Jazz Jottings February 2021

Pop music has had its popular sisters’ vocal groups over the years: the Boswell sisters from New Orleans, known for intricate harmonies and rhythmic experimentation; the Andrews of World War II fame who sold over 80 million records; the Lennon sisters from the Lawrence Welk Show; and the McGuires from Ohio—Christine, Dorothy and Phyllis—who had an uncanny sense of timing and close harmony matched by a perky, ever-smiling stage presence. The trio first gained national recognition on the Kate Smith radio show and later were featured on Arthur Godfrey’s TV show. By 1960, each of the sisters was earning more than $1 million a year. Phyllis McGuire, the last surviving sister, died last month at the age of 89. She was the youngest (born in 1931), sang lead and always stood in the middle of the group. She had been married and divorced early in her career, but in 1959 began an unlikely romantic dalliance with Sam Giancana, a Chicago mob boss who once was Al Capone’s driver. Widowed, bald, and in his 50s at the time, he had been linked to crimes from gambling and murder and served time in prison. The McGuire Sisters were performing at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, which was run by Giancana when Phyllis caught his eye. “Who’s the one in the middle?” he asked. Phyllis had a weakness for the blackjack tables and had run up a debt of tens of thousands of dollars. Giancana told the