uk.
- ^Larkin, Colin (2002).The Virgin Encyclopedia of 50s Music(3rd ed.). Virgin Books Ltd. p. 11.ISBN978-1-85227-937-0– via Internet Archive.
- ^"Babs Beverley obituary".Thetimes.co.uk.21 November 2018.
- ^Tredinnick, Robert (2 January 1952)."Gramophone Notes".The Stage.p. 35.Retrieved8 March2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^Roberts, David (2006).British Hit Singles & Albums(19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 55.ISBN1-904994-10-5.
- ^"The Beverley Sisters".Discogs.com.Retrieved1 May2014.
