The Ross Bagdasarian post was fun, so let’s listen to something else from his label, Liberty Records. In 1956 Ross was handed a demo from a musician friend named Mark McIntyre, featuring his daughters Patience, 11, and Prudence, 14, singing an old song called “Tonight You Belong to Me.”
Bagdasarian loved it, passed it up the chain, and the girls were brought into the studio. They harmonized beautifully, and their voices were perfectly suited to the material. The recordings have an adorable and ethereal quality, and although McIntyre is listed as producer I wouldn’t be surprised if Bagdasarian lent a hand in the production.
Just wonderful hearing these 2 records again. I was even younger than Patience when I first learned to harmonize by singing “Tonight You Belong to Me” with my cousin Kathy. We loved that one!
“Tonight You Belong To Me” debuted the same week as Elvis Presley’s groundbreaking double-sided hit, “Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog” – 8/4/56. By late October ’56, the sisters’ hit made it to #4 in Billboard and #3 in Cash Box – while “Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog” sat at #1 for an amazing 11 weeks. “Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now” came out in December ’56 and reached #11 in Billboard and #13 in Cash Box by late January ’57. The flip side, “The Money Tree” had some chart action, too, reaching #73. But, that was the end of the “Patience and Prudence Era”. They never appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 charts again, although they did release several other records. However, believe it or not, there is a cd which apparently collects their entire recorded output, including early demos!
http://tinyurl.com/yemz67
Yes, Prudence almost looked like she could have been her sister’s mother! Those two songs were hits, although “Tonight You Belong to Me” was the big one. Their popularity was brief, however. They had a unique sound, but it had a very specific and limited appeal. Dennis has all the charts and could be more specific.
Adorable! Prudence looks older than 14, and Patience looks younger than 11! Typical for back then. I do believe I’ve heard the second song, at least sung by somebody else. WERE they ever on the radio?