The Paris Sisters

The Paris Sisters bridged the gap separating the traditional vocal pop of the post-World War II era from the equally generation-defining girl group sound that emerged in the wake of rock & roll. By the 1961 release of their Phil Spector-produced breakthrough "I Love How You Love Me," the siblings were already longtime veterans of the music business. Albeth (the oldest), Sherrell (the middle child), and Priscilla Paris (the baby) were born and raised in San Francisco. Their mother, Faye, was the quintessential stage parent, a former opera singer who continued her career vicariously through her children. The Paris Sisters got their start singing and dancing at local Air Force showcases, and circa 1953 they made their recorded debut with a pair of singles for the tiny Cavalier label: "The Bully, Bully Man" (a tie-in with local radio personality Red Blanchard) and the seasonal effort "Christmas in My Home Town." In 1954, their mother engineered a backstage visit during an Andrews Sisters performance at the Warfield Theater, and the trio was so impressed by the Paris siblings' uncanny imitations of their hits that they were invited on-stage for encore performances of the canteen classics "Rum and Coca Cola" and "Beer Barrel Polka." An MCA Records executive in the audience signed the Paris Sisters to the label's Decca imprint immediately thereafter, and the single "Ooh La La" appeared by year's end. Despite the snowballing popularity of rock & roll, the Paris Sisters' early Decca efforts adhered to the increasingly old-fashioned vocal harmony approach popularized by the Andrews Sisters and the McGuire Sisters. As a result, singles like 1955's "Huckleberry Pie," "Give Me a Band and My Baby" (a collaboration with crooner Bing Crosby's son Gary), and "Truly" earned little...