Forget Lee Greenwood. Hell, forget Kate Smith. The most patriotic music ever performed may have referenced old glory and American soldiers, but it didn’t slob all over them. Back when bands hammered it out 8-to-the-bar and Uncle Sam was recruiting young men to defeat the Axis powers nobody did it better than USO darlings Patty, Laverne, and Maxine — The Andrews Sisters. Although they performed for decades — even got themselves into a harmony sing – off with Diana Ross and the Supremes — it’s difficult to think of them out of their spiffy military duds. Even Over Here, the popular 1974 musical written for the sisters’ return to Broadway was a farce calling to mind the trio’s WWII-era movies and shows.
Circuit Playhouse Pays Tribute to the Andrews Sisters (3)
If any songs remains familiar to younger audiences it’s probably “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” which is still a banging little ditty for being 75-years old. But for sweet Americana, nothing holds up like “Apple Blossom Time.”
Circuit Playhouse Pays Tribute to the Andrews Sisters
In case you haven notices it’s election season, and Circuit Playhouse is providing Memphians an opportunity to get their red white and blue on and return to the days when propaganda was fun. Sisters of Swing — an Andrews Sisters tribute — opens at Circuit Playhouse this weekend. Here’s a sneak peek.
Circuit Playhouse Pays Tribute to the Andrews Sisters (2)
