The Boswell Sisters
The Boswell Sisters were an American close harmony singing trio of the jazz and swing eras, consisting of three sisters: Martha Boswell (June 9, 1905 – July 2, 1958), Connie Boswell (later spelled "Connee", December 3, 1907 – October 11, 1976), and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell (May 20, 1911 – November 12, 1988). Hailing from uptown New Orleans, the group blended intricate harmonies and song arrangements featuring effects such as scat, instrumental imitation, ‘Boswellese’ gibberish, tempo and meter changes, major/minor juxtaposition, key changes, and incorporation of sections from other songs.[1] They attained national prominence in the United States in the 1930s during the twilight of the Jazz Age and the onset of the Great Depression.[2]
The Boswell Sisters
Martha Boswell: June 9, 1905
Connie Boswell: December 3, 1907
Helvetia Boswell: May 20, 1911
New Orleans, United States
Martha Boswell: July 2, 1958 (aged 53)
Connie Boswell: October 11, 1976 (aged 68)
Helvetia Boswell: November 12, 1988 (aged 77)
1925–1936
Martha Boswell
Connie Boswell
Helvetia Boswell
After the trio split in 1936, Connie continued as a solo vocalist in radio, film, and later television for an additional quarter century.[2] The trio's "unique singing style and ground-breaking arrangements fused 'blackness' and 'whiteness' in music," and their collaborations with "the preeminent white swing musicians of their day—the Dorsey Brothers, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang, Artie Shaw, Victor Young, Bunny Berigan—had a profound effect on the development of the big band sound in the 1930s."[2] [3] When assessing their legacy, scholars claim the Boswell Sisters "made 'real' jazz commercially viable, destigmatizing the music and opening its appreciation to the wider American public."[4][5][3]
Vocal techniques[edit]
Passing harmony[edit]
The Boswell Sisters approached harmony in a manner different from most vocal groups of the 1920s and 30s. Rather than assign each vocalist to a particular range, such as contralto, alto, soprano, etc., the sisters were comfortable moving unexpectedly across one another's natural ranges. Martha Boswell described it as "a desertion, at various times, of the tones in which we would normally sing", but with the end effect being a "blending" of tones.[46] This idea is supported by a later Vet Boswell comment that "whichever one the note seemed to fit the voice better, we left it that way. We never had a set tenor or alto."[47]
Allowing one another the freedom to choose a different pitch range, in the moment, and basically switch places, became a hallmark of their harmony style. A primary example of the Boswell passing harmony/cross-voicing technique would be the trio's singing on "The Lonesome Road" recorded in 1934.
'Boswellese' gibberish[edit]
The Boswell Sisters' recording of “Nights When I Am Lonely” for Victor in 1925 was the first recorded instance of what has come to be known as "Boswellese," a gibberish language reportedly created by their father, A.C. Boswell, but taken to a virtuoso level by his daughters. The effect was achieved by inserting “ggled” (pronounced as "guhl-d") after the vowel of a word, with the chosen rhythm determining where the accent should be placed.[17] Probably the clearest example of this technique appears in the trio's version of "Everybody Loves My Baby" from 1932. Essentially the Boswellese chorus substitutes for the expected instrumental break.