In early 1964, I was living in
Miami, Florida, and my cousin Marilin (
Spanish spelling) and
I were 11 years old at the time. We were starting to become interested in music, dancing and records. We would often get together to play, sing and dance to them. My cousin had bought the 45, "442
Glenwood Avenue", we both loved the record so much we almost wore it out. The song got a lot of airplay in
Miami, it peaked at #2 on
January 18, 1964 on the most popular
Top 40 radio station at the time-
WQAM -
Tiger Radio. I often think of those innocent days and that wonderful era of girl groups and
The Beatles.
So to honor it and
The Pixies Three I've put together this little video. I dedicate it to my dear cousin Marilin, who to this day is very close to me, and who like a sister, has always shared in my life since we were tiny tots in
Cuba. For you
Prima...
Here is a brief history of The Pixies Three as taken from
Wikipedia:
Having performed in local shows since
1955, the
Hanover, Pennsylvania trio of
Midge Bollinger (lead vocals), Kaye McCool (low vocals), and
Debra Swisher (high vocals) were signed to
Mercury Records in
1963 by producers/songwriters
John Madara and
Dave White, who had discovered the group at a show in
Philadelphia (among the groups previous successes were two appearances on the
Ted Mack Amateur Hour).
Their first single, "
Birthday Party" was a big success regionally and made the
Top 40 nationally (The b-side, "
Our Love" was written by Kaye). After their second single, 442 Glenwood Avenue" / "
Cold,
Cold Winter (in which both made the charts), Midge Bollinger left the group and was replaced by
Bonnie Long, who assumed the high vocals while
Debby Swisher became the new lead vocalist. The first single by the revamped line-up was a cover of
The Crows 1951
R&B; hit "Gee". This was followed by their debut
album,
Party With The Pixies Three, an early rock and roll concept album based on a Friday after-school party. The album did not chart, but it has become an often sought-after item amongst record collectors.
The girls' fourth single caused a bit of controversy upon its release. "The Hootch" (with live audience dubbed in) was intended to be a new dance concept. However, it was revealed that "hootch" was a slang term for "booze", so disc jockeys started playing the
B-side, "Its
Summertime U.S.A", which became the
A-side.
The Pixies Three continued into
1965 with two more
singles, "
Orphan Boy" and "
Your Way". A few unreleased demos followed, then the girls graduated high school and went their separate ways.
The following year, lead singer Swisher made a solo single: a cover of
The Beach Boys Youre
So Good To Me, backed with a cover of
The Angels Thank You And
Goodnight. Ironically, she joined The Angels shortly thereafter, replacing
Peggy Santiglia as lead vocalist.
In
1991, The Pixies Three performed for the first time in twenty five years at their high school reunion. Since then, they have been performing several times a year, mainly in and around their hometown as well as
Ohio,
New England, and along the
Atlantic coast.
Members (1955-1965, 1991-present)
* Midge (Bollinger) Neel (1955-1964, 2001-present -- born
December 29 in
Hanover, PA)
* Bonnie (Long)
Walker (1964-1965, 1991-present -- born
September 6 in Hanover, PA)
* Kaye (McCool) Krebs (1955-1965, 1991-present -- born
October 1 in
Uniontown, PA)
* Debra (Swisher)
Horn (1955-1965, 1991-2000 -- born
February 26 in Hanover, PA)
- published: 11 Oct 2008
- views: 105486