Who were the Chordettes?
The Chordettes were a singing group from the 1940's, through the 60's that transformed male barbershop quartet arrangements into one of the most unique and recognizable sounds ever known to the history of music.
Originally hailing from Sheboygan Wisconsin - The Chordettes spent less than three years on the road, singing at barbershop functions and state fairs. They were quickly scooped up by CBS' Arthur Godfrey Show to be a part of a daily Radio-Television community. Only a couple years later did they get fired from the show and started to record pop records of their own as a last ditch effort to keep their careers alive.
They topped the charts with the likes of Mr. Sandman, Born to be with you, Zorro, Just Between You and Me, Lollipop, Lay Down Your Arms, Hummingbird, Eddie My Love, and many more and were also the first musical guests on the national airing of Dick Clark's American Bandstand.
The Chordettes had an unusual ability to combine different music genres in a pop setting, which helped set the stage for the great collision of Jazz, Country, Barbershop Harmony, and Blues - we know today as Rock n' Roll.