The Steinettes Explained
The Steinettes |
Origin: | Greenwich Village, New York[1] [2] |
Genre: | A cappella, doo-wop |
Years Active: | 1978[3] – mid-1980s |
Current Members: | Julie Janney[4] Diane Shaffer Nathalie Blossom Patty Katz |
The Steinettes were an a cappella doo-wop[2] street quartet[5] from Greenwich Village, New York,[1] [2] formed in 1978.[3] The group appeared in HealtH[4] and Popeye,[4] two films from director Robert Altman that saw release in the early 1980s.
Career
Consisting of four actresses—[3] Julie Janney, Diane Shaffer, Nathalie Blossom and Patty Katz—[4] the Steinettes were formed in 1978 during a production at the Westbeth Theater.[3] Another a cappella group, the Great American Dream, had been formed at this venue.[3] Early on in their tenure, the quartet sang for donations at the Sheridan Square in Manhattan's West Village area.[3] Eventually, they also served as a filler act for local comedian Phil Stein,[2] and in 1981, they filled in for Rodney Dangerfield.[6]
The group contributed vocal performances to the score of Robert Altman's HealtH,[4] completed in 1979[7] but shelved by 20th Century-Fox for over two years.[8] During the shoot, they were dressed in vegetable outfits.[9] A year later, they also appeared in another Altman production, Popeye.[4]
During their existence, the Steinettes appeared in commercials for television and radio, as well as in nightclubs.[10] In 1985, they performed backing vocals on three tracks of a self-titled album by dance artist Robey.[11] One of them was a version of "One Night in Bangkok" from the musical Chess, which peaked at #77 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1985.[12]
Diane Shaffer, one of the Steinettes, became a playwright in 1995 with the religious piece Sacrilege.[5] [10] [13] Another member, Julie Janney, became an actor by the late 1990s, starring in shows such as Ellen and Another World.[14]
Notes and References
- News: Carol Burnett, Glenda Jackson ready to go to work on 'HEALTH'. Clark. Roy Peter. 1979-02-16. 2010-05-01. St. Petersburg Times. 1-D.
- Book: Trillin, Calvin. Family Man. 120. 0-374-52583-8. 1999. 2010-05-01. Macmillan.
- U.S. Journal: MANHATTAN - Discovering the Steinettes. Trillin. Calvin. 1979-07-02. 2010-05-01. subscription . The New Yorker. Condé Nast Publications. 78. 55. 19–28.
- Book: McGilligan, Patrick. Robert Altman: Jumping Off the Cliff. registration. 612. Steinettes.. 0-312-30467-6. 1989. 2010-05-01. St. Martin's Press.
- News: THEATER; A Homily on Women Priests: 'You See? This Isn't So Bad'. Niebuhr. Gustav. 1995-10-29. 2010-05-01. The New York Times.
- News: Respectless Rodney Repeats Record. Feibel. Larry. 1981-04-30. 2010-05-01. The Stony Brook Press. 9. 11. 22.
- News: ALTMAN IN A STATE OF 'HEALTH'. https://archive.today/20130131170222/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/650156742.html?dids=650156742:650156742&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+29,+1979&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=ALTMAN+IN+A+STATE+OF+'HEALTH'&pqatl=google . dead . January 31, 2013 . McLeod. Michael J.. 1979-04-29. 2010-05-01. registration . Los Angeles Times. N1.
- Book: Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin
. Leonard Maltin. Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2008. Health. 587. 978-0-451-22186-5. 2007. Signet Books.
- News: Regarding Robert Altman's 'Health'. Huisking. Charles. 1979-02-23. 2010-05-03. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 1-C.
- Book: Smith, Marisa. Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1995. 170. 1-57525-035-7. 1995. Smith and Kraus.
- Web site: Album information for Robey (Robey, 1985). 1985 . 2010-05-01. Discogs.
- [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=robey|chart=all}} Album information for ''One Night in Bangkok'' (Robey, 1996)]. 2010-05-01. Billboard. VNU/Nielsen Business Media.
- Web site: Viva la Vida!. 2006-07-26. 2010-05-01. Hamptons Online.
- News: SEEING DOUBLE JULIE JANNEY MAKES A NAME FOR HERSELF STANDING IN FOR THE STAR. https://web.archive.org/web/20121026134245/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/46332841.html?dids=46332841:46332841&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+14,+1999&author=Gary+Dretzka,+Tribune+Staff+Writer&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=SEEING+DOUBLE+JULIE+JANNEY+MAKES+A+NAME+FOR+HERSELF+STANDING+IN+FOR+THE+STAR&pqatl=google. dead. October 26, 2012. Dretzka. Gary. 1999-11-14. 2010-05-01. registration . Chicago Tribune. 9.