The Bell Sisters

Well - it's after December 1 - so gather the livestock for a ....

The Bell Sisters - Barnyard Christmas The Voices of Christmas drawn by a finest selection of illustratorsThe Full Christmas Voices playlist here: http://bit.ly/ChristmasVoices-FullPlaylistGet th...

"Heartachin' Memories" - by Kay Bell of the Bell Sisters (circa 1965) - now available on all the streaming providers.

Heartachin' Memories Provided to YouTube by CDBabyHeartachin' Memories · The Bell SistersHeartachin' Memories℗ 2023 Lowlights Publishing, LLCReleased on: 2023-12-01Auto-generated...

The "BERMUDA" sheet music for the original RCA recording date.

Recording Date: November 12, 1951, 8:00 p.m. to 12 midnight
(included "BERMUDA" and "JUNE NIGHT")

Session Information:
A&R Rep: Henri Rene
Leader: Jack Pleis
Orch. Mgr.: Dave Klein
Trombone: Ray Conniff, Pullman Pederson, Simon Zentner
Horns: Vincent DeRosa (Trumpet), Jack Cave (French Horn)
Guitar: Alton Hendrickson
Piano: George Greeley
Bass: Larry Breen
Drums: Milton Holland
Saxes: Arthur Herfurt, Jules Kinsler, Ernest Theodore Romersa

Happy Birthday to Cynthia Strother, the eldest Bell Sister! Thank you for all the music.

[photo from LIFE magazine session, April 1952]

After 23 years of studying their career, you think you'd know EVERYTHING about the Bell Sisters, and suddenly you find a rare demo recording by Kay Bell on eBay! A song written by her Disneyland / "Spacemen" bandmates, Walter "Sonny" Anderson and Johnny Schmidt.

70th Anniversary of "Those Redheads from Seattle" - this 1953 Paramount film premiered (in 3-D!) in Seattle, WA on September 23, 1953. Appearing at the premiere were many of the film stars, including the Bell Sisters.

[Big thanks to Robert Furmanek at 3-D Film Archive, LLC - for the image]

The Strother siblings help answer fan mail in April 1952.
(L to R) Alice, Strother, Cynthia, Judy and Rex.

Everyone now and then we find something new! Here's the audio from Episode 13 ("Talent on Parade") of the "Meet Me at Disneyland" live TV broadcast dated September 8, 1962

Kay Bell and the Spacemen entertain at the beginning of the show (no video survives - just this audio)

Kay Bell and the Spacemen - Meet Me at Disneyland (September 8, 1962) Audio from the live television broadcast - Episode 13 "Talent on Parade" of MEET ME AT DISNEYLAND - September 8, 1962.

One of the more interesting performers to cover the song "Bermuda" was Troy Walker. Now available online on TUBI is the short 2019 documentary about him, produced by Christina Linhardt

Troy: The Original Lady Boy (2019) Take a peek inside the gritty and glitzy life of the one-and-only, honky-tonk queen, Troy Walker, who’s considered to be the first lady boy.

A nice write-up at this Kentucky Sports FB page about Eugene Rex "Gene" Strother - the father of the Bell Sisters and one-time national championship high school basketball player!

A nice gentleman named Grant Schultz emailed the Bell Sisters website last night and let us know about this footage of the Bells appearing on Season 3, Episode 9 of the Red Skelton Show (Air Date: May 10, 1953)

The Bells perform "Do It Again" - at about the 7 and a half minute mark of the show (the link below takes you right to the beginning of the skit)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXKjpYaPOR8&t=447s

Enjoy this little treasure, hidden for the last 69 years!

The Red Skelton Show: WASHING THE ELEPHANT (S3:E9) Legendary comedian and beloved television clown “Red Skelton” (Richard Bernard Eheart) stars in skits and gags in which he plays hilarious characters along-s...

70 years ago today (February 16, 1952), "Bermuda" by the Bell Sisters reached #7 on the Billboard Airplay Chart, the highest it would appear on the national charts.

It would reappear at #7 again on February 23, March 15 and March 22.

70 years ago today (February 9, 1952), "Bermuda" by the Bell Sisters reached #8 on the Billboard Sales Chart, the highest it would appear on that chart.

It would slide down the chart a bit, and then spend another 3 weeks at #8 in March 1952.

70 years ago - on February 5, 1952 - Cynthia and Kay Strother appeared on The Dinah Shore Show television program! Broadcast from NBC Radio City, Hollywood, California.

Thanks to the Internet and YouTube, you can watch it again!

Bell Sisters on Dinah Shore Show First TV appearance by Bell Sisters - February 5, 1952. They look almost frightened as they sing their hit "Bermuda."

Bell Sisters - Christmas 1953 - with Operational Starlift (USO Tour of Korea)

Troy Walker includes "Bermuda" on his "Recorded Live" album on Hi-Fi Records (1964)

Because it's 70th anniversary of "Bermuda," here's a bit about Henri Rene, the man who arranged the song for their first recording session:

"Professionally known as Henri Rene, Harold Manfred Kirchstein was born in 1906 in New York City to Oscar Kirchstein (of Germany) and Olga Katz (of Poland). Young Harold traveled to Germany with his family where he studied at the Royal Berlin Academy of Music.

Returning to the U.S. in the mid-1920s, he began appearing with several orchestras. In the late-1920s, he returned once more to Berlin, working as a composer in the German film industry, and as an arranger with a German record label.

While touring Europe with his band before the war began, he was appointed musical director of the two largest film studios in Europe, Tobis and UFA.

In 1936, René returned to the U.S. and became musical director and chief arranger for RCA Victor, forming his own orchestra in 1941. As am instrumentalist, Rene played the piano, saxophone, and Musette accordion. Among his most successful records at that time were "Cuckoo Waltz," "Waltzing on the Kalamazoo," "Tap the Barrel Dry," "Pete, the Pickelman" and "Tommy's Mustache."

After serving with the Allies in World War II, he resumed working for RCA Victor as a conductor and arranger.

In the mid-1950s, he issued several successful LPs which Allmusic.com called "forerunners of the space-age pop aesthetic"; among these were "Music for Bachelors," "Music for the Weaker S*x," "Compulsion to Swing" and "Riot in Rhythm."

Rene also composed music themes and scores for several popular television series, including "Wagon Train" (with Frank McGrath as Charlie Wooster) and René produced recordings for RCA Victor with Harry Belafonte, Perry Como, the Ames Brothers and Eartha Kitt among others.

Rene left RCA Victor in 1959 to work freelance for the rest of his active career. He passed away in 1993 in Houston, Texas.

For his contributions to the recording industry, René has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1610 Vine Street."

Between Halloween 2021 and March 2022, the Bell Sisters are in the midst of a big anniversary blitz! It was a crazy ride 70 years ago!

10/31/1951 - Bell Sisters perform "Bermuda" on Peter Potter's "Search for a Song" local LA TV program

11/01/1951 - Phone call from representative of Goday Music, interested in publishing "Bermuda"

11/05/1951 - Piano and vocal demo recording session at RCA. Impressed by their harmonies, Henri Rene invites girls to record "Bermuda" for RCA

11/12/1951 - 8:00 p.m. to midnight recording session of "Bermuda / June Night" for RCA

12/17/1951 - 45rpm and 78rpm records released by RCA

01/05/1952 - "Bermuda" hits Billboard Sales Chart at #29, rising to #8 on February 9

01/12/1952 - "Bermuda" hits Billboard Airplay Chart at #16, rising to #7 on February 16

01/12/1952 - "Bermuda" hits Billboard Jukebox Chart at #24, rising to #8 on March 15

01/19/1952 - "Bermuda" hits #2 on Billboard's Los Angeles Chart and #4 on Billboard's Pittsburgh Chart

01/26/1952 - "Bermuda" hits #1 on Billboard's Chicago Chart

02/23/1952 - Ray Anthony's version of "Bermuda" reaches #24 on the Billboard Chart

03/08/1952 - "Bermuda" hits #2 on Billboard's Dallas Chart

Thanks to Bob Moke ("The 78 Prof" on YouTube) for his research assistance.

Well, you learn something new everyday (even after 70 years)!

Turns out RCA released "Bermuda" in Chile on the flip side of a recording of Danny Scholl's "Botecitos (Shrimp Boats)"

Y'all must really love BARNYARD CHRISTMAS - cuz the Bell Sisters are showing 10,471 (!!) listeners at Spotify tonight.

Thanks for "spinning" them, everyone!

Transcription Record label - "Stand By For Music" (Program No. 2) - Bell Sisters with Frank de Vol and His Orchestra.

The Bell Sisters with Bob Hope, Jane Russell and Chief William H Parker (thanks to Art McCulloch for Parker's ID)

Behind the scenes - Cynthia Strother and Guy Mitchell during filming of "Those Redheads from Seattle"

Performing on the Bing Crosby Radio Show, April 30, 1952 (LIFE photo by Jon Brenneis)

Cynthia and Kay - candid photo before their performance at the 1953 Boy Scout Jamboree (1953 National Jamboree, Jamboree City, Irvine, California)

FIRST CHECK- "Radio Corporation of America" (RCA) to Kay & Cynthia Bell - for the 3-hour Bermuda/June Night recording session with Henri Rene and Orchestra on November 12, 1951.

BERMUDA (Cynthia Strother) / Matrix: E1-VB-3860
JUNE NIGHT (Cliff Friend - Abel Baer) / Matrix: E1-VB-3861
USA: RCA 47-4422 (45 rpm), 20-4422 (78 rpm)
Recording Date: November 12, 1951, 8:00 p.m. to 12 midnight

Session Information:
• A&R Rep: Henri Rene
• Leader: Jack Pleis
• Orch. Mgr.: Dave Klein
• Trombone: Ray Conniff, Pullman Pederson, Simon Zentner
• Horns: V. de Rosa, J. Cave
• Guitar: Alton Hendrickson
• Piano: George Greeley
• Bass: Larry Breen
• Drums: Milton Holland
• Saxes: Arthur Herfurt, Jules Kinsler, Ernest Theodore Romersa

Poster for 1953 Columbia Pictures "Cruisin' Down the River" introducing The Bell Sisters

Cynthia (standing) and Kay (at the piano)

A pretty good year for the Bell Sisters on Spotify in 2021!

Wrapped for Artists The standout moments of the year. Shout out to all the fans on Spotify.

The Bell Sisters can be heard twice in the Norwegian film "Sonja: The White Swan" (this film first showed in the US at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019).

The tunes are "The Big Goodbye" along with the Bells singing "Wait 'Til the Sun Shines Nellie" with Bing Crosby.

The Bell Sisters recording, "School Is Over," will appear in THE PROFESSOR, starring Johnny Deep.

This film opens on May 17, 2019.

On April 22, 1953, the Bell Sisters were featured on the newspaper cartoon series "Keen Teens" by Benjamin "Stookie" Allen.

It's October 4 - so we're wishing Cynthia a very happy birthday today (and many more, of course!)

Late 1954 -
Stand By For Music (U.S. Naval Recruiting) - 15 minute program
Also featuring Jim Wallington (announcer) and Frank de Vol and His Orchestra.
Bell Sisters performed "June Night," "Heartless" and "Bermuda." Includes interview with Cynthia about beginning of Bells' career.

Transcription Disc:
Label on 16", 33-1/3 rpm disc indicates this is Program #9.
Artist on other side of disc is Jeff Chandler (Program #10).