They were first organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1946. The original members of the group were Janet Ertel (1913-November 4, 1988), Carol Bushman (her sister-in-law), Dorothy Schwartz, and Jinny Osborn (or Lockard) (April 25, 1927-May 19, 2003). In 1952, Lynn Evans replaced Schwartz, and in 1953, Margie Needham replaced Osborn (who was having a baby), though Osborn later returned to the group. Nancy Overton also was a member of the group at a later time. Originally they sang folk music in the style of The Weavers, but eventually changed to a harmonizing style of the type known as barbershop harmony. Part of this change seems to be influenced by Osborn's father.
Jinny Osborn was born in Seattle, Washington. She was born Virginia Cole, the daughter of O. H. "King" Cole, who was president of the Barbershop Harmony Society (then known as SPEBSQSA), and Katherine Flack.
After performing locally in Sheboygan, they went on Arthur Godfrey's radio program, Talent Scouts in 1949.They went on to feature status on Godfrey's daily program, and then went on to make a number of recordings for Columbia Records.
In 1953, Godfrey's music director and orchestra leader, Archie Bleyer, founded Cadence Records. He signed a number of Godfrey regulars and former regulars, including the Chordettes, who had a number of hit records for Cadence.
Their biggest hit was Mr. Sandman in 1954. Archie Bleyer himself is on that record along with the group, Bleyer stripping the sound down the better not to clutter the girls' voices. They also hit the top twenty with 1958's "Lollipop," and also charted with a vocal version of the themes from television's Zorro (1959) and the film Never on Sunday (1961). Other hits for the girls included "Eddie My Love," "Born to Be With You," and "Lay Down Your Arms" in 1956 and "Just Between You and Me" in 1957.
Janet Ertel married Bleyer in 1954. Her daughter Jackie married another Cadence recording star, Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers. She died of cancer in 1988.
The Chordettes appeared on American Bandstand August 5, 1957, kicking off the first episode of the show over the ABC Television Network.
In 1961, Jinny Osborn left the group, and they were unable to find a replacement with whom they were happy, leading to a breakup.
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.
Jinny Osborn (by that time Jinny Janis) died in 2003
No Other Arms No Other Lips
The Chordettes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No other love but you
We've had our stormy weather
We've had our sunshine too
We've shared them both together
And I'm still here with you
Sometimes I made you blue
But love kept us together
And I'm still here with you
No other arms, no other lips
No other love beside me
No other star of love
Above to guide me
Someday you'll go to heaven
As all good angels do
I'll find my way to heaven
So I'll be there with you
No other arms, no other lips
No other love but you
The lyrics to The Chordettes' song "No Other Arms No Other Lips" is a declaration of devotion to a loved one. The lyrics speak of a love that has survived through good times and bad, through stormy weather and sunshine. The singer acknowledges that they may have caused their partner both happiness and sadness, but love has kept them together. The chorus repeats the line "no other arms, no other lips, no other love but you", emphasizing the singer's commitment to their partner and the exclusivity of their love.
The verse about finding their way to heaven and being together there also suggests a long-term commitment and even an eternal one. The overall sentiment of the song is one of devotion, loyalty and commitment to a loved one.
Line by Line Meaning
No other arms, no other lips
There is no one else embracing me or kissing me other than you. You are the only one who is physically close to me.
No other love but you
There is no other person for me to love, I am exclusively loyal to you.
We've had our stormy weather
We've encountered difficulties in our relationship - arguments or disagreements between us.
We've had our sunshine too
We've also had happy moments in our relationship - times of joy and contentment.
We've shared them both together
Regardless of the challenges or joys we faced, we faced them together and supported each other as a couple.
And I'm still here with you
Despite everything that we've experienced, I am still present and devoted to you.
Sometimes I made you happy
There were times where I brought joy and happiness into your life.
Sometimes I made you blue
There were also times where I caused sadness or disappointment for you.
But love kept us together
Despite any ups and downs we faced, the love we have for each other has been a strong foundation for our relationship.
No other love beside me
I do not have any other romantic relationships or love interests besides you.
No other star of love
There is no other person or entity guiding my affection or romantic feelings other than you.
Above to guide me
No one and nothing else besides you is leading me in the direction of love or affection.
Someday you'll go to heaven
Eventually, you will pass away and go to the afterlife.
As all good angels do
Just as all good people pass on to the afterlife, so will you.
I'll find my way to heaven
When my time comes to leave this life, I will also go to the afterlife.
So I'll be there with you
When we both eventually pass away, we will be reunited in the afterlife.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, DELLA BLUE MUSIC LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KRAMER, WHITNEY, ZARET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
countrypaul
Cadence Records paid great attention to the sound quality of their releases. It still sounds great, like some really good singers gathered around a campfire harmonizing. This is one of my all-time favorites - heck, a lot of their songs from these era are!
Brenda Freitag
Thanks for posting! beautiful harmony, beautiful song . . .
sauquoit13456
Lynn Evans Mand, the lead singer of the vocal harmony group the Chordettes, passed away on February 6th, 2020 at the age of 95...
She joined the group in 1952 when their lead singer could not make a show in Mand’s hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. She was asked to step in and was invited to join the group. After the Chordettes disbanded in the 1960s, Mand moved to Long Island and became a special education teacher...
Between 1954 and 1961 the quartet had thirteen records on the Top 100 chart, four made the Top 10 with one reaching #1, "Mr. Sandman", for 2 weeks on Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played by Jockeys, and Most Played on Juke Boxes charts...
Besides "Mr. Sandman", their three other Top 10 records were "Born to Be With You" {#5 in 1956}, "Just Between You and Me" {#8 in 1957}, and "Lollipop"* {#2 for 1 week in 1958}...
May Ms. Mand R.I.P.
* The week "Lollipop" was at #2, the #1 record for that week was "Tequila" by the Champs...
And from the 'For What It's Worth' department, their covered version of "No Other, Arms, No Other Lips" peaked at #27 {for 1 week} on March 24th, 1959...
Rosemary Aloisio
Great quality sound.
rhett janes
That verse that they singing that goes I'll find my way to heaven that versus makes me tear up they were such a good singing group.
Gerhard Müller
Ich kenne diesen Song schon seit den Sechzigern und liebe nicht nur die Musik, sondern auch den Text. Ich wollte den Song meiner Liebsten vorspielen, und
Gerhard Müller
dachte, sie würde gleich verstehen, was ich ihr damit sagen wollte. Aber sie hörte gar nicht hin, weil sie die Musik nicht gut fand. Sehr schade!
Earthling Forever
February, 1959. :)
Joe Chruscinski
For Diane