Dorothy Schwartz, American singer, Died at 89

  Music

Dorothy Schwartz died on April 4, 2016.

She was an American singer.

She was a member of The Chordettes group.

The all American female popular singing quartet, usually singing a cappella, and specializing in traditional popular music.

The Chordettes was formally organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1946.

The initial members of the group were Janet Ertel, Carol Buschmann (her sister-in-law), Dorothy Schwartz, and Jinny Osborn/Lockard (April 25, 1927 – May 19, 2003).

Lynn Evans replaced Schwartz in 1952 and in 1953, Margie Needham replaced Osborn (who was having a baby), though Osborn later returned to the group.

And Miss Nancy Overton also was a member of the group at a later time.

The group great hit was “Mr. Sandman” in 1954, which Archie Bleyer himself was on that record along with the group, Bleyer stripping the sound down the better not to clutter the girls’ voices.

The group appeared on American Bandstand on August 5, 1957, the first episode of that show to be broadcast nationally on the ABC Television Network.

Jinny Osborn left the group, in 1961, and they were unable to find a replacement with whom they were happy, leading to a breakup.

The Chordettes was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.

The group songs “Mr. Sandman” and “Lollipop” were featured in the games Mafia II and Lollipop Chainsaw in 2010 and 2012, respectively and “Pink Shoelaces” was featured in LittleBigPlanet 3 in 2014.

Dorothy Schwartz passed away at 89 yrs old.