January 31, 1941: "Buck Privates" Introduces "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"

Left to right: Maxene, Patty, LaVerne

January 31, 1941: Buck Privates premieres. It's a comedy, with America's entry into World War II still a matter of "if" instead of "when." The comedy duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello play small-time big-city hucksters who accidentally enlist in the U.S. Army. The plot is not as important as the humor.

In hindsight, this film could have been titled Abbott & Costello Meet the Andrews Sisters. No, they weren't playing monsters, like Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, or the Wolf Man. But, in this film, playing themselves, they sang a song that became a monster hit: "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."

The Sisters were from Minneapolis. LaVerne, a contralto, was born on July 6, 1911. Maxene, a soprano, was born on January 3, 1916. And Patty, a mezzo-soprano, was born on February 16, 1918. (Another sister, Anglyn, was born in 1914, but died at 8 months old.) They had their 1st hit in 1937, and became superstars in 1938 with their version of "The Beer Barrel Polka."

"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was the song that would make them legends. Written by Don Raye and Hughie Price, it's about a trumpet player who's popular in the jazz clubs of Chicago, but gets drafted. At least, unlike in many an Army joke, they assign him a job for which he's qualified: Playing the wake-up call, a.k.a. "reveille," for his unit on a bugle.

The Sisters' appearance in Buck Privates was art imitating life: They were already touring with the USO, the United Service Organization, which entertained American troops wherever they might be -- which was about to be all over the world. The Sisters were involved in the founding of the Stage Door Canteen in New York and the Hollywood Canteen in Los Angeles, and occasionally sang at both.

In 1942, they had their biggest song of the war years, "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else But Me)." In 1945, their hit "Rum and Coca-Cola" was a precursor to the calypso craze.

In 1947, Patty married Marty Melcher, a talent agent, but she left him when she found out he was cheating on her with Doris Day. (They later married.) In 1952, Patty married their piano player, Walter Weschler, who became their manager, and demanded more money for Patty, since, despite being the youngest, she was the lead singer. This caused some dissension, and they broke up the next year. They reunited in 1956, but rock and roll had arrived, and The Andrews Sisters had become an anachronism.

LaVerne married Lou Rogers, a trumpet player in the Vic Schoen band. They had no children. Maxene married Lou Levy, a music publisher, and he became their manager until Patty insisted that Walter replace him. Maxene and Lou adopted a daughter, Aleda Ann, and a son, Peter. The couple separated, and Maxene later began a lesbian relationship that lasted for the rest of her life.

LaVerne died of liver cancer on May 8, 1967, at the age of 55. She had usually been the peacemaker between the other 2, and, while they continued to perform together with various (unrelated) stand-ins for LaVerne, by 1971, they had had it with each other, and never performed together again. Maxene lived until October 21, 1995, at 79. Patty never had children, and was the last survivor, living until January 30, 2013, at 94. As Maxene's children were adopted, their genetic line ended with Patty.

Bette Midler had her 1st hit with a cover of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" in 1973. In 2007, Christina Aguilera had a hit with "Candyman," with almost the same music, and lyrics by herself and Linda Perry, complete with a 1940s-style music video.

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January 31, 1941 was a Friday. Actress Jessica Walter and Democratic Congressional leader Dick Gephardt were born on this day.

Baseball and football were out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL had no games scheduled. So there were no scores on this historic day.