Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters trio, passed away at her Northridge, California, home at the age of 94 on Wednesday, Jan. 30 according to Yahoo News reports.
Patty Andrews and her sisters began their singing career on Minnesota radio stations in the 1920s.The singing sisters always performed with patty Andrews singing the lead, Maxine on the high harmony and LaVerne singing low harmony.
One of the Andrews sister's biggest hits was "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," which became a World War II anthem. The Recording Industry of America Association and the National Endowment for the Arts placed it as the sixth on its "Songs of the Century" list in 2001.
LaVerne, passed away after battling cancer in 1967, while Maxene died after suffering a massive heart attack in 1995.
The Andrew Sisters appeared in 16 films during the 1940s, including "Buck Privates," "In the Navy," and "Hold That Ghost" with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, "Hollywood Canteen" and "Road to Rio" with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, as well as in a number of musical films.
The sisters enjoyed a resurgence in the 1950s when they were booked at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, which led to television appearances and more recording.
The Andrews Sisters earned 19 gold records and sold about 100 million singles.
Patty Andrews married agent Marty Melcher in 1947 and left him in 1949 according to Wikipedia reports, when he pursued a romantic relationship with Doris Day. She then married Walter Weschler, the trio's pianist, in 1951. LaVerne married Lou Rogers, a trumpet player in Vic Schoen's band, in 1948, and remained with him until her death (he died in 1995, five days after Maxene's and five days before Levy's deaths).
LaVerne and Maxene Andrews are interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California with their parents, and room remains in the crypt for Patty if she chooses it as her final resting place.
In interviews, when granted, Patty Andrews very rarely spoke personally of her sisters. When asked about their legendary feuding, she joked about it and quickly moved on to the next topic, as in 1985, when she told Merv Griffin during a television interview, "The Andrews Sisters only had one big fight. Really. It started in 1937 and it's still going!"
Rest In Peace Patty Andrews.
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