Constance Foore "Connee" Boswe… Read Full Bio ↴From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Constance Foore "Connee" Boswell (December 3, 1907 - October 11, 1976) was an American female vocalist born in Kansas City, Missouri but raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. With her sisters, Martha and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell, she performed in the 1930s as The Boswell Sisters and became a highly influential singing group during this period via recordings and radio. Connee herself is widely considered one of the greatest jazz female vocalists and was a major influence on Ella Fitzgerald who said, "My mother brought home one of her records, and I fell in love with it....I tried so hard to sound just like her."[1]
In 1936, Connee's sisters retired and Connee continued on as a solo artist (having also recorded solos during her years with the group).
The Boswells came to be well known locally while still in their early teens, making appearances in New Orleans theaters and radio. They made their first recordings for Victor Records in 1925, which included "Cryin' Blues" where Connee is featured singing in the style of her early influence, the African American singer Mamie Smith. The Boswell Sisters became stage professionals that year when they were tapped to fill in for an act at New Orleans' Orpheum Theatre. They received an invitation to come to Chicago and perform in 1928 and honed their act on the Western Vaudeville Circuit. When their tour ended they traveled to San Francisco. The hotel that had been recommended had a less than savory reputation, and the man at the desk suggested that these three young ladies might be better off in another hotel. That man, Harry Leedy, would later become their manager on a handshake and become a permanent part of Connee's life.
The Boswell Sisters travelled to Los Angeles where they performed on local radio and "side-miked" for the soundies, including the 1930 production "Under Montana Skies." did not attain national attention, however, until they moved to New York City in 1930 and started making national radio broadcasts. After a few recordings with Okeh Records, they made numerous recordings for Brunswick Records from 1931-1935. In 1935, the sisters had a #1 hit with "The Object of My Affection", the biggest of twenty top 20 records they would enjoy.
In 1936, the group signed to Decca Records and after just three releases called it quits (the last recording was February 12, 1936). Connee Boswell continued to have a successful solo career as a singer for Decca.
All through her career with The Boswell Sisters, and well into the 1940s, her name was spelt "Connie". She later changed the spelling to Connee, reputedly because it made it easier to sign autographs.
Connee Boswell was also an arranger (the legendary Boswell Sisters harmony arrangements are hers) and a composer.
Connee sang from a wheelchair - or seated position - during her entire career, due to either a childhood bout with polio or a childhood accident (sources differ). The general public was not aware of her condition although Boswell herself did not keep this secret. During World War II, she tried to get involved with the U.S.O. tours but was not given permission to travel overseas. The "powers that be" apparently thought it might not be a morale-booster to have a "cripple" perform for the troops.
Connee Boswell was a favorite duet partner of Bing Crosby and they frequently sang together on radio as well as recording several hit records as a duo in the 1930s and 1940's. Boswell, Crosby, and Eddie Cantor recorded a version of Alexander's Ragtime Band that was a #1 hit in 1938.In 1939, Crosby and Boswell had three hit duet records that each climbed into the top 12 on Billboard; "An Apple For The Teacher" climbed all the way to #2.
Connee Boswell also had several dozen solo hits, including "Moonlight Moon" in 1942. Boswell's career slackened in the 1950s but she still recorded occasionally and would be featured on a number of television broadcasts including a regular stint on the 1959 series "Pete Kelly's Blues".
Connee Boswell died at age 68 in 1976. A number of her recordings are now available on CD, both as a soloist and part of the Boswell Sisters.
Maybe It
Connee Boswell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Maybe that is why you love me so little!
Maybe when I answered "Yes!",
Maybe I became a bore;
Maybe if I love you less,
Maybe you would love me more!
Maybe it's because I kissed you too much,
Maybe with a love so great and a love so small,
Maybe I'll be left with no love at all!
The song "Maybe It" performed by Connee Boswell deals with the topic of unrequited love. The lyrics express the frustration and confusion that can come with being in love with someone who does not reciprocate those emotions. The singer wonders if her excessive love and attention are the reasons why the person she loves does not love her back. She questions whether her "yes" response to his love is what made her seem uninteresting to him. She even contemplates loving him less in the hopes that it will make him love her more. The second half of the song focuses on the fact that her love for him is great, but his love for her is small. She worries that this imbalance will cause her to eventually have no love left at all.
Overall, the song speaks to the complexity of love, how it can bring both joy and pain. It shows how difficult it can be to navigate feelings of rejection and unrequited love and the questions and doubts that can arise from those experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Maybe it's because I love you too much,
Perhaps the reason for your lack of love towards me is that I have showered you with an overwhelming amount of love.
Maybe that is why you love me so little!
It's possible that my excessive love for you has caused you to reciprocate with only a minimal amount of love.
Maybe when I answered 'Yes!',
It could be that when I gave my enthusiastic affirmation, I became uninteresting and predictable.
Maybe I became a bore;
It's possible that my predictable behavior made me dull and uninteresting to you.
Maybe if I love you less,
Perhaps by loving you less, you will see me as more desirable and will love me more in return.
Maybe you would love me more!
It's possible that if I decrease my love, you may increase yours and love me more in the end.
Maybe it's because I kissed you too much,
Perhaps the reason that my kisses hold little meaning to you is that I have given them too freely and too often.
Maybe with a love so great and a love so small,
It's possible that when there is such a difference in the amount of love we give and receive, it will result in no love at all.
Maybe I'll be left with no love at all!
It's possible that my overwhelming love for you, which has caused you to love me little, may leave me with no love at all.
Lyrics © IMAGEM U.S. LLC , Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind