“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.
Straighten Up And Fly Right
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The monkey thought that ev'rything was on the square
The buzzard tried to throw the monkey off his back
But the monkey grabbed his neck and said, "now, listen, jack
Straighten up and fly right, straighten up and fly right
Straighten up and fly right, cool down papa, don't you blow your top
Ain't no use in divin'
Straighten up and fly right, cool down papa, don't you blow your top"
The buzzard told the monkey, you're choking me
Release your hold and I'll set you free
The monkey looked the buzzard right dead in the eye and said
Your story's touching, but is sounds like a lie
Straighten up and fly right, straighten up and stay right
Straighten up and fly right, cool down papa, don't you blow your top
The buzzard told the monkey, you're choking me
Release your hold and I'll set you free
The monkey looked the buzzard right dead in the eye and said
Your story's touching, but is sounds like a lie
Straighten up and fly right, straighten up and stay right
Straighten up and fly right, cool down papa, don't you blow your top
Straighten up and fly right, straighten up and stay right
Straighten up and fly right, cool down papa, don't you blow your top
The Andrews Sisters's song "Straighten Up and Fly Right" tells the story of a monkey who goes on a ride with a buzzard. The monkey thinks everything is fine until the buzzard attempts to throw him off his back. The monkey then stops him and tells him to "straighten up and fly right." The monkey reminds the buzzard that there is no point in diving and to cool down and not blow his top. The lyrics suggest that the monkey is a metaphor for a person who has been deceived or taken advantage of, while the buzzard represents someone who is trying to take advantage of another.
The monkey’s statement, "straighten up and fly right," is a message of hope and encouragement that one can overcome adversity by standing firm and being strong. The song is a musical emblem of the “spirit of the war years”, as the lyrics are designed to uplift those who are feeling helpless and overwhelmed by the challenges of daily life.
Line by Line Meaning
A buzzard took the monkey for a ride in the air
A bird took the primate into the sky
The monkey thought that ev'rything was on the square
The monkey believed that the situation was fair and just
The buzzard tried to throw the monkey off his back
The bird attempted to get rid of the monkey
But the monkey grabbed his neck and said, "now, listen, jack
The primate seized the bird and spoke sternly
Straighten up and fly right, straighten up and fly right
Improve your behavior and actions
Straighten up and fly right, cool down papa, don't you blow your top
Maintain good behavior and avoid getting angry
Ain't no use in divin'
Don't waste your time and effort on useless things
What's the use of divin'?
Why bother with meaningless activities?
The buzzard told the monkey, you're choking me
The bird stated that the monkey was suffocating him
Release your hold and I'll set you free
Let go of me and I'll leave you alone
The monkey looked the buzzard right dead in the eye and said
The primate faced the bird directly and spoke
Your story's touching, but is sounds like a lie
Your narrative is moving, but it appears false
Straighten up and stay right
Improve your conduct and maintain it
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Sentric Music
Written by: Irving Mills, Nat King Cole
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