Three X Sisters

Three X Sisters

Source: Wikipedia

The Three X Sisters provide us example of early popular music moving toward swing jazz via female vocal harmony. Though not a major group, their recordings obscure and difficult to trace, archives are otherwise jam-full of advertisements and articles which indicate that the Sisters were plenty successful. At first called the Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce, the Three X Sisters consisted of Jessie Fordyce (b 1905), Violet Hamilton (b 1906) and Pearl Santos (b 1900, Hamilton prior to marriage). They officially formed Hamilton Sisters & Fordyce (HS&F) in 1924 upon successfully performing with each other in May of 1923 at B.F. Keiths Theater in Syracuse, New York. All three were well-known theater performers for several years before forming a trio.

The Sisters played vaudeville at first, but by 1927 were popular enough for a European tour where they are thought to have first recorded for the British Brunswick 100 series in London in April or June of 1927: 'My Heart Stood Still' (Brunswick 105), 'One Summer Night' /' Possibly' (Brunswick 107) and 'The Birth of the Blues' [Laird / Thomas]. Those with Bert Ambrose and his Mayfair Orchestra, a couple saw later release in 2005 by Vocalion on the Ambrose compilation, 'Goodnight But Not Goodbye'. The April date is from the Mike Thomas sessionography further below. Though I've crossed one other reference which points to HS&F with Ambrose as early as April, virtually all other sources give June.

 Other titles by HS&F gone down in 1927 were 'Someone to Watch Over Me' / 'Blue Room' (HMV B5322) and 'One Summer Night' (HMV B5322) with the Savoy Orpheans. Come 30 November 1927 for 'Who You That's Who' / 'Zulu Wail' (Columbia 4698) with Billy Meryl at piano [Laird].

HS&F recorded 'The Clouds Will Roll By' (Columbia 2680-D) with Eddiy Duchan in July of 1932 before becoming the Three X Sisters with CBS radio that year. Other titles gone down in 1932 were 'Where, I Wonder, Where?' (Victor 24161) and 'What Would Happen to Me If Something Happened to You?' (Victor 24162) [DAHR / Lord].

The Sisters performed 'Tiger Rag' in 'Speaking of Operations' released in November 1932 on Vitaphone reels 1506-07. The X Sisters had also appeared on radio in latter 1932 to sing 'Barnacle Bill the Sailor' and 'Betty Boop' for Radio WJZ in New York City (to become WABC) in November, transcriptions likely made as well.

Though the Sisters focused on radio they sang a couple titles in the film, 'Sing, Sisters, Sing' in June of 1933, then featured on 'The Audition' on Vitaphone reel 1406 the next month in July. They sang 'Why Don't You Practice What You Preach' in the Vitaphone reel 1775, 'Eggs Mark the Spot', in 1935 before performing in the 1936 edition of the Ziegfeld Follies. Recording into the forties, the Sisters also performed with the USO during World War II before retiring into obscurity.

Composition: Nacio Herb Brown / Arthur Freed

Composition: Irving Berlin

None of the Sisters are yet living, Pearl having died in 1978, Violet in 1983 and Fordyce in 2003.

Other Profiles: The Haywood Sisters

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