Sisters in Bands Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Shangri-Las

Sisters Mary and Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss paired up with identical twins Marguerite "Marge" and Mary Ann Ganser to form a band they named The Shangri-Las. They took the name from the name of a local Oriental restaurant. When they signed with Red Bird Records their parents had to sign the contract because none of the girls had reached their 18th birthdays. They had success from the start when their first release, "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", reached Number Five in the US. They followed with the Number One "Leader of the Pack". The success of the song established the girls as a solid act and they appeared with such artists as The Beatles, The Drifters and James Brown.
Mary Ann Ganser died from a seizure in 1970. Her sister Marge was only 48 when she passed away due to cancer, in 1996. Mary Weiss eventually began a career as a furniture consultant in New York and Betty worked in the cosmetics business.
Interesting fact; Billy Joel played piano on "Remember (Walking in the Sand)".

Answer: Chapel of Love

"Chapel of Love" was written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich with The Ronettes in mind. The three girls had been singing since they were in grade school and called themselves Little Miss and the Muffets. In 1963 they joined forces with manager Joe Jones and changed their name. He arranged a deal with Red Bird Records and their premier single, "Chapel of Love" became their biggest selling song. After a few more hits the girls switched to ABC-Paramount but failed to continue their run of chart hits. Joan Johnson became a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses and left the music business.
"Dancing in the Street" was done by Martha and The Vandellas in 1964. "Do I Love You?" was a single by The Ronettes that made it to Number 34 and "You Should Have Seen the Way He Looked at Me" was a single by The Dixie Cups that only reached Number 39.
Interesting fact; The Hawkins sisters continue to make appearances with Athelgra Neville as the third member of the Dixie Cups. Athelgra is the sister of the Neville Brothers.

Answer: Bennett

Estelle and Veronica Bennett and Nedra Talley were initially called The Darling Sisters and won a talent show at the Apollo Theatre in 1959. As Ronnie and the Relatives they released a single on Colpix Records called "I Want a Boy". They also backed headliners such as Del Shannon and Bobby Rydell. They changed their name to the Ronettes and producer Phil Spector signed them to his label in 1963. They had success with their initial release, "Be My Baby", and continued a string of hits. Five years later Veronica married Spector. They divorced in 1973.
Shirley Owens was one of the original Shirelles. Martha Reeves fronted Martha and the Vandellas when they formed in 1957.
Interesting fact; The three girls were backing vocalists for Joey Dee at the Peppermint Lounge for a while in the early sixties.

Answer: Pointer

There were five Pointer Sisters singing Gospel for their father, Reverend Elton Pointer. In addition to Anita, Bonnie and June there were also sisters named Issa and Ruth. Ruth and Anita started families right after high school, but Bonnie wanted a career as a singer and convinced June to form a duo. Anita soon joined them and they began getting work as backing vocalists for such talent as Grace Slick, Elvin Bishop and Boz Skaggs. They were signed to Atlantic Records in 1971 when Ruth joined the group and they became a quartet. Their eponymous debut album came out in 1973. Bonnie and June left the group in 1977 and Ruth and Anita forged on as a duo until they signed with Elektra and urged June to rejoin them. They began having hits with "I'm So Excited", "Jump (for My Love)" and "Neutron Dance" from the "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984) soundtrack.
June Pointer died of lung cancer in 2006.
Patti LaBelle fronted The Bluebelles in the early sixties and later formed Labelle. The Paris Sisters recorded "I Love How You Love Me" in 1961. The Star Sisters were from The Netherlands
Interesting fact; The Reverend Pointer believed Rock and Roll was a bad influence, but allowed the girls to play "All Shook Up" by Elvis when they were young because the flip side was "Crying in the Chapel".

Answer: Martha and the Vandellas

Martha Reeves got together with Gloria Williams, Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard when they were teenagers and formed The Del-Phis. They signed with Checkmate, which was later assumed by Motown. With Motown they changed their name and released "Come and Get These Memories" and followed with the Number Four hit, "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave". Annette left in 1964 to have a family and was replaced by Betty Kelly. In 1967 Betty left and Martha's sister, Lois, joined the group. Two years later Martha suffered from health problems and the group briefly disbanded. When they reformed Rosalind Ashford had taken up a career as a nurse. In 1973 Martha left to have a solo career.
The Andantes were primarily a backing group at Motown but issued "Just Be Yourself" in 1964 and "(Like A) Nightmare" in 1964. The Marvelettes recorded Motown's first Number One hit, "Please Mr. Postman". The Supremes later became Diana Ross and the Supremes.
Interesting fact; Betty Kelly had previously been in the Motown group, The Velvelettes, which included sisters Mildred and Carolyn Gill and cousins Bertha and Norma Barbee.

Answer: Ann and Nancy

Ann and Nancy Wilson worked with different bands or were solo performers before becoming part of the ensemble that became Heart. In 1974 the group included Ann, Nancy, Roger Fisher, Steve Fossen, John Hannah and Brian Johnstone. While recording some demos and their first album, "Dreamboat Annie", there were some occasional personnel changes but Ann and Nancy remained the voices of the band.

When "Crazy on You" and "Magic Man" were released in 1976 sales of the album soared. The band embarked on a rigorous touring schedule which eventually resulted in some members getting burnt out, but the sisters persevered with different musicians.

When Heart disbanded the Wilson sisters formed an acoustic group called The Lovemongers with friends Sue Ennis and Frank Cox.

Heart later reformed to begin tours in the late nineties. Interesting fact; Nancy Wilson and her husband produced scores for such films as "Jerry Maguire" (1996), "Elizabethtown" (2005) and "Almost Famous" (2000). They also produced "I Fall Apart", which was sung by Cameron Diaz in "Vanilla Sky" (2001).

Answer: Sister Sledge

There were four sisters in Sister Sledge. Philadelphia natives Kim, Debbie, Joni and Kathy took to singing while another sister, Carol, preferred not to seek a musical career. The girls came by their talent honestly, being granddaughters of opera singer Viola Williams. Their "Circle Of Love" album was released in 1975 but it was their 1979 album, "We Are Family", that yielded hits such as "He's the Greatest Dancer" and "We Are Family".
The Ritchie Family was comprised of Jean Davis, Nadine Felder, Cassandra Wooten and Gwen Oliver. The got their name from their producer, Ritchie Rome. The Honey Cone was formed by Edna Wright, Carolyn Willis, and Shelly Clark. Lipps, Inc. was a studio band fronted by Cynthia Johnson.
Interesting fact; In 1984 the group appeared on an episode of "The Jeffersons" as The Satin Sisters and concluded the program singing "We Are Family".

Answer: The Angels

Barbara Allbut and her sister, Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut, joined Linda Jankowski in 1961 to form The Angels. Linda left after their first release and was replaced by Peggy Santiglia. They signed with Mercury Records in 1963 and recorded "My Boyfriend's Back" as a demo for the Shirelles. The producers felt confident that the song could be a hit and released The Angels' version. It reached Number One. When the band failed to have another commercially successful release Santiglia left. She was replaced by Debra Swisher who had been with the Pixies Three. The group continued to have personnel changes until they disbanded in 1968.
The Orlons lineup has included sisters Shirley and Audrey Brickley. Midge Bollinger, Kaye McCool and Debra Swisher were The Pixies Three. The Exciters consisted of Brenda Reid, her husband Herb Rooney, Lillian Walker and Carolyn Johnson.
Interesting fact; Peggy Santiglia, Bernadette Carroll and Denise Ferri were the backup singers on Lou Christie's recordings, "Lightning Strikes" and "Rhapsody In The Rain".

Answer: The Mamas and the Papas

John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas became the parents of Chynna on February 12, 1968. Chynna and the Wilson girls were raised in the same Southern California area, shared a love of music and signed a record deal with SBK Records in 1989.

Their debut album, "Wilson Phillips", was released the following year. "Hold On" was the first single release from the LP and reached Number One. After releasing more Top Ten hits the trio became the the highest selling female group of all time in 1992, an achievement that would not be surpassed until 1995 by TLC.

After the release of their second album, Chynna left for a solo career. Interesting fact; Mackenzie Phillips, the daughter of John Phillips and his first wife, Susan Adams, became a member of The Mama and the Papas when they performed reunion tours.

Answer: The Murmaids

The Fischer sisters were only 15 and 17 when they had a hit record as The Murmaids. The trio stayed with the small Chattahoochee label despite offers from larger labels. When the girls graduated and went to college other girls filled in for them until the group broke up. Carol settled down and married a jazz musician. Terry continued to record and was a frequent guest on several television shows.
The Three Degrees were a seventies band that did not have any relatives in the band. They are best known for their hit, "When Will I See You Again?". The Caravelles were a duo from Britain who had a 1963 hit on the US charts called "You Don't Have to Be A Baby to Cry" before the Beatles invaded. The Chantels hit the Top Twenty in 1958 with "Maybe".
Interesting fact; David Gates, who later became the front man for Bread, composed "Popsicles and Icicles".