“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.
When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabama
The Andrews Sisters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll be right there, I've got my fair
When I see that rusty haired conductor man
I'll grab him by the collar and I'll holler "Alabam'! Alabam'!"
That's where you stop your train, that brings me back again
Down home where I'll remain, where my honey lamb am
I will be right there with bells, when that old conductor yells
The Andrews Sisters's song "When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam'" talks about a train leaving at midnight for Alabama, and the singer is excited to leave with it. She has her fair and is ready to go. The image of the "rusty-haired conductor man" shows that the singer is impatient and eager to get on the train. She even mentions grabbing him by the collar and shouting out "Alabam'! Alabam'" to further emphasize her excitement.
The song captures the sense of yearning to get back to one's roots or homeland. The singer wants to go back home to be with her "honey lamb" and remain there. The final lines denote how eagerly the singer is waiting for the train's departure, with bells and whistles, and how when the conductor calls out "All aboard!" she will be the first to board.
Overall, this song is steeped in the tradition of Delta blues and is a celebration of the longing to go home, to go back to the roots. It celebrates the nostalgia of the past and the idea of a journey back to it.
Line by Line Meaning
When the midnight choo choo leaves for Alabam'
As soon as the train heading to Alabama departs at midnight
I'll be right there, I've got my fair
I will be waiting for the train and I have already paid my fare
When I see that rusty haired conductor man
Once I spot the red-haired conductor
I'll grab him by the collar and I'll holler "Alabam'! Alabam'!"
I will enthusiastically and urgently call out to him to ensure he stops the train for me
That's where you stop your train, that brings me back again
That is precisely where I need the train to stop, so I can return home again
Down home where I'll remain, where my honey lamb am
I will stay in my hometown where my beloved resides
I will be right there with bells, when that old conductor yells
I will be ready and waiting with excitement when the conductor announces it's time to board
"All aboard! All aboard! All aboard for Alabam!"
The conductor's announcement signaling that it's time to board the train heading to Alabama
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@richardmcleod5967
One of the great songs by Irving Berlin written early in his career (1912).
@tsunamicharly
I loved the Andrews Sisters. Those dames had some pipes.
@PoetryETrain
Love this, thanks, added to a playlist...
@CiscoDuck
This was recorded in 1947 - written in 1912 Irving Berlin - 1st recorded by Collins & Harlan that year.
@bootnreboot
February 1913, was number one for 12 weeks. only reason i know is i just got the news letter from my mother-in-laws nursing home.... :-))
@Julian9ehp
When was this recorded?