Dandridge Sisters facts for kids

The Dandridge Sisters were a super cool American singing group made up of three talented young women. They started in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, and sang together until 1940. The group included two sisters, Vivian Dandridge and Dorothy Dandridge, plus their friend Etta Jones. (This Etta Jones is not the famous jazz singer with the same name!) The Dandridge Sisters became quite famous for a short time. They traveled all over the United States, performing in exciting nightclubs, big theaters, and on radio shows. Later, they even went to Europe for a tour! Eventually, Dorothy Dandridge decided to become a solo artist, and the group split up. Each woman then followed her own path in the entertainment world.

How They Became Famous

Before The Dandridge Sisters, Vivian and Dorothy were part of a group called The Wonder Children. Their mother, Ruby Dandridge, who was also a performer, helped them get started in Cleveland, Ohio. When Etta Jones joined them, they changed their name to The Dandridge Sisters and moved to Los Angeles.

They first dreamed of being dancers and studied at special dance schools in Los Angeles and Chicago, Illinois. But one day, just for fun, the trio entered a radio show contest at KNX Radio in Los Angeles. Guess what? They won! They beat more than 30 other contestants. This big win helped them become known as amazing singers.

Soon, they were performing in many nightclubs and theaters around Los Angeles. Then, Joe Glazer, who promoted the famous Cotton Club, invited them to perform in New York City. The girls, who were only 14 years old at the time, moved to New York with their mother. They were so popular at the Cotton Club that they got a regular spot in the show!

Their Exciting Career

The Dandridge Sisters became very well-known at the Cotton Club. People often compared them to another famous group, The Andrews Sisters. Even though they had trained as dancers, their singing career meant they also studied music carefully to become even better artists.

After working in New York, their aunt Geneva Williams started traveling with them instead of their mother. They spent five months performing in Hawaii, and then moved to Hollywood to make short musical films. In Hollywood, they worked for MGM and appeared in the film Going Places (1938), which also featured the legendary Louis Armstrong.

They then returned to New York to perform at the Cotton Club and other places. In 1939, they went on an exciting tour in Europe, performing in cities across England and Ireland. They even performed at the famous London Palladium! When they came back to the U.S. in 1940, they were at the peak of their fame. They toured with Jimmie Lunceford and his big band orchestra and recorded four songs with them.

The Sisters' Friendship

Vivian Dandridge was like the leader of the group. She organized all the meetings and rehearsals, and she was the group's main speaker. The sisters often said that when they weren't performing, they loved to dance and make scrapbooks together.

The three girls seemed to be quite religious. Etta was Roman Catholic, and they went to church every Sunday in every city they visited. They said they made all their decisions as a group, talking things over together. Overall, they were very similar, even having similar opinions on how they dressed and their daily routines. They also shared a goal: they wanted to be successful women in their music careers more than they wanted to find love and get married.

Vivian Dandridge's Life

After the trio stopped performing in 1940, Vivian Dandridge appeared in a few movies. She was an extra in the film Stormy Weather (1943). She also voiced a character named "So White" in a cartoon short called Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943). Later, in 1968, she released a music album called The Look of Love, but it wasn't very successful.

Vivian lived in Seattle for the last eight years of her life. After her third marriage, she changed her stage name to Marina Rozell. She didn't perform much anymore, except sometimes at open-mic nights. She passed away in 1991 at the age of 70.

Dorothy Dandridge's Life

Dorothy often went by the nickname Dot when she was with the Dandridge Sisters. After the group broke up, Dorothy became the most famous of the three. She started getting small roles in Hollywood films.

In 1954, she made history! She was the first African-American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her main role in the movie Carmen Jones. Another big role for her was playing Bess in Porgy and Bess (1959). After this, her career changed.

Etta Jones's Life

Etta Jones was born in 1919 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. (It's easy to confuse her with another jazz singer named Etta Jones who was born in 1928!) Etta attended both of Dorothy Dandridge's weddings.

We don't know much about what Etta did right after the Dandridge Sisters broke up. We do know that she sang with the Jimmie Lunceford orchestra for a while. Her first husband, a trumpet player named Gerald Wilson, was also a member of that group. After she stopped performing to raise her family, Etta later worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. She taught dance to young children in parks and playgrounds. Etta passed away in Los Angeles on June 29, 1997.

Films They Were In

The Dandridge Sisters appeared in several films, including:

• The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1936)
• A Day at the Races (1937)
• Easy to Take (1937)
• It Can't Last Forever (1937)
• Going Places (1938)
• Snow Gets in Your Eyes (1938)
• Irene (1940)

Their Recorded Songs

The Dandridge Sisters didn't record many songs. The only ones we know about are "Undecided" (1939) and "If I Were Sure of You." They recorded these for the Parlophone label while they were in London. They also recorded "Minnie the Moocher is Dead," "You Ain’t Nowhere," "Ain’t Goin to Study War No More," and "That’s Your Red Wagon" in 1940 with Jimmie Lunceford and his big band orchestra.

About The Cotton Club

The Cotton Club was a very famous nightclub in New York City. It was special because even though only white audiences were allowed to watch, it featured many amazing African-American entertainers. It was most popular during the Prohibition time, when alcohol was illegal in the United States. At the Cotton Club, The Dandridge Sisters performed alongside other famous African-American artists like Cab Calloway, W. C. Handy, and Harold Nicholas. Harold Nicholas was a dancer who later married Dorothy Dandridge.