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Fortitudo, by Sandro Botticelli

Courage (also bravery, boldness, fearlessness, mettle, fortitude, or intrepidity) is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Courage is acting in spite of fear. "Physical courage" is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, death, or threat of death, while "moral courage" is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement.

Theories of courage[link]

Western antiquity and Middle Ages[link]

As a [desirable] quality, courage is discussed broadly in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, where its vice of shortage is cowardice and its vice of excess is recklessness.^[1] 'live life not without fear, but with gallantry against it' : Christian L J Silver

In Roman Catholicism, courage is referred to as "Fortitude"^[2] as one of the four cardinal virtues, along with prudence, justice, and temperance. ("Cardinal" in this sense means "pivotal"; it is one of the four cardinal virtues because to possess any virtue, a person must be able to sustain it in the face of difficulty.) This is well expressed by Maya Angelou:

Courage is the most important of the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.

Or this insight from Winston Churchill:

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities ... because it is the quality that guarantees all others.

In both Catholicism and Anglicanism, courage is also one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Eastern traditions[link]

The Tao Te Ching states that courage is derived from love ("慈 loving 故 causes 能 ability 勇 brave") and explains: "One of courage, with audacity, will die. One of courage, but gentle, spares death. From these two kinds of courage arise harm and benefit."^[3][4]

Courage (shauriya) and Patience (dhairya) appear as the first two of ten characteristics (lakshana) of dharma in the Hindu Manusmṛti, besides forgiveness (kshama), tolerance (dama), honesty (asthaya), physical restraint (indriya nigraha), cleanliness (shouchya), perceptiveness (dhi), knowledge (vidhya), truthfulness (satya), and control of anger (akrodh).

Islamic beliefs also present courage and self-control as a key factor in facing the Devil and in some cases Jihad to a lesser extent; many believe this because of the courage (through peace and patience) the Prophets of the past displayed against people who despised them for their beliefs.

Modernity[link]

Business magnate Andrew Carnegie provided his perspective in his quote, "The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore."

Søren Kierkegaard opposed courage to angst, while Paul Tillich opposed an existential courage to be to non-being, fundamentally equating it with religion:

"Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite of the fact of non-being. It is the act of the individual self in taking the anxiety of non-being upon itself by affirming itself ... in the anxiety of guilt and condemnation. ... every courage to be has openly or covertly a religious root. For religion is the state of being grasped by the power of being itself."^[5]

J.R.R. Tolkien identified in his 1936 lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" a "Northern 'theory of courage'"—the heroic or "virtuous pagan" insistence to do the right thing even in the face of certain defeat without promise of reward or salvation:

Virtuous pagan heroism or courage in this sense is "trusting in your own strength," as observed by Jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology,

Ernest Hemingway famously defined courage as "grace under pressure."^[8]

Civil courage[link]

Civil courage (sometimes also referred to as "Social courage") is defined by many different standards. In general, the term is usually referred to when civilians stand up against something that is deemed unjust and evil, knowing that the consequences of their action might lead to their death, injury or some other form of significant harm.^{[citation needed]}

In some countries (e.g. France^[9] and Germany)^[10] civil courage (Duty to rescue) is enforced by law under certain circumstances; this generally excludes assistance that would endanger the person who is offering it.

Symbolism[link]

Its accompanying animal is the lion. Often, Fortitude is depicted as having tamed the ferocious lion. Cf. e.g. the Tarot trump called Strength. It is sometimes seen in the Catholic Church as a depiction of Christ's triumph over sin (see Revelation 5:5). It also is a symbol in some cultures as a savior of the people who live in a community with sin and corruption.

Awards[link]

See also Category:Courage awards

Several awards claim to recognize courageous actions, including:

• The Victoria Cross is the highest military award that may be received by members of the armed forces in the British Army and other Commonwealth countries for valour "in the face of the enemy." A total of 1,356 have been awarded to individuals, 13 since World War II.
• The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on members of the United States armed forces who distinguish themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States”.
• Distinguished Service Cross (United States) is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, awarded for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force.
• The Carnegie Hero Fund - was established to recognize persons who perform extraordinary acts of heroism in civilian life in the United States and Canada, and to provide financial assistance for those disabled and the dependents of those killed saving or attempting to save others.
• The Profile in Courage Award is a private award given to recognize displays of courage similar to those John F. Kennedy described in his book Profiles in Courage. It is given to individuals (often elected officials) who, by acting in accord with their conscience, risked their careers or lives by pursuing a larger vision of the national, state or local interest in opposition to popular opinion or pressure from constituents or other local interests.
• The Civil Courage Prize is a human rights award which is awarded to "steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk — rather than military valor." It is awarded by the Trustees of The Train Foundation annually and may be awarded posthumously.
• Courage to Care Award is a plaque with miniature bas-reliefs depicting the backdrop for the rescuers’ exceptional deeds during the Nazis’ persecution, deportation and murder of millions of Jews.
• The Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage is a prize awarded by Georgia Institute of Technology to individuals who uphold the legacy of former Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr., whose actions in Atlanta, Georgia and testimony before congress in support of the 1963 Civil Rights Bill legislation set a standard for courage during the turbulent civil rights era of the 1960s.

As a strength in psychology[link]

From the end of the twentieth century, courage has been a concept generating interest in the field of psychology. In 2004, Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman’s book, Character Strengths and Virtues proposed a uniform way of classifying positive traits that highlight the elements of humanity that uplift humanity, Courage being among the key virtues. In addition, Seligman and Peterson founded the Virtues in Action (VIA) Institute and created the VIA survey which hope to bring this uniform categorization of human strengths to the masses. The VIA classifies human strengths in six, broad categories: Wisdom and Knowledge, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, Transcendence. Courage is broken down into four main subcategories: Bravery, Perseverance, Honesty, and Zest.

Bravery[link]

Bravery is the subcategory most people generally associate with Courage.^[11] It is defined as “the ability to stand up for what is right in difficult situations.”^[11] As opposed to less sophisticated definitions that simply categorize bravery as fearlessness or acting when an observer would be afraid.^[12] There are several forms of this bravery. Physical bravery involves acting in spite of possible harm to one’s body. Moral bravery involves acting in a way that enhances what one believes to be good in spite of social disapproval and possible backlash. A third, theoretically newer, definition of bravery is psychological bravery which involves things such as overcoming one’s own addictive habits, irrational anxieties, and harmful dependent relationships. Psychological bravery means acting against one’s own natural inclinations and facing fears which might not have any societal moral implications.^[13] Bravery works well as a virtue in the VIA classification system because it is highly regarded across cultures and has obvious benefits for those surrounded by brave people. Possible problems with viewing bravery as a classifiable human strength is that it could be argued that bravery is not trait-like since it only comes out under certain circumstances.^[11] The counterargument to this claim is that bravery is trait-like in the same way creativity is considered a trait; both appear only in certain situations.^[11] The VIA claims that it is a positive psychological trait that can be found and cultivated in certain individuals.

Perseverance[link]

Perseverance falls under the larger category of courage because it often involves continuing along a path in the midst of and after having faced opposition and perhaps failure. Perseverance involves the ability to seek a goal in spite of obstacles and has been shown in human and animal studies to be a lasting trait with individual differences.^[14] In order to persevere at a task, a person must be able to suppress desires to give up and pursue an easier task, a metacognitive understanding that the ends justify the persevering means. But beyond meta cognition, a person high in perseverance is able to overcome low self-esteem and estimations that one cannot do the task as well as discouragement from peers and the desire to present oneself well.^[15] As a categorical psychological strength, perseverance is regarded highly by society as opposed to laziness. However, its one weakness as an entry on the VIA as noted by Peterson and Seligman is that it may not be discernible from other human strengths and virtues. It especially can be seen as overlapping with self-control. However Peterson and Seligman maintain its distinctiveness, pointing out that perseverance “is explicitly shown across time, whereas control and regulation of oneself have a more here-and-now flavor”.^[11] More research needs to be done in this area to empirically show that perseverance belongs in its own distinct category.

Honesty[link]

As defined by positive psychologists, honesty and authenticity as a subset of courage means more than simply telling the truth. It involves integrity in all areas of one’s life and the ability to be true to oneself and one’s role in the world across circumstances.^[11] Though perhaps one would not immediately associate honesty with courage, there are obvious situations in life where to be honest and authentic requires a great deal of strength in the midst of fear. The positive view societies have of honesty can be seen from the fact that it is something people try to develop in young children and adolescents.^[11] While all people seem to grow in their understanding of the moral importance of honest and integrity as they grow older,^[16] there are certain individuals who seem to especially excel in this human strength. This trait is important in many areas of life, so much so that many measurements have been developed in an effort to identify especially honest individuals. These measurements test both overt honesty, the thoughts one has about blatant dishonesty such as stealing, and covert honesty, which is very similar to conscientiousness and dependability.^[11] Of all the subcategories under courage in the VIA, Honesty shows the most promise as a distinct, well defined area of classification.^[11]

Zest[link]

Of the four categories involved in courage, zest or vitality, is the one that has the most weaknesses as a classification. It is defined as, “feeling alive, being full of zest, and displaying enthusiasm for any and all activities”.^[11] This is a category that is influenced not only by subjective psychological factors, but also objective factors affecting one’s physical well-being such as chronic pain.^[17] The reason Peterson and Seligman group Zest together with other courageous virtues is that Zest most often comes forth as a character strength in the midst of trying circumstances. For example, it has been shown that people’s subjective perception of their situation when faced with chronic pain, judging their perceived ability to handle the situation and their general positivity, is able to influence their well-being. This zest can be shown to be trait-like across situations.^[17]

See also[link]

	Ethics portal
	Philosophy portal
	Psychology portal

• Bushido
• Chivalry
• Dharma
• Karma
• Virtue

Notes[link]

References[link]

• JEANMART G. & BLÉSIN L. (dir.), Figures du courage politique dans la philosophie moderne et contemporaine, numéro thématique de la revue Dissensus. Revue de philosophie politique de l’Université de Liège (http://popups.ulg.ac.be/dissensus/), n°2, automne 2009.
• Avramenko, Richard. Courage: The Politics of Life and Limb (University of Notre Dame Press, 2011)
• Catholic Encyclopedia "Fortitude"
• Summa Theologica "Second Part of the Second Part" See Questions 123-140
• Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death (New York: The Free Press, 1973).
• Douglas N. Walton, Courage: A philosophical investigation (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1986).
• Stephen Palmquist, "Angst and the Paradox of Courage" hkbu.edu.hk, Chapter XII in The Tree of Philosophy (Hong Kong: Philopsychy Press, 2000)
• Bussey, K. (1992). Lying and truthfulness: Children’s definitions, standards, and evaluative reactions. Child Development, 63, 129-137.
• Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of gal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 4, 227-268.
• Eisenberger, R. (1992). Learned industriousness. Psychological Review, 99, 248-267.
• Evans, P. D., & White, D. G. (1981). Towards an empirical definition of courage. Behaviour Research and Therepy, 19, 419-424.
• Peterson, C., & Seligman M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford University Press. 197-289.
• Putnam, D. (1997). Psychological courage. Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology, 4, 1-11.
• Ryan, R. M., & Frederick, C. (1997). On energy, personality, and health: Subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well-being. Journal of Personality, 65, 529-565.
• Zimmerman, Barry J. (1995). Self-regulation involves more than meta cognition: A social cognitive perspective. Educational Psychologist. pp. 30, 217–221. 
• Ian Miller, William (2000). The Mystery of Courage. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-00826-X. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Courage

Look up courage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Courage Institute International, Share insights about building your own courage or ennobling teams to lift performance with courage.

v t e Emotions (list) Emotions Adoration Affection Agony Awe Amusement Anger Anguish Annoyance Anxiety Arousal Attraction Caring Compassion Contempt Contentment Defeat Dejection Depression Desire Despair Disappointment Disgust Ecstasy Embarrassment Empathy Enthrallment Enthusiasm Envy Euphoria Excitement Fear Frustration Grief Guilt Happiness Hatred Homesickness Hope Horror Hostility Humiliation Hysteria Infatuation Insecurity Insult Interest Irritation Isolation Jealousy Loneliness Longing Love Lust Melancholy Neglect Optimism Panic Passion Pity Pleasure Pride Rage Regret Rejection Remorse Resentment Sadness Sentimentality Shame Shock Sorrow Spite Suffering Surprise Sympathy Tenseness Thrill Revenge Wonder Worry Diligence Zest Worldviews Compatibilism Existentialism Fatalism Incompatibilism Metaphysics Nihilism Optimism Pessimism Reclusion Social justice Weltschmerz Source: Parrott, W. (2001), Emotions in Social Psychology, Psychology Press, Philadelphia.

Suhaib Webb
File:Suhaibwebb3.jpg
Born	William Webb (1972-06-29) June 29, 1972 (age 39) Oklahoma  United States
Occupation	Imam
Title	Imam
Religion	Islam
Website
http://www.suhaibwebb.com

Suhaib Webb is a contemporary American-Muslim educator, activist, and lecturer.^[1] He is currently the imam of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC), the largest mosque in the New England area.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

He was born William Webb in 1972 in Oklahoma to a Christian family, including a grandfather who served as a preacher.^[2] At age 14, he lost interest in religion going through a self-described spiritual crisis. He also began engaging in delinquency by joining a local gang, was involved in a drive by shooting, and became a successful local Hip-Hop DJ and producer,^[3] making records with various artists.

Education[link]

After converting to Islam in 1992, Webb left his career as a DJ and studied at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Education. He also studied privately under a Senegalese Sheikh, learning enough Islam and Arabic to become a community leader in Oklahoma City, where he was hired as Imam at The Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City.^[4] He simultaneously started teaching at Mercy School, an Islamic K-12 school in Oklahoma City.

From 2004-2010, Suhaib Webb studied at the world’s preeminent Islamic institution of learning, Al-Azhar University, in the College of Shari`ah, in Cairo. During this time, after several years of studying the Arabic Language and the Islamic legal tradition, including maliki law, he also served as the head of the English Translation Department at Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah.^{[5][dead link]}

Career[link]

Apart from his studies, he frequently lectures in the United States and Malaysia, and records public lecture series on Islam and contemporary Muslim matters. After graduating from Al-Azhar, he moved to Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay area, where he hosted the weekly "Real Talk" call-in radio show.^[6] On December 1, 2011, Webb was inaugurated as the Imam of the Islamic Society of Boston's Cultural Center (ISBCC)^[7], the largest Islamic center in New England^[8].

Suhaib Webb is an active member of the Muslim American Society and its youth department and has been so for the last ten years. It is through the Muslim American Society's scholarship program that he was sent to Egypt to attain fluency in Arabic and focus on Islamic studies.^[9] Webb frequently hosts lectures and posts articles offering Islamic perspectives on modern-day issues such as community involvement and social relevance.^[10]

Reputation[link]

Some UK government officials were quoted in a 2004 edition of The Guardian describing Webb as a "moderate leader" along with the likes of Hamza Yusuf and Amr Khaled.^[11] Webb was named one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in 2010.^[12] Webb's website, www.SuhaibWebb.com, was voted the best "Blog of the Year" by the 2009 Brass Crescent awards ^[13] and his tweets won him the vote of "Best Muslim Tweeter" of 2010.^[14]

Views & Accomplishments[link]

Webb joined a trip of imams to Auschwitz in 2010, followed by a public statement to condemning Holocaust-denial and anti-Semitism.^[15] He helped raise $20,000 for widows and children of firefighters killed in the 9/11 attack.^[16] He is a part of efforts to more effectively rebut militants and religious extremists ^[17][18] and is an advocate for grassroots Muslim activism to promote social change. He advocates for an American-style Islam, one that is true to the Quran and Islamic law but that reflects this country's customs and culture.^[19][20]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Suhaib Webb's Official Website
• Suhaib Webb on Twitter
• Suhaib Webb's Official Youtube Page
• Suhaib Webb Video and Audio lectures from Halal Tube
• Suhaib comments on his conversion to Islam
• Advice by Suhaib Webb to the Converts (Audio Lecture)

The Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967; Age 55), soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews (January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995; Age 79), and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews (born February 16, 1918; Age 94). Throughout their long career, the sisters sold well over 75 million records (the last official count released by MCA Records in the mid-1970s). Their 1941 hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" can be considered an early example of rhythm and blues or jump blues.

The Andrews Sisters' harmonies and songs are still influential today, and have been covered by entertainers such as Bette Midler, the Puppini Sisters and Christina Aguilera. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.

Early life[link]

The Andrews sisters were born in Minnesota to a Greek immigrant father and a Norwegian American mother,^[1] Olga "Ollie" (née Sollie) Andrews (1886–1948) and Peter Andreas (proper probable Greek form of name Petros Andreou), who took the name of Andrews (1884–1949).

Patty, the youngest and the lead singer of the group, was only seven when the group was formed, and just 12 when they won first prize at a talent contest at the local Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, where LaVerne played piano accompaniment for the silent film showings in exchange for free dancing lessons for herself and her sisters. Once the sisters found fame and settled in California, their parents lived with them in a Brentwood estate in Los Angeles until their deaths. Several cousins from Minnesota followed them west. The sisters returned to Minneapolis at least once a year to visit family and friends and/or to perform.

Career[link]

They started their career as imitators of an earlier successful singing group, the Boswell Sisters. After singing with various dance bands and touring in vaudeville with the likes of Ted Mack, Leon Belasco, and comic bandleader Larry Rich, they first came to national attention with their recordings and radio broadcasts in 1937, most notably via their major Decca record hit, Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (translation: To me, you are beautiful),^[2] originally a Yiddish tune, the lyrics of which Sammy Cahn had translated to English and which the girls harmonized to perfection. They followed this success with a string of best-selling records over the next two years and they became a household name by 1940.

World War II[link]

During World War II, they entertained the Allied forces extensively in America, Africa and Italy, visiting Army, Navy, Marine and Coast Guard bases, war zones, hospitals, and munitions factories.^[3] They encouraged U.S. citizens to purchase war bonds with their rendition of Irving Berlin's song Any Bonds Today?. They also helped actors Bette Davis and John Garfield found California's famous Hollywood Canteen, a welcome retreat for servicemen where the trio often performed, volunteering their personal time to sing and dance for the soldiers, sailors and Marines (they did the same at New York City's Stage Door Canteen during the war). While touring, they often treated three random servicemen to dinner when they were dining out. They recorded a series of Victory Discs (V-Discs) for distribution to Allied fighting forces only, again volunteering their time for studio sessions for the Music Branch, Special Service Division of the Army Service Forces, and they were dubbed the "Sweethearts of the Armed Forces Radio Service" for their many appearances on shows like "Command Performance", "Mail Call", and "G.I. Journal."

Career interruption[link]

The Andrews Sisters broke up in 1951 because one sister joined a different group, with her husband acting as her agent. When Maxene and LaVerne learned of Patty's decision from newspaper gossip columns rather than from their own sister, it caused a bitter two-year separation, especially when Patty decided to worsen matters by suing LaVerne for a larger share of their parents' estate.^{[citation needed]} Maxene and LaVerne tried to continue the act as a duo and met with good press during a 10-day tour of Australia, but a reported suicide attempt by Maxene in December 1954^[4] put a halt to any further tours (Maxene spent a short time in hospital after swallowing 18 sleeping pills, an occurrence that LaVerne told reporters was an accident).

The trio reunited in 1956. They signed a new recording contract with Capitol Records (for whom Patty had become a featured soloist) and released a dozen singles through 1959, some rock-and-roll flavored and not very well received, and three hi-fi albums, including a vibrant LP of songs from the dancing 1920s with Billy May's orchestra. In 1962, they signed with Dot Records and recorded a series of stereo albums over five years, both re-recordings of earlier hits, as well as new material, including "I Left My Heart In San Francisco", "Still", "The End of the World",^{[disambiguation needed ]} "Puff the Magic Dragon", "Sailor", "Satin Doll", the theme from Come September, and the theme from A Man and a Woman. They toured extensively during the 1960s, favoring top nightclubs in Las Vegas, Nevada, California and London, England.

The act came to an abrupt end in 1967 when eldest sister LaVerne died of cancer after a year-long bout with the illness,^[5] during which she was replaced by singer Joyce DeYoung. LaVerne had founded the original group, and often acted as the peacemaker among the three during the sisters' lives, more often siding with her parents, to whom the girls were extremely devoted, than with either of her sisters. Once LaVerne was dead, Maxene saw no need to continue as a duo (she taught acting, drama, and speech at a Lake Tahoe college and worked with troubled teens), and Patty was once again eager to be a soloist.^[6]

Comeback[link]

Both surviving sisters had something of a comeback when Bette Midler recorded her own version of their song "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" in 1972. Their most notable comeback, however, was in the Sherman Brothers' nostalgic World War II musical: Over Here! which premiered on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre in 1974 to rave reviews. This was a follow-up to Patty's success in "Victory Canteen" a 1971 California revue. The musical starred Maxene and Patty (with Janie Sell filling in for LaVerne and winning a Tony Award for her performance) and was written with both sisters in mind for the leads. It launched the careers of many now notable theater, film and television icons (John Travolta, Marilu Henner, Treat Williams, Ann Reinking, et al.). It was the last major hurrah for the sisters and was cut short due to a lawsuit initiated by Patty's husband against the show's producers, squashing an extensively scheduled road tour for the company, including the sisters.

Patty immediately distanced herself from Maxene, who claimed until her death that she was not aware of Patty's motives regarding the separation. She appealed to Patty for a reunion, personally if not professionally, both in public and in private, but to no avail. Maxene suffered a serious heart attack while performing in Illinois in 1982 and underwent quadruple bypass surgery, from which she successfully recovered. Patty visited her sister while she was hospitalized. Now sometimes appearing as "Patti" (but still signing autographs as "Patty") she re-emerged in the late 1970s as a regular panelist on The Gong Show. Maxene had a very successful comeback as a cabaret soloist in 1979 and toured worldwide for the next 15 years, recording a solo album in 1985 entitled "Maxene: An Andrews Sister" for Bainbridge Records. Patty started her own solo act in 1981, but did not receive the critical acclaim her sister had for her performances, even though it was Patty who was considered to be the "star" of the group for years. The critics' major complaint was that Patty's show concentrated too much on Andrews Sisters material, which did not allow Patty's own talents as a very expressive and bluesy vocalist to shine through.

The two sisters did reunite, albeit briefly, on October 1, 1987 when they received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, even singing a few bars of "Beer Barrel Polka" for the Entertainment Tonight cameras. Ironically, an earthquake shook the area that very morning and the ceremony was nearly cancelled, which caused Patty to joke, "Some people said that earthquake this morning was LaVerne because she couldn't be here, but really it was just Maxene and I on the telephone." Both sisters laughed and shared a hug. Besides this, and a few brief private encounters, they remained somewhat estranged for the last few years.

Shortly after her Off-Broadway debut in New York City in a show called Swingtime Canteen, Maxene suffered another heart attack and died at Cape Cod Hospital on October 21, 1995, making Patty the only surviving Andrews Sister. Not long before she died, Maxene told music historian William Ruhlmann, "I have nothing to regret. We got on the carousel and we each got the ring and I was satisfied with that. There's nothing I would do to change things if I could...Yes, I would. I wish I had the ability and the power to bridge the gap between my relationship with my sister, Patty."^{[citation needed]} Upon hearing the news of her sister's death, Patty became very distraught. As her husband Wally went to her, he fell on a flight of stairs and broke both wrists. Patty did not attend her sister's memorial services in New York, nor in California. Said Bob Hope of Maxene's passing, "She was more than part of The Andrews Sisters, much more than a singer. She was a warm and wonderful lady who shared her talent and wisdom with others."

Retirement and deaths[link]

Instrumental to the sisters' success over the years were their parents, Olga and Peter; their orchestra leader and musical arranger, Vic Schoen (1916–2000); music publishing giant Lou Levy, who died only days after Maxene, and was their manager from 1937–51 and was also Maxene's husband from 1941–49;^[7] and both Jack Kapp (d. 1949) and his brother David Kapp, who founded Decca Records.

Patty Andrews married agent Marty Melcher in 1947 and left him in 1949, when he pursued a romantic relationship with Doris Day (at the time of his death, Melcher left Day in millions of dollars of debt after mismanaging her money for years, unbeknownst to Day). Patty then married Walter Weschler, the trio's pianist, in 1951. LaVerne married Lou Rogers,^[5] a trumpet player in Vic Schoen's band, in 1948, and remained with him until her death (he died in 1995, five days after Maxene's and five days before Levy's deaths).

LaVerne and Maxene Andrews are interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California with their parents, and room remains in the crypt for Patty if she chooses it as her final resting place.

At age 94, Patty Andrews lives quietly in Northridge, California. Wally Weschler, her husband of 60 years, died on August 28, 2010, at the age of 88. In interviews, when granted, she rarely speaks personally of her sisters. When asked about their legendary feuding, she jokes about it and quickly moves on to the next topic, as in 1985, when she told Merv Griffin during a television interview, "The Andrews Sisters only had one big fight. Really. It started in 1937 and it's still going!"

Legacy[link]

The Andrews Sisters' recording of "Don't Sit under the Apple Tree" was sampled in Soul Coughing's song "Down to This" off their album Ruby Vroom. Until the advent of the Supremes, the sisters were the most imitated of all female singing groups and influenced many artists, including Mel Tormé, Les Paul and Mary Ford, The Four Freshmen, The McGuire Sisters, The Manhattan Dolls, The Lennon Sisters, The Pointer Sisters, The Manhattan Transfer, The Puppini Sisters, Barry Manilow, and Bette Midler; even Elvis Presley was a fan.

Most of the Andrews Sisters' music has been restored and released in compact disc form, yet over 300 of their original Decca recordings, a good portion of which was hit material, has yet to be released by MCA/Decca in over 50 years. Many of these Decca recordings have been used in such television shows and Hollywood movies as Homefront, ER, The Brink's Job, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Swing Shift, Raggedy Man, Summer of '42, Slaughterhouse-Five, Maria's Lovers, Harlem Nights, In Dreams, Murder in the First, L.A. Confidential, Just Shoot Me, Gilmore Girls, Mama's Family, War and Remembrance, Jakob the Liar, Lolita, The Polar Express, The Chronicles of Narnia, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!). Comical references to the trio in television sitcoms can be found as early as I Love Lucy and as recently as Everybody Loves Raymond. In 2007, their version of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" was included in the game BioShock, a first-person shooter that takes place in an alternate history 1960, and later in 2008, their song "Civilization" (with Danny Kaye) was included in the Atomic Age-inspired video game Fallout 3.

Christina Aguilera used the Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" to inspire her song "Candyman" (released as a single in 2007) from her hit album Back to Basics. The song was co-written by Linda Perry. The London based trio the Puppini Sisters uses their style harmonies on several Andrews Sisters and other hits of the 1940s and 1950s as well as later rock and disco hits. The trio has said their name is a tribute to The Andrews Sisters. The Manhattan Dolls, a New York City-based touring group, performs both the popular tunes sung by the Andrews Sisters as well as some of the more obscure tunes such as "Well Alright" and "South American Way."

In 2008 and 2009, the BBC produced a one-hour documentary on the history of the Andrews Sisters from their upbringing in Mound, Minnesota, to the present. The American premier of the show was June 21, 2009 in Mound. In 2008, Mound dedicated "The Andrews Sisters Trail". The sisters spent summers in Mound with their uncles Pete and Ed Solie, who had a grocery store there. Maxene Andrews always said that the summers in Mound created a major sense of "normalcy" and "a wonderful childhood" in a life that otherwise centered around the sisters' careers. The Westonka Historical Society has a large collection of Andrews Sisters memorabilia.

Musical innovators[link]

When the sisters burst upon the music scene in the late 1930s, they shook a very solid musical foundation: producing a slick harmonic blend by singing at the top of their lungs while trying - successfully - to emulate the blare of three harmonizing trumpets, with a full big band racing behind them. Some bandleaders of the day, such as Artie Shaw and his musicians, resented them for taking the focus away from the band and emphasizing the vocals instead. They were in as high demand as the big bandleaders themselves, many of whom did not want to share the spotlight and play back-up to a girl trio.

Nevertheless, they found instant appeal with teenagers and young adults who were engrossed in the swing and jazz idioms, especially when they performed with nearly all of the major big bands, including those led by Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, Joe Venuti, Freddie Slack, Eddie Heywood, Bob Crosby (Bing's brother), Desi Arnaz, Guy Lombardo, Les Brown, Bunny Berigan, Xavier Cugat, Paul Whiteman, Ted Lewis, Nelson Riddle and mood-master Gordon Jenkins, whose orchestra and chorus accompanied them on such successful soft and melancholy renditions as "I Can Dream, Can't I?" (which shot to number one on Billboard and remained in the Top 10 for 25 weeks), "I Wanna Be Loved", "There Will Never Be Another You", and the inspirational "The Three Bells" (the first recorded English version of the French composition), as well as several solo recordings with Patty, including a cover version of Nat King Cole's "Too Young", "It Never Entered My Mind", "If You Go", and "That's How A Love Song Is Born".

"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" can be considered an early recording of rhythm and blues or jump blues.

Many styles[link]

While the sisters specialized in swing, boogie-woogie, and novelty hits with their trademark lightning-quick vocal syncopations, they also produced major hits in jazz, ballads, folk, country-western, seasonal, and religious titles, being the first Decca artists to record an album of gospel standards in 1950. Their versatility allowed them to pair with many different artists in the recording studios, producing Top 10 hits with the likes of Bing Crosby (the only recording artist of the 1940s to sell more records than The Andrews Sisters), Danny Kaye, Dick Haymes, Carmen Miranda, Al Jolson, Ray McKinley, Burl Ives, Ernest Tubb, Red Foley, Dan Dailey, Alfred Apaka, and Les Paul. In personal appearances, on radio and on television, they sang with everyone from Rudy Vallee, Judy Garland and Nat "King" Cole to Jimmie Rodgers, Andy Williams, and The Supremes. Some obvious 1930's song styles can be heard with early contemporary harmonizers of their day with the Boswell Sisters, and the Three X Sisters.

Films[link]

Maxene, Patty, and LaVerne appeared in 17 Hollywood films. Their first picture, Argentine Nights, paired them with another enthusiastic trio, the Ritz Brothers.^[8] Universal Pictures, always budget-conscious, refused to hire a choreographer, so the Ritzes taught the sisters some eccentric steps. Thus, in Argentine Nights and the sisters' next film, Buck Privates, the Andrews Sisters dance like the Ritz Brothers.

Buck Privates, with Abbott and Costello, featured the Andrews Sisters' best-known song, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". This Don Raye-Hughie Prince composition was nominated for Best Song at the 1941 Academy Awards ceremony.

Universal hired the sisters for two more Abbott and Costello comedies, and then promoted them to full-fledged stardom in B musicals. What's Cookin', Private Buckaroo, and Give Out, Sisters (the latter portraying the sisters as old ladies) were among the team's popular full-length films.

The Andrews Sisters have a specialty number in the all-star revue Hollywood Canteen (1944). They can be seen singing "You Don't Have to Know the Language" with Bing Crosby in Paramount's Road to Rio with Bob Hope, that year's highest-grossing movie. Their singing voices are heard in two full-length Walt Disney features ("Make Mine Music"^[9] which featured Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet, and "Melody Time", which introduced Little Toot, both of which are available on DVD today).

Stage and radio shows[link]

The Andrews Sisters were the most sought-after entertainment property in theater shows worldwide during the 1940s and early 1950s, always topping previous house averages. Blonde Patty, brunette Maxene and redhead LaVerne headlined at the London Palladium in 1948 and 1951 to sold-out crowds. They hosted their own radio shows for ABC and CBS from 1944–1951, singing specially-written commercial jingles for such products as Wrigley's chewing gum, Dole pineapples, Nash motor cars, Kelvinator home appliances, Campbell's soups, and Franco-American food products.

Setting records[link]

They recorded 47 songs with crooner Bing Crosby, 23 of which charted on Billboard, thus making the team one of the most successful pairings of acts in a recording studio in show business history. Their million-sellers with Crosby included "Pistol Packin' Mama", "Don't Fence Me In", "South America, Take It Away", and "Jingle Bells", among other yuletide favorites.

The sisters' popularity was such that after the war they discovered some of their records had actually been smuggled into Germany after the labels had been changed to read "Hitler's Marching Songs". Their recording of Bei Mir Bist Du Schön became a favorite of the Nazis, until it was discovered that the song's composers were of Jewish descent. Still, it did not stop concentration camp inmates from secretly singing it, this is most likely since the song was originally a Yiddish song "Bei Mir Bistu Shein", and had been popularized within the Jewish community before it was recorded as a more successful "cover" version by the Andrews sisters.

Along with Bing Crosby, separately and jointly, The Andrews Sisters were among the performers who incorporated ethnic music styles into America's Hit Parade, popularizing or enhancing the popularity of songs with melodies originating in Brazil, Czechoslovakia, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Trinidad, many of which their manager chose for them.

The Andrews Sisters became the best-selling female vocal group in the history of popular music, setting records that remain unsurpassed to this day:

• between 75-100 million records sold from a little over 600 recorded tunes
• 113 charted Billboard hits, 46 reaching Top 10 status (more than Elvis Presley or The Beatles)
• 17 Hollywood films (more than any other singing group in motion picture history)
• record-breaking theater and cabaret runs all across America and Europe;
• countless appearances on radio shows from 1935 to 1960 (including their own)
• guest spots on every major television show of the 1950s and 1960s, including those hosted by Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Johnny Carson, Joey Bishop, Art Linkletter, and Jimmy Dean.

Early comparative female close harmony trios were the Boswell Sisters, the Pickens Sisters, and the Three X Sisters.

Repertoire[link]

Hit records[link]

Other songs[link]

Highest chart positions on Billboard; with Vic Schoen and his orchestra, unless otherwise noted:

• "Joseph! Joseph!" (1938) (#18)
• "Ti-Pi-Tin" (1938) (#12)
• "Shortenin' Bread" (1938) (#16)
• "Says My Heart" (1938) (#10)
• "Tu-Li-Tulip Time" (with Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra) (1938) (#9)
• "Sha-Sha" (with Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra)(1938) (#17)
• "Lullaby to a Jitterbug" (1938) (#10)
• "Pross Tchai (Goodbye-Goodbye)" (1939) (#15)
• "You Don't Know How Much You Can Suffer" (1939) (#14)
• "Ciribiribin (They're So in Love)" (with Bing Crosby & Joe Venuti and his orchestra) (1939) (#13)
• "Chico's Love Song" (1939) (#11)
• "The Woodpecker Song" (1940) (#6)
• "Down By the O-HI-O" (1940) (#21)
• "Rhumboogie" (1940) (#11)
• "Hit the Road" (1940) (#27)
• "Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat" (1940) (#10)
• "I Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi (I Like You Very Much)" (1941) (#11)
• "Aurora" (1941) (#10)
• "Sonny Boy" (1941) (#22)
• "The Nickel Serenade" (1941) (#22)
• "Sleepy Serenade" (1941) (#22)
• "I Wish I Had a Dime (For Ev'rytime I Missed You)" (1941) (#20)
• "Jealous" (1941) (#12)
• "I'll Pray For You" (1942) (#22)
• "Three Little Sisters" (1942) (#8)
• "Pennsylvania Polka" (1942) (#17)
• "That's the Moon, My Son" (1942) (#18)
• "Mister Five By Five" (1942) (#14)
• "Strip Polka" (1942) (#6)
• "Here Comes the Navy" (1942) (#17)
• "East of the Rockies" (1943) (#18)
• "Down in the Valley (Hear that Train Blow)" (1944) (#20)
• "Straighten Up and Fly Right" (1944) (#8)
• "Sing a Tropical Song" (1944) (#24)
• "Tico-Tico no Fubá" (1944) (#24)
• "Corns for My Country" (1945) (#21)
• "The Three Caballeros" (with Bing Crosby) (1945) (#8)
• "One Meat Ball" (1945) (#15)
• "The Blond Sailor" (1945) (#8)
• "Money Is the Root of All Evil (Take it Away, Take it Away, Take it Away)" (with Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians) (1946) (#9)
• "Patience and Fortitude" (1946) (#12)
• "Coax Me a Little Bit" (1946) (#24)
• "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" (with Bing Crosby) (1946) (#14)
• "I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)" (1946) (#17)
• "The House of Blue Lights" (with Eddie Heywood and his orchestra) (1946) (#15)
• "Winter Wonderland" (with Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians) (1946) (#22)
• "Christmas Island" (with Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians) (1946: #7; 1947: #20; 1949: #26)
• "Tallahassee" (with Bing Crosby) (1947) (#10)
• "There's No Business Like Show Business" (with Bing Crosby and Dick Haymes) (1947) (#25)
• "On the Avenue" (with Carmen Cavallaro at the piano) (1947) (#21)
• "The Lady from 29 Palms" (1947) (#7)
• "The Freedom Train" (1947) (#21)
• "Your Red Wagon" (1947) (#24)
• "How Lucky You Are" (1947) (#22)
• "You Don't Have to Know the Language" (with Bing Crosby) (1948) (#21)
• "Teresa" (with Dick Haymes) (1948) (#21)
• "Heartbreaker" (with The Harmonica Gentlemen) (1948) (#21)
• "(Everytime They Play the) Sabre Dance" (with The Harmonica Gentlemen) (1948) (#20)
• "I Hate to Lose You" (1948) (#14)
• "The Woody Woodpecker Song" (with Danny Kaye and The Harmonica Gentlemen) (1948) (#18)
• "The Blue Tail Fly (Jimmy Crack Corn)" (with Burl Ives, vocal and guitar accompaniment) (1948) (#24)
• "You Call Everybody Darling" (recorded in London with Billy Ternant and his orchestra) (1948) (#8)
• "Cuanto La Gusta" (with Carmen Miranda) (1948) (#12)
• "A Hundred and Sixty Acres" (with Bing Crosby) (1948) (#23)
• "Bella Bella Marie" (1948) (#23)
• "More Beer!" (1949) (#30)
• "I'm Biting My Fingernails and Thinking of You" (with Ernest Tubb and The Texas Troubadors directed by Vic Schoen) (1949) (#30)
• "The Wedding of Lili Marlene" (with Gordon Jenkins and his orchestra and chorus) (1949) (#20)
• "The Pussy Cat Song (Nyow! Nyot Nyow!)" (Patty Andrews and Bob Crosby) (1949) (#12)
• "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (with Russ Morgan and his orchestra) (1949) (#22)
• "Charley, My Boy" (with Russ Morgan and his orchestra) (1949) (#15)
• "Merry Christmas Polka" (with Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians) (1950) (#18)
• "Have I Told You Lately that I Love You?" (with Bing Crosby) (1950) (#24)
• "Quicksilver" (with Bing Crosby) (1950) (#6)
• "The Wedding Samba" (with Carmen Miranda) (1950) (#23)
• "Can't We Talk it Over?" (with Gordon Jenkins and his orchestra and chorus) (1950) (#22)
• "A Bushel and a Peck" (1950) (#22)
• "A Penny a Kiss-A Penny a Hug" (1950) (#17)
• "Sparrow in the Treetop" (with Bing Crosby) (1951) (#8)
• "Too Young" (Patty Andrews with Victor Young and his orchestra) (1951) (#19)
• "Torero" Capitol F 3965 (recorded on March 31, 1958)

Film and theatre[link]

Filmography[link]

• Argentine Nights (Universal Pictures, 1940)
• Buck Privates (Universal Pictures, 1941)
• In the Navy (Universal Pictures, 1941)
• Hold That Ghost (Universal Pictures, 1941)
• What's Cookin'? (Universal Pictures, 1942)
• Private Buckaroo (Universal Pictures, 1942)
• Give Out, Sisters (Universal Pictures, 1942)
• How's About It (Universal Pictures, 1943)
• Always a Bridesmaid (Universal Pictures, 1943)
• Swingtime Johnny (Universal Pictures, 1943)
• Moonlight and Cactus (Universal Pictures, 1944)
• Follow the Boys (Universal Pictures, 1944)
• Hollywood Canteen (Warner Brothers, 1944)
• Her Lucky Night (Universal Pictures, 1945)
• Make Mine Music (Walt Disney Studios, 1946)
• Road to Rio (Paramount Pictures, 1947)
• Melody Time (Walt Disney Studios, 1948)
• Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1975)
• Breach (background music) (2007)

Broadway[link]

• Over Here! (1974; Shubert Theater, New York City, 9 months)

Dance[link]

• Company B (1991; Choreographed by Paul Taylor, Performed by Paul Taylor Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre, and Miami City Ballet)

In popular culture[link]

In one episode of My Favorite Husband Liz (Lucille Ball) claimed she was one of the Andrew Sisters, but she claimed she was their 'brother' Dana.

In the 2nd Season of Here's Lucy, Patty guest stars in the episode "Lucy And The Andrews Sisters" where she, Lucille Ball (as LaVerne), Lucie Arnaz (as Maxene), and Desi Arnaz Jr. (as Bing Crosby) re-create the Andrews Sisters sound for a dinner being held in Patty's honor by the Andrews Sisters Fan Club. Although they were to lip-synch to the Andrews Sisters records, Lucy ends up breaking them and they are forced to sing the songs live.

The poet Ogden Nash included the following lines in his verses for the 'Birds' section of the Carnival of the Animals: "Suburban yards and rural vistas are filled with avian Andrews Sisters."

Steven Spielberg's 1979 comedy film 1941 features a parody of the Andrews Sisters, called "The Anderson Sisters."

The band Soul Coughing samples the Andrews Sisters' "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree" in the song "Down To This" (from their 1996 album Ruby Vroom)

Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking 1970 musical, "Company" features the song "You Could Drive A Person Crazy," written and performed in the style of an Andrews Sisters song.

In an episode of "A Different World", the girls sing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy".

The Andrew sisters appear as a trio in the 1997 remake of the film The Shining, originally written by Stephen King.

In the episode “Flaming Forties” of Mama's Family the song of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy is lip-synced by Vicki Lawrence, Dorothy Lyman, and Rue McClanahan as Thelma Harper, Naomi Harper and as Fran Crowley.

In the sitcom "Step By Step" episode "Beauty Contest", Suzanne Somers and Angela Watson perform "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" as stepmother/stepdaughter during a bonding moment for a beauty pageant.

In the episode "Next of Shin" from King of the Hill, Hank Hill goes looking for his father in Las Vegas, and sees an ad for the Andrew Sisters performing at a casino. Saying, "I didn't know they were still alive, they were my dad's favorite group" he goes to the show in search of his father. After the show, he talks to one of the "sisters" only to discover it was actually a "drag" show and the sisters were not sisters at all.

In 2001 a Charmed episode "Muse to my Ears" shows a group acting as the Andrews Sisters on P3's 1940s night.

In the 2005 epic fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the Andrews Sisters' rendition of "Oh Johnny, Oh!" is used while the Pevensie siblings are playing hide-and-seek.

In the 2008 video Game Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PC, Playstation3) their song "Civilization" with Danny Kaye is featured on the soundtrack.

The 2007 video game Bioshock uses the song "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (Means With me you are beautiful)" as background music during game play.

In a 2005 episode of Gilmore Girls entitled We've Got Magic to Do, Rory organizes a World War II themed D.A.R. function featuring musical guests "The Andrews Sisters".

The 2007 movie Breach that tells the true story of the worst breach in the United States of America's national intelligence and secrets, Robert Hanssen requested to listen to the Andrews Sisters when his assistant asked him what would he like to listen on the car radio.

The 2010 video game "Mafia II" contains 6 songs from The Andrews sisters in the 1940s portion of the game on the "Empire Central Radio" station.

The 2010 track "Andrew's Break" by famous electroswing French band "AlgoRythmiK" (Chaphi Records) is a tribute to "The Ferryboat Serenade"

R&B star Keri Hilson pays tribute to the Andrew Sisters in her video Pretty Girl Rock.

In an episode of Allo Allo, Boogie woogie bugle boy by the Andrews sisters is played while Maddame edith (carmen slivera) yvette (Vicki Michelle) and mimi (sue hodge) dance and mime to the song.

The 2006 film Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front features the song "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree."

The 2011 video game L.A. Noire features the song Pistol Packin' Mama, where the sisters perform a duet with Bing Crosby.

As Muppets[link]

They were parodied on "Sesame Street" as the Androoze Sisters, named Mayeeme (Audrey Smith), Pattiz (Maeretha Stewart), and Lavoorrnee (Kevin Clash).

Awards and recognition[link]

The Andrews Sisters were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.

See also[link]

• List of best-selling music artists

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Nimmo, H. Arlo. The Andrews Sisters. Jefferson: McFarland & Co, Inc., 2004.
• Sforza, John. Swing It! The Andrews Sisters Story. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2000.

External links[link]

• Andrews Sisters Official website
• Andrews Sisters on BigBands.net
• Vocal Group Hall of Fame page on the Andrews Sisters
• Maxene Andrews at Find a Grave
• Laverne Andrews at Find a Grave