The Dandridge Sisters (1934–1940) were a trio containing actress Dorothy Dandridge, Vivian Dandridge and Etta Jones.
With the forceful tutelage of Martha "Geneva" Williams and their mother Ruby Dandridge, Dorothy and Vivian started singing in public in 1934. After moving to Los Angeles, the Wonder Kids changed their stage name to the Dandridge Sisters with the addition of Etta Jones (born @ 1919 and not to be confused with jazz singer Etta Jones born in 1928).
Read more on Last.fm …read full bio
The Dandridge Sisters (1934–1940) were a trio containing actress Dorothy Dandridge, Vivian Dandridge and Etta Jones.
With the forceful tutelage of Martha "Geneva" Williams and their mother Ruby Dandridge, Dorothy and Vivian started singing in public in 1934. After moving to Los Angeles, the Wonder Kids changed their stage name to the Dandridge Sisters with the addition of Etta Jones (born @ 1919 and not to be confused with jazz singer Etta Jones born in 1928). Together the trio triumphed in an amateur competition on radio station KNX, Los Angeles, defeating twenty-five white contestants.
Two years later, the Dandridge Sisters were invited by promoter Joe Glazer to perform at New York's famed Cotton Club, a nightclub that featured black talent and catered to white audiences. The act was so successful that they were given a spot in the regular program, performing on the same bill as artists Cab Calloway and W. C. Handy. Another act regularly in the line-up was the dynamic dance duo of Fayard Nicholas & his younger brother Harold Nicholas, the Nicholas Brothers. The Dandridge Sisters were in England under the control of Geneva Williams from June to September 1939 in a show at The London Palladium topped by comedian Jack Durant and the Jack Harris Orchestra. They also did other dates around the UK and in Ireland and while in London they recorded the Charlie Shavers tune "Undecided" in July 1939.
At the height of their stardom in 1940, the Dandridge Sisters toured with Big Bandleader Jimmie Lunceford and his orchestra. In June 1940 the Dandridge Sisters recorded four songs with Jimmie Lunceford's band.
Apart from "Undecided" recorded in London these are the only known recordings that were put to vinyl by the group. The Dandridge Sisters disbanded in mid-1940 after Dorothy Dandridge began to pursue a solo career and starred in the film Four Shall Die. Etta Jones is often confused with the jazz singer of the same name. She did attend the weddings of Dorothy to Harold Nicholas in 1941 and to Jack Denison in 1959. Vivian Dandridge appeared in a few uncredited movie roles including as an extra in Stormy Weather and the voice of "So White" in the controversial cartoon "Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs". She released an album in 1968 called The Look Of Love which was unsuccessful. She died in obscurity in 1991.
The Dandridge Sisters disbanded in 1940.
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.
…shrink me down again
Update this bio | Artist Bio + Tag FAQs