33-477: The Beverley Sisters were an English female close harmony traditional pop vocal and light entertainment trio , consisting of three sisters from London. They were eldest sister Joy (born Joycelyn Victoria Chinery, 5 May 1924 – 31 August 2015), and twins Teddie (born Hazel P. Chinery, 5 May 1927) and Babs (born Babette Patricia Chinery, 5 May 1927 – 28 October 2018). The sisters were each appointed MBE in 2006. The Beverley Sisters were most popular during
66-458: A call-and-response type lead. Examples of this are The Blind Boys of Alabama , a group that is still recording today. Artists like The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel used close harmony, echoing their chosen role-models, The Everly Brothers . The Louvin Brothers were a duo that used close harmony in the genre of country music . Barbershop harmony has a unique harmonic structure:
99-653: A brief early marriage to American musician Roger Carocari (who adopted the surname Carey), later dissolved, Joy married the Wolverhampton Wanderers and England football captain Billy Wright on 28 July 1958 at Poole Register Office, a year before he retired as a player. They were married for 36 years until Wright died of cancer in September 1994. Joy died on 31 August 2015 at the age of 91. Babs married Scottish dentist James Mitchell in 1963 but
132-524: A narrow range , usually with no more than an octave between the top and bottom notes. In contrast, a chord is in open harmony (also called open position or open structure ) if there is more than an octave between the top and bottom notes. The more general term spacing describes how far apart the notes in a chord are voiced. A triad in close harmony has compact spacing, while one in open harmony has wider spacing. Close harmony or voicing can refer to both instrumental and vocal arrangements. It can follow
165-641: A new album, Sparkle . The Beverley Sisters drew comparison with the Spice Girls in the late 1990s, especially with regard to the marriages of Joy to England footballer Billy Wright and Posh Spice , Victoria to David Beckham . They performed as part of the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002, and toured with Max Bygraves that year, the 50th anniversary of their appearance at the Royal Variety Performance. They also took part in
198-515: A version of Greensleeves . They also toured the cabaret circuit, and were known for their matching outfits, which they wore both on- and off-stage. The sisters were born in Bethnal Green , London to Victoria Alice Miles and George Arthur Chinery (married 1916), who were known as the music hall act Coram and Mills, and are related to the Lupino acting and performing family. The eldest, Joy,
231-416: A year, one on the same day, 3 September 1580 ("Ye Ladie Greene Sleeves answere to Donkyn hir frende" by Edward White), then on 15 and 18 September (by Henry Carr and again by White), 14 December (Richard Jones again), 13 February 1581 (Wiliam Elderton), and August 1581 (White's third contribution, "Greene Sleeves is worne awaie, Yellow Sleeves Comme to decaie, Blacke Sleeves I holde in despite, But White Sleeves
264-506: Is my delighte"). It then appears in the surviving A Handful of Pleasant Delights (1584) as A New Courtly Sonnet of the Lady Green Sleeves. To the new tune of Green Sleeves . It is a common myth that Greensleeves was written by King Henry VIII . However, Henry did not write Greensleeves as the piece is based on an Italian style of composition that did not reach England until after his death. A possible interpretation of
297-744: The 2006 New Year Honours list the sisters were each appointed an MBE . Robert Tredinnick, in the Gramophone Notes column of The Tatler in January 1952, opined the Beverleys were the best sister act on gramophone since the Boswell Sisters in the early 1930s and "have the gift of making their personalities apparent to an unseeing audience". Close harmony A chord is in close harmony (also called close position or close structure ) if its notes are arranged within
330-872: The D-Day 60th anniversary memorial concerts in 2004. They entered the Guinness World Records in 2002, as the world's longest surviving vocal group without a change in the original line up. As late as 2009, the sisters appeared in concerts and matinee shows in the United Kingdom. They forged links with the Burma Star Association , as well as McCarthy & Stone , where the sisters were invited to open each new housing development designed specifically for retired people. They later fully retired and lived near each other in Barnet . After
363-769: The London Hippodrome , encouraged by club owner Peter Stringfellow . A review in The Stage in March 1985 described the Sisters when appearing in Stringfellow's Hippodrome cabaret as "clad in shimmering pink" and said they had "acquired a glamour and universality that only time and experience can produce". The sisters began performing again for British troops, as well as in gay clubs in Britain, and they produced
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#1732787249913396-434: The 1920s, and continued it on commercial radio of the 1930s. Close harmony singing was especially popular in the 1940s with pop and R&B groups using the technique quite frequently. The Andrews Sisters also capitalized on a similar style with swing music . Many gospel and soul groups in the 1950s and 60s also used this technique, usually 3- or 4-part SSAA or TTBB harmony with one person (either bass or lead) doing
429-596: The 1950s and 1960s, and became well-known through their radio and television appearances. Their style was loosely modelled on that of their American counterparts, The Andrews Sisters . Their notable successes included the Irving Berlin -penned " Sisters " and the Christmas songs " I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus ", " Little Donkey ", and " Little Drummer Boy ", while in the United States they charted with
462-462: The 1954 British film musical Harmony Lane directed by Lewis Gilbert and were Record Mirror "cover stars" for the 12 February 1955 issue. In 1956, their version of the traditional song " Greensleeves ", orchestrated by Roland Shaw, became their only US chart hit, reaching no.41 on the Billboard pop chart . Generally preferring live cabaret and television appearances over recording work,
495-602: The Beverley Sisters on the advice of BBC producer Cecil Madden , who became their manager. They met Glenn Miller who, shortly before his disappearance, offered them the opportunity to record with members of his orchestra. They first appeared in radio programmes for the Allied Expeditionary Forces , recorded in Bedford , then followed up on BBC Radio's Variety Bandbox . Immediately after
528-430: The chords have four or more notes and the harmonies are more complex. In jazz , this influence flowered in the works of George Gershwin and Duke Ellington . A well-known example of consistent instrumental close harmony is Glenn Miller 's " Moonlight Serenade " which uses the full range of single-reed wind instruments (soprano clarinet, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones) to make a distinctive sound by harmonizing
561-566: The day. In 1951, they signed a recording deal with the UK Columbia record label, later moving to the Philips and Decca labels before returning to Columbia in 1960. Their biggest hits on the UK singles chart were versions of " I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus " (no.6, 1953) and " Little Drummer Boy " (no.6, 1959), which were both Christmas hits . The Beverley Sisters appeared as themselves in
594-470: The different sections all within a single octave. Miller studied the Schillinger technique with Joseph Schillinger , who is credited with helping Miller create the "Miller sound", and under whose tutelage he himself composed what became his signature theme, "Moonlight Serenade". In organ performance, block harmony means that close position chords are added below the melody in the right hand, and
627-492: The left hand doubles the melody an octave lower, while in open harmony the middle note of the chord is played an octave lower creating an "open" space in the chord. Greensleeves " Greensleeves " is a traditional English folk song . A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationers' Company in September 1580, and
660-456: The lyrics is that Lady Green Sleeves was a promiscuous young woman, perhaps even a prostitute . At the time, the word "green" had sexual connotations, most notably in the phrase "a green gown", a reference to the grass stains on a woman's dress from engaging in sexual intercourse outdoors. An alternative explanation is that Lady Green Sleeves was, through her costume, incorrectly assumed to be sexually promiscuous. Her "discourteous" rejection of
693-539: The marriage did not last. She suffered a cut forehead and shock when a passenger in a car accident in North Harrow on Boxing Day 1967 and was confined to a Harley Street Nursing Home for at least three weeks. Babs died on 28 October 2018, also at the age of 91, leaving no children. Teddie was engaged to Alyn Ainsworth , but married the British waterskiing champion Peter Felix. She is the last surviving sister. In
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#1732787249913726-527: The melody is in the 2nd tenor or "lead" voice, while the 1st tenor takes the next part up, usually in 3rds, with the baritone and bass voices supporting. The bass line tends to be more rhythmic and covers the root notes of the harmonic progression, providing more "support" and independence than in classical vocal music, since Barbershop is usually sung a cappella. Barbershop can be sung by people of any gender. Public domain pieces, such as " Sweet Adeline ", and newer pieces are abundant. National organizations promote
759-596: The more traditional TTBB or SSAA 4-part structure, but with heavy use of solos and call-and-response, which is rooted in the African American church. These groups sometimes sang a cappella but also used instrumental backing, especially when recorded by the bigger labels. Pop music and doo-wop can be seen as a commercialization of this genre. Impressionist composers like Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel often used close harmony in their works and other intervals, such as 7ths, 9ths, and 11ths may be used since
792-512: The music with local chapters in many communities. Soul and gospel groups flourished in America in the years after World War II, building on the foundation of blues, 1930s gospel songs and big band music. Originally called " race music " by white mainstream radio and its target market, it was the precursor to rock and roll and rhythm and blues of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, influencing many English and American artists of that era. They often used
825-537: The radio show, Desert Island Discs . They appeared on the television show Stars on Sunday . They were the subjects of This Is Your Life in 1969 when they were surprised by Eamonn Andrews . They also appeared in 1977 on the BBC TV's long running variety show The Good Old Days . Their career was revitalised in the 1980s, after their children – who had begun performing together as the Foxes – invited them onstage at
858-400: The refrain "On Christmas Day in the morning". One of the most popular of these is " What Child Is This? ", written in 1865 by William Chatterton Dix . In Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor (written c. 1597; first published in 1602), the character Mistress Ford refers twice to "the tune of 'Greensleeves'", and Falstaff later exclaims: Let the sky rain potatoes! Let it thunder to
891-511: The singer's advances supports the contention that she is not. In Nevill Coghill 's translation of The Canterbury Tales , he explains that "green [for Chaucer's age] was the colour of lightness in love. This is echoed in 'Greensleeves is my delight' and elsewhere." Christmas and New Year texts were associated with the tune from as early as 1686, and by the 19th century almost every printed collection of Christmas carols included some version of words and music together, most of them ending with
924-576: The song "Sisters", written by Irving Berlin and originally recorded in 1954 by Rosemary Clooney and her sister Betty, became their theme song; it has been claimed that Berlin wrote the song for the Beverley Sisters. The sisters are widely credited as having been the highest paid female entertainers in the UK for more than 20 years. In 1952, 1958 and 1978, they appeared at the Royal Variety Performance . In January 1961, they appeared on
957-517: The standard voice-leading rules of classical harmony, as in string quartets or Bach chorales , or proceed in parallel motion with the melody in thirds or sixths . Origins of this style of singing are found in harmonies of the 1800s in America. Early radio quartets continued this tradition. Female harmonists, like The Boswell Sisters (" Mood Indigo ", 1933) and The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce ("Who? You That's Who!", 1927), who then became Three X Sisters , performed and recorded this style in
990-675: The tune is found in several late 16th-century and early 17th-century sources, such as Ballet's MS Lute Book and Het Luitboek van Thysius , as well as various manuscripts preserved in the Seeley Historical Library in the University of Cambridge . A broadside ballad by this name was registered at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580, by Richard Jones, as "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves". Six more ballads followed in less than
1023-563: The tune of 'Greensleeves'! These allusions indicate the song was already well known at that time. "Greensleeves" can have a ground either of the form called a romanesca ; or its slight variant, the passamezzo antico ; or the passamezzo antico in its verses and the romanesca in its reprise; or of the Andalusian progression in its verses and the romanesca or passamezzo antico in its reprise. The romanesca originated in Spain and
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1056-946: The war they toured with Eric Winstone and his Orchestra, and began making regular appearances on the BBC's early television programmes. They also performed for NBC in the US with surviving members of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. After their return to Britain, promoter Val Parnell booked them to appear at the London Palladium with Gracie Fields ; although Fields refused, without explanation, to appear with them. The following year they performed with Danny Kaye . The BBC gave them their own television series, initially called Three Little Girls on View but later renamed as Those Beverley Sisters , which ran for seven years and on which they gave live performances of popular songs of
1089-731: Was born on 5 May 1924; the twins, Babs and Teddie, were born on Joy's third birthday, 5 May 1927. They were evacuated to Northamptonshire during the Second World War and received secretarial training. During the Second War, the sisters auditioned successfully to take part in an advertising campaign for the malt drink Ovaltine . Jock Ware, photographer for the Ovaltine poster campaign encouraged them to audition for BBC Radio . They did so in November 1944, changing their name to
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