“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.
Chatanooga Choo Choo
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Track twenty nine, boy you can gimme a shine
I can afford to board a Chattanooga Choo Choo
I've got my fare and just a trifle to spare
You leave the Pennsylvania station 'bout a quarter to four
Read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore
Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer
When you hear the whistle blowin' eight to the bar
Then you know that Tennessee is not very far
Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep it rollin'
Woo, woo, Chattanooga, there you are
There's gonna be a certain party at the station
Satin and lace, I used to call funny face
She's gonna cry until I tell her that I'll never roam
The Andrews Sisters's song "Chattanooga Choo Choo" is an upbeat swing tune that captures the excitement of a train journey from New York to Chattanooga. The song starts with a question "Pardon me boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?" which is directed at the porter who is polishing shoes. It then goes on to describe how the singer can afford to board the train and is looking forward to the journey. As the train departs from Pennsylvania station, the singer settles in to read a magazine before reaching Baltimore. The highlight of the journey is dinner in the diner and the singer is happy to have ham and eggs in Carolina. The journey gets more exciting as they hear the whistle blowing eight to the bar and they know that Tennessee is not far away. They have to keep shoveling coal to keep the train rolling and then at last they arrive in Chattanooga. The singer is heading to meet someone special, someone he used to call Funny Face, and it seems that they are going to have an emotional reunion.
Line by Line Meaning
Pardon me boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?
Excuse me, young man, is that the train that goes to Chattanooga?
Track twenty nine, boy you can gimme a shine
The train is leaving from track twenty nine and can you polish my shoes?
I can afford to board the Chattanooga Choo Choo
I have enough money to buy a ticket and travel on the Chattanooga train
I've got my fare and just a trifle to spare
I have enough money to buy the ticket and even have a little extra
You leave the Pennsylvania station 'bout a quarter to four
The train departs from Pennsylvania station around 3:45 pm
Read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore
You can pass the time reading a magazine and before you know it, you are already in Baltimore
Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer
Having dinner in the train's dining car is delightful
Than to have your ham 'n' eggs in Carolina
It's even better to eat ham and eggs while passing through Carolina
When you hear the whistle blowin' eight to the bar
The train whistle blows fast and loud indicating the train is picking up speed
Then you know that Tennessee is not very far
Once you hear the whistle, it means the train is getting close to Tennessee
Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep it rollin'
The train's engines need to be constantly fed with coal to keep moving
Woo, woo, Chattanooga, there you are
The train's arrival in Chattanooga is announced with excitement
There's gonna be a certain party at the station
Someone special is waiting for the singer at the station
Satin and lace, I used to call funny face
The singer's beloved wears satin and lace and used to be called 'funny face'
She's gonna cry until I tell her that I'll never roam
The singer's beloved will cry until he assures her that he will never leave her again
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Mack Gordon, Harry Warren
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
J Parker
on Crazy Arms
And I'll move the mountains
If he wants them out of the way
Crazy, he calls me
Sure I'm crazy
Crazy in love, I'd say
I say I'll go through fire
And I'll go through fire
As he wants it, so it will be
Crazy, he calls me
Sure I'm crazy
Crazy in love, you see
Like the wind that shakes the bough
He moves me with a smile
The difficult I'll do right now
The impossible will take a little while
I say I'll care forever
And I mean forever
If I have to hold up the sky
Crazy, he calls me
Sure I'm crazy
Crazy in love am I
Like the wind that shakes the bough
He moves me with a smile
The difficult I'll do right now
The impossible will take a little while
I say I'll care forever
And I mean forever
If I have to hold up the sky
Crazy, he calls me
Sure I'm crazy
Crazy in love am I
sonichits has completely wrong lyrics for this song. Correct ones are - Now blue ain't the word for the way that I feel
And the storm's brewing in this heart of mine
This is no crazy dream I know that it's real
You're someone else's love now you're not mine
Crazy arms that reach to hold somebody new
But my yearning heart keeps saying you're not mine
My troubled mind knows soon to another you'll be wed
And that's why I'm lonely all the time
Please take the treasured dreams I have for you and me
And take all the love I thought was mine
Someday my crazy arms will hold somebody new
But now I'm so lonely all the time
interlude
Crazy arms that reach to hold someone new
But my yearning heart keeps saying you're not mine
My troubled mind knows soon that you soon will be wed
And that's why I'm lonely all the time
Crazy arms and lonely all the time
Harold Chernofsky
on Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
i love them