“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.
The Woodpecker Song
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To wake up all the neighborhood
To bring to every boy and girlie
His happy serenade on wood
Hear him pickin' out a melody
Peck, peck, peckin' at the same old tree
He's as happy as a bumblebee
All day long
Just find a tree that's shady
And when you hear that
Tick-a tick tick tick-a tick tick
Tick-a tick tick sing right along
Come on and try his rhythm
And let your hearts beat with 'im
Just listen to that
Tick-a tick tick tick-a tick tick
The Woodpecker Song by The Andrews Sisters is a cheerful tune about a woodpecker who wakes up the entire neighborhood with his upbeat serenade on wood. The song invites its listeners to join in with the woodpecker's rhythm and be swept up in his cheerful melody. The repetitive lyrics of the song follow the pattern of the woodpecker's pecking, with its catchy "tick-a tick tick tick-a tick tick" chorus that is likely to get stuck in your head.
The song's lyrics are an example of how nature can provide inspiration for music and how a simple animal like a woodpecker can bring joy to people's lives. The Andrews Sisters' cheerful harmonies, lively melody, and catchy lyrics create an atmosphere of positivity that inspires listeners to join in with the woodpecker's joyful rhythm, making it an uplifting and engaging song. Overall, The Woodpecker Song is an upbeat, feel-good tune that is sure to put a smile on your face and get you tapping your feet to its catchy rhythm.
Line by Line Meaning
He's up each morning bright and early
The woodpecker wakes up early in the morning
To wake up all the neighborhood
The woodpecker's pecking wakes up the whole neighborhood
To bring to every boy and girlie
The woodpecker brings a happy serenade to all the children
His happy serenade on wood
The woodpecker makes a happy noise while pecking on trees
Hear him pickin' out a melody
You can hear the woodpecker pecking out a tune
Peck, peck, peckin' at the same old tree
The woodpecker is pecking at the same tree over and over
He's as happy as a bumblebee
The woodpecker is very happy
All day long
The woodpecker pecks trees all day long
To serenade your lady
The woodpecker can serenade a lady by pecking on a tree
Just find a tree that's shady
To serenade a lady, find a shaded tree
And when you hear that
When you hear the woodpecker's pecking
Tick-a tick tick tick-a tick tick
The sound the woodpecker's pecking makes
Tick-a tick tick sing right along
Sing along with the sound of the woodpecker's pecking
Come on and try his rhythm
Try to replicate the woodpecker's pecking rhythm
And let your hearts beat with 'im
Let your heart beat with the same rhythm as the woodpecker
Just listen to that
Listen to the sound of the woodpecker's pecking
Tick-a tick tick tick-a tick tick
The sound the woodpecker's pecking makes
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL STILLMAN, PAUL JAMES MAC-GRANE, PAUL JAMES MC GRANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@PAlves-rl2jw
He's up each morning bright and early
To wake up all the neighborhood
To bring to every boy and girlie
His happy serenade on wood
Hear him pickin' out a melody
Peck, peck, peckin' at the same old tree
He's as happy as a bumblebee
All day long
To serenade your lady
Just find a tree that's shady
And when you hear that
Tick-a tick tick tick-a tick tick
Tick-a tick tick sing right along
Come on and try his rhythm
And let your hearts beat with 'im
Just listen to that
Tick-a tick tick tick-a tick tick
Happy Little Woodpecker Song!
@thomasbostick1632
They got the looks & voice to go with a great & wonderful song
@andrewscrosby1377
How big of a doosh would you have to be to not love this? This song is so pretty it makes me cry. Today music is disgusting violent crap or just somebody whining about some crap. This is beauty. This is music.
@seanneverett9068
Andrews Crosby when people ask what type of music I like I say oldies
@victoriastandeven4170
Me too! I like old music- 30's-40's
@tarstarkusz
Rhythmic log beating. Music, africanized.
@victoriastandeven4170
Love music and movies of the 1940's!
@PAlves-rl2jw
He's up each morning bright and early
To wake up all the neighborhood
To bring to every boy and girlie
His happy serenade on wood
Hear him pickin' out a melody
Peck, peck, peckin' at the same old tree
He's as happy as a bumblebee
All day long
To serenade your lady
Just find a tree that's shady
And when you hear that
Tick-a tick tick tick-a tick tick
Tick-a tick tick sing right along
Come on and try his rhythm
And let your hearts beat with 'im
Just listen to that
Tick-a tick tick tick-a tick tick
Happy Little Woodpecker Song!
@usdemocracy8117
Miss my mom real bad
@HeadChestOrFoot
Lovely harmonies.
@NoahTheAnimatedLegend2008
A another Scary good!