“Patty Andrews, the lead singer of the Andrews sisters group was born in Mound, Minnesota on February 16, 1918 in a house that occupied the property where The Gillespie Center stands today.
During the 1920’s Laverne, Maxene and Patty Andrews spent their summers in Mound, living with their parents in a house across the street from the grocery store that was owned by Pete and Ed Sollie, bachelor uncles of the three girls. (Today, Green T Accounting occupies the Sollie grocery store building and The Gillespie Center is on the land where the Andrews Sisters’ house once stood.)” - From a commentary by Tom Rockvam that appeared in The Laker Newspaper during 2005.
They started their career as imitators of an earlier successful singing group, the Boswell Sisters. After singing with various dance bands and touring on Vaudeville, they first came to national attention with their recordings and radio broadcasts in 1937. Their music entertained Allied troops worldwide during World War II, sold war bonds, appeared in several films (including a few Abbott and Costello features), and performed for soldiers serving overseas. Their first film with Abbott and Costello, the pre-war comedy Buck Privates, introduced their best-known recording, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" which would win Best Song at the Academy Awards.
They also recorded many songs with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and other popular artists of the era. Their popularity was such that after the war they discovered that some of their records had actually been smuggled into Germany after the labels had been changed to read "Hitler's Marching Songs."
After a brief hiatus after the war, the sisters regrouped, performing in clubs throughout the United States and Europe. They broke up in 1953, with Patty's choice to go solo. Their last appearance together was in 1962 on The Dean Martin Show. Laverne, who had cancer, retired soon after; she died five years later, in 1967 at the age of 55.
After a long silence, the two surviving sisters had something of a comeback when Bette Midler recorded a cover of their song "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Maxene and Patty appeared both together and separately throughout the 1970s, with Maxene releasing a solo album in 1986. Their most notable comeback; however, was in the Sherman Brothers' nostalgic World War II musical: "Over Here!" which premiered on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre in 1974. The musical featured the two then living sisters (Maxene and Patty) and was written with them in mind for the leads. It launched the careers of many, now notable theater and film icons (John Travolta, Marilu Henner, Ann Reinking, et al). Ironically it was the last major hurrah of the sisters and was cut short due to a frivolous lawsuit initiated by Patty's husband to the show's producers.
Throughout their long career, the sisters had sold over 60 million records. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
The last of the three sisters Patty Andrews died of natural causes at her home in Northridge, California on January 30, 2013, just 17 days before her 95th birthday. The sisters were interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California, close to their parents.
Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a guy who plays the best piano by far
He can play piano any way that you like it
But the way he likes to play is eight to the bar
When he plays, it's a ball
He's the daddy of them all
The people gather around when he gets on the stand
The rhythm he beats puts the cats in a trance
Nobody there bothers to dance
But when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, beat me daddy, eight to the bar
A plink, a plank, a plink plank, plink plank
A plunkin' on the keys
A riff, a raff, a riff raff, riff raff
A riffin' out with ease
And when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, beat me daddy, eight to the bar
He plays a boogie, he plays eight to the bar
A boogie woogie, that is the way he likes to play on his piano
And we all know
That when he plays he puts them all in a trance
The cats all holler hooray
You'll hear them say, beat me daddy, eight to the bar
In a little honky tonky village in Texas
There's a guy who plays the best piano by far
When he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler, beat me up daddy, beat me daddy, eight to the bar
The people gather around when he gets up on the stand
Then when he plays, he gets a hand
The rhythm that he plays puts the cats in a trance
Nobody there ever bothers to dance
But when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, beat me daddy, eight to the bar
A plink plink, a plank plank, a plink plank, plink plank
A plunkin' on the keys
A riff riff, a raff raff, a riff raff, riff raff
A riffin' out with ease
But when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, beat me daddy, eight to the bar
The Andrews Sisters's song "Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar" depicts a scene in a small village in Texas where a pianist is entertaining the crowd with his boogie-woogie piano playing style. The song describes how the pianist's music gets the audience entranced as he plays with ease, often accompanied by the bass and guitar. The eight-beats-per-bar rhythm evidenced in the song's title and chorus is infectious, vocalized from the audience as a call and response accentuated by the cats hollering hooray, all thrilled by the pianist's captivating musical prowess.
The song is a testament to the boogie-woogie music craze that emerged in America in the 1930s and, in particular, the Andrews Sisters' contribution to the Jazz and Swing eras. The Andrews Sisters' approach to the song is characterized by their close harmonies, playful scat singing, and vigorous tempo that drives the song forward. The melody seems to give off energy with every new verse and chorus, making the song dynamic and engaging for both the performers and the audience. "Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar" offers a glimpse into the Jazz Age's upbeat and infectious nature that has continued to captivate audiences worldwide.
Line by Line Meaning
In a little honky tonky village in Texas
There's a small town in Texas with a honky tonk bar.
There's a guy who plays the best piano by far
One man at the honky tonk bar plays a piano better than anyone else around.
He can play piano any way that you like it
He can play the piano in any style that you prefer.
But the way he likes to play is eight to the bar
However, his favorite way to play is a fast-paced, boogie-woogie style called eight to the bar.
When he plays, it's a ball
When he starts playing, it's a great time for everyone.
He's the daddy of them all
He's the best and everyone knows it.
The people gather around when he gets on the stand
When he starts playing, a crowd forms around him.
Then when he plays, he gets a hand
When he finishes each song, the crowd applauds him.
The rhythm he beats puts the cats in a trance
His playing is so good that it mesmerizes the audience.
Nobody there bothers to dance
The audience is so entranced by his playing that they don't even think about dancing.
But when he plays with the bass and guitar
However, when he plays with the accompanying instruments, something changes.
They holler out, beat me daddy, eight to the bar
The audience starts shouting and begging him to play eight to the bar.
A plink, a plank, a plink plank, plink plank
The sound of the piano keys being played in succession.
A plunkin' on the keys
The sound of the piano being played in quick succession.
A riff, a raff, a riff raff, riff raff
The sound of musical phrases being played on the piano.
A riffin' out with ease
The piano player effortlessly plays complicated musical phrases on the piano.
He plays a boogie, he plays eight to the bar
The piano player loves to play boogie-woogie, especially eight to the bar.
And we all know
Everyone at the honky tonk bar is aware of this and loves it.
That when he plays he puts them all in a trance
His playing mesmerizes the audience and puts them in a trance.
The cats all holler hooray
The audience reacts to his playing with enthusiasm.
You'll hear them say, beat me daddy, eight to the bar
The audience begs him to play eight to the bar again and again.
When he plays with the bass and guitar
When he plays with the other accompanying instruments.
They holler, beat me up daddy, beat me daddy, eight to the bar
The audience passionately begs him to play eight to the bar with the bass and guitar.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Don Raye, Eleanor Whiteman Sheehy, Hughie Prince
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@vlopes3000
In a little honky-tonky village in Texas
There's a guy who plays the best piano by far
He can play piano any way that you like it
But the way he likes to play is eight to the bar
When he plays, it's a ball
He's the daddy of them all
The people gather around when he gets on the stand
Then when he plays, he gets a hand
The rhythm he beats puts the cats in a trance
Nobody there bothers to dance
But when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, beat me Daddy, eight to the bar
A plink, a plank, a plink plank, plink plank
A plunkin' on the keys
A riff, a raff, a riff raff, riff raff
A riffin' out with ease
And when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, beat me Daddy, eight to the bar
He plays a boogie, he plays eight to the bar
A boogie woogie, that is the way he likes to play on his piano
And we all know
That when he plays he puts them all in a trance
The cats all holler hooray
You'll hear them say, beat me Daddy, eight to the bar
In a little honky tonky village in Texas
There's a guy who plays the best piano by far
When he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler, beat me up Daddy, beat me Daddy, eight to the bar
The people gather around when he gets up on the stand
Then when he plays, he gets a hand
The rhythm that he plays puts the cats in a trance
Nobody there ever bothers to dance
But when he plays with the bass and guitar
They holler out, beat me Daddy, eight to the bar
A plink plink, a plank plank, a plink plank, plink plank
A plunkin' on the keys
A riff riff, a raff raff, a riff raff, riff raff
A riffin' out with ease acap
@kvernon1
Absolutely amazing harmonies by the Andrews sisters -- intricate melodies, perfectly in sync with each other.
@BrianSATX79
Sometimes I love to sing along to The Andrews Sister's music when I'm driving, it puts me into a happy mood :)
@juslookin3
Man, I'm amazed that the original tapes were in such good condition to make this high quality transfer to CD!
@Altoclarinets
It was probably a metal master record...
@starlight_garden
I don't know, I'm kind of used to hearing them non-remastered, almost gramophone feeling, not sure which I like most.
@hankspoody6976
I love the Andrew Sisters. That is GREAT Swing!!!
@italia689
With proto-rock-and-roll elements😃😃
@themobseat
Boogie, which became Rock and Roll
@Insperato62
This takes me back well over 50 years. My dad used to sing this to my mother whilst she served Sunday Lunch - as per, she wasn't amused as he'd come back from the pub! I didn't like to ask how a very English Englishman of Bomber Command Aircrew had learnt the words to this .... probably involved a story a daughter shouldn't know:)))
@williamjefferson8280
Insperato62 Not quite sure what you're implying...