"There never was an act like the Bell Sisters, a teenager and her subteen sister who exploded from nowhere with "Bermuda," as song written by 16-year-old Cynthia. They quickly followed that hit with "Wheel of Fortune" (and you thought only Kay Starr had a hit with that one) and many other rapidly-released sides and scored a smash on the Bing Crosby radio show with their music, sense of fun, and 11-year-old Kay's facile comedy. They even made movies successfully, toured for the State Department to military spots with Bob Hope. Their RCA Record catalog is absolutely wild--they did every kind of song imaginable, from the very strange "Rutza Rutza" to a purely lovely "A Fool Such As I." As adults, both Cynthia and Kay proved superb singers; either could have had a terrific career as a jazz singer. They opted instead for marriage and teaching and their remarkable career they now regard as a memorable time in lives with far more than show business on the resume. This long overdue, highly welcomed collection includes all the RCA sides, some unreleased gems, some later recordings and the Bell Sisters appearances with Crosby, which are a revelation. He obviously adored them and his performances with them are totally charming. When you hear Kay's reaction to Cynthia's garbling up the script on one show you'll know why people loved this duo. And no one sounded like them, that's the most interesting thing. Don't miss out on this opportunity to hear the "Bermuda" girls; you'll play this album over and over and smile every listen"
This package is aptly named
Stargzn | United States | 11/15/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"...lots more fun, indeed! I'd never heard of the Bells, until one night, I was 'googling' for Bing. I came across the Bell Sisters website (which I now know is maintained by their nephew, Rex). I was enchanted by the television clips of Bing and these two darling teenagers. Who were they? I had to read more. I was delighted to find this CD had recently been produced, and I ordered it immediately, from Amazon. I wasn't disappointed. Not knowing Bermuda or June Night, made no difference. CD#1 is 'sort of' a best of, while CD#2 is the Lots More Fun. I giggled a LOT listening to the 'banter' between the girls and Bing, (even with an occasional off-note). I wish I could see these televison shows, in their entirety, but to have them preserved, in this manner, is priceless. It is hard to believe they are now both in their 60's. They'll be forever young through this labor of love. If you like pure vocals, mixed with some fun, this one's for you.
(I'm wondering, though, what happened to the picture of the CD? It was on this page, at one time.)
"
Reissue Of The Year
Howie Butler | Grand Forks,ND | 12/17/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Bell Sisters, who hit big with the classic "Bermuda", are featured in a double CD. All of their RCA tracks are here, plus great radio performances from the Bing Crosby radio show. Bing sings along on some of them. There are about 50 songs included, with a highlight being the original demo of "Bermuda". The sound is brilliant, a revelation to anyone who has only heard them on 78 or 45 rpm recordings. My highest recommendation."
A harmonic delight; my 6-year-old especially loves 'em!
CS | Chicago, IL USA | 06/14/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I got hooked on the Bell Sisters recently, after hearing "Bermuda" on a compilation disc I took out of the local library. This disc is a true guilty pleasure, with a sound and tone somewhere between The Andrews Sisters and Patience & Prudence. My daughter really likes the two ridiculous Spike Jones Christmas cuts: "Barnyard Christmas" and "Socko The Smallest Snowball" as well as the (Jewish?) folk song "Rutza Rutza." Other treats are a pre-Elvis "A Fool Such as I," "June Night," "Boo-Hoo," "Poor Whip Poor Will" and "Hang Out the Stars," which is a swingy vocal rendition of Johann Strauss's "Blue Danube Waltz."
Though it's a shame their popularity didn't last, I'm glad they left us this body of work."
For Collectors Of Hit Singles This Is As Complete As They Ge
CS | 04/25/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Leave it to a U.K.-based distributor, in this case Jasmine Music, to come up with the definitive collection covering an American act in a package that has excellent sound reproduction (certainly where the single releases are concerned), informative liner notes, and is designed to appeal to both collectors of hit singles and those who were simply fond of The Bell Sisters and remember their days on radio and TV in the early 1950s. In that they are joined by other great British outfits like Ace (see their Golden Age Of American Rock 'n' Roll and Teen Beat series) and Acrobat (see their Juke Box Hits series covering the greats of American Jazz and R&B).
Since they don't yet show the contents of the two discs I have listed them here for your information:
Disc 1: 1) Bermuda; 2) June Night; 3) The Wheel Of Fortune; 4) Poor Whip Poor Will; 5) Hambone - (with Phil Harris); 6) Rutza, Rutza; 7) Boo Hoo; 8) Hang Out The Stars; 9) Wise Little Echo; 10) If'n; 11) There's A Ship Comin' In; 12) Socko The Smallest Snowball - (with Spike Jones); 13) Barnyard Christmas - (with Spike Jones); 14) Piece A Puddin' - (with Phil Harris); 15) Hi Diddle Diddle - (with Phil Harris); 16) A Fool Such As I; 17) I'm Teaching My Dolly To Pray; 18) The Dance Of Love; 19) So Late, So Early; 20) Heartless' 21) Take Back Your Gold; 22) Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now; 23) Baby Count Ten; 24) Honey Baby; 25) Something Japanese; 26) School Is Over; 27) The Big Goodbye:
Disc 2 1) Banter - (with Bing Crosby); 2) Bermuda; 3) June Night - (with Bing Crosby); 4) Banter - (with Bing Crosby); 5) TheWheel Of Fortune - (with Bing Crosby); 6) Banter - (with Bing Crosby); 7) June Night; 8) Banter - (with Bing Crosby); 9) Rutza, Rutza; 10) The Wheel Of Fortune - (with Bing Crosby); 11) Banter - (with Bing Crosby); 12) Boo Hoo; 13) Poor Whip Poor Will - (with Bing Crosby); 14 Banter - (with Bing Crosby); 15) There's A Ship Comin' In; 16) Zing A Little Zong 17) The Dance Of Love; 18) Wait 'Til The Sun Shines, Nellie - (with Bing Crosby); 19) Introduction To "Stand By For Music"; 20) Do It Again; 21) A Fool Such As I; 22) Conversation - (with Jimmy Wallington); 23) Take Back Your Gold; 24) Bermuda; 25) Latin Louie; 26) Little Boy Bullfighter; 27) Las Vegas Blues; 28) Somebody's Gotta; 29) Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home; 30) Stand By Me.
In terms of hit singles the success of sisters Cynthia (born in 1935) and Kay (born in 1940) Strother (they took their mother's maiden name for their recording career) was modest, just three and all coming in 1952 on the RCA Victor label backed by the Henri Rene orchestra. Their first, Bermuda, was their best, reaching # 7 in February on RCA Victor 47-4422 b/w June Night, an old Ted Lewis tune from 1924 (Jimmy Dorsey would score with it in 1957). The hit side also beat out a cover on Capitol by Ray Anthony & His Orchestra (# 24).
In March they then released a cover of their own with The Wheel Of Fortune on RCA Victor 47-4520 and saw it go to # 10 b/w Poor Whip-Poor-Will, losing out to versions by Kay Starr on Capitol (# 1) and Bobby Wayne on London (# 6), but beating out the one on Derby by Eddie Wilcox & His Orchestra with Sunny Gale (# 13). The best version that year, in my humble opinion anyway, was by the vocal group The Cardinals (# 6 R&B on Atlantic).
Almost on the heels of that release, RCA rushed out a cover of Hambone, billed to Phil Harris and The Bell Sisters, which topped out at # 19, also in March, on RCA Victor 47-4584. Here they lost out to the Frankie Laine - Jo Stafford duet on Columbia (# 6), but finished ahead of the Red Saunders & His Orchestra version on Okeh (a Columbia subsidiary), which finished at # 20. The flip was a Phil Harris-only tune, Mama's On The Warpath.
After that, not one of their singles managed to dent the charts: Rutza Rutza b/w Boo Hoo (RCA Victor 47-4665); Wise Little Echo b/w Hang Out The Stars (RCA Victor 47-4844); If'n b/w There's A Ship Comin' In (RCA Victor 47-4961); A Fool Such As I - the hits in 1953 belonged to Jo Stafford (# 16) and Tommy Edwards (# 23) on the Pop charts, and Hank Snow (# 3) on the Country charts - b/w I'm Teaching My Dolly To Pray (RCA Victor 47-5122); and Heartless b/w Take Back Your Gold (RCA Victor 47-5433).
Even so, those who remember this sister act will be delighted with this release, as will any serious collector of hit singles. They don't get any more complete than this."
