| Viennese Singing Sisters | |
| Alias: | Edmund Fritz's Singing Babies, Singing Babies, Viennese Seven Singing Sisters, Viennese Six Singing Sisters, The Seven Singing Sisters |
| Origin: | Austria |
| Genre: | Close harmony singing of popular and classical songs |
| Years Active: | – |
| Label: | Various |
The Viennese Singing Sisters (AKA Edmund Fritz's Singing Babies, Singing Babies, Viennese Seven (sometimes, Six) Singing Sisters, and The Seven Singing Sisters) was a close harmony female singing group which originated in Austria in the late 1920s or in 1930, and which was active there, elsewhere in Europe, and in the Americas until the late 1930s. It made recordings, and appeared on radio and television and in film. It consisted of singers with vocal ranges from high soprano to contralto, one of whom would also play piano accompaniment. At various times, it had six or seven members. Despite the name, it seems never to have included any sisters.[1]
The history of the group is poorly documented. It may have been founded in Vienna by Edmund Fritz (also known as a movie actor and director); possibly in the late 1920s; certainly by 1930, when it made its first recordings. In the group's early days, it was called Edmund Fritz's Singing Babies.
In March 1930, a playlist records that the group performed on a German radio programme Funkstunde. In May 1930, the group recorded four songs for Electrola, which were released on two 78 rpm singles. In September and October 1930, it recorded four more songs for Electrola, unreleased at the time and thought to be lost. Also in 1930, Fritz starred in the German short film Die Singenden Babies (English: The Singing Babies), apparently lost. The title suggests that the group may have appeared in the film, but it is not known whether or not they did.
In 1931, the group recorded four songs in Milan for Columbia Records, three of which had Italian titles. The same year, it gave a radio concert in the Netherlands. Also in 1931, the group appeared in the Otto Preminger film Die Große Liebe, under the name Die Singing Babies von Edmund Fritz.
In 1932, the group appeared in the film Baby, starring Anny Ondra, in which it performed the songs "Ich lieb' dich, I love you, je t'aime" and "Auf Wiederseh'n Baby". Recordings of the former song, and of a French version of the latter under the title "Au revoir Baby", were released. Those recordings were credited to Singing Babies, suggesting that the group was no longer associated with Fritz, who does not appear in the group's later story; the reason for that is not known.
In 1933, the group recorded six songs in London, under the name Viennese Seven Singing Sisters. In 1934, it appeared in the film Annette in Paradise (AKA Ein Kuss nach Ladenschluss), credited as Singing Babies.
In March 1934, according to the recollection of Werner Doege of the Harmony Boys, the group toured Switzerland.
In February 1935, according to the magazine A Noite, the group performed at the Cassino da Urca in Rio de Janeiro, Argentina. In March 1935, it recorded two songs in Milan.
In 1936, the group appeared in the Brazilian film Noches carioca.
In 1937 and 1938, the group appeared in two short films made by British Pathé: The Coconut GroveCabaret Time After Midnight (soundtrack lost) (The Coconut Grove was a London nightclub),[2] and Viennese Singing Sisters.[3] British Pathé have uploaded the song "Memories of Chopin" from Viennese Singing Sisters to their YouTube channel; the group then contained only six members. "Memories of Chopin" is a vocal arrangement, in German, of Chopin's Étude Op. 10, No. 3 in E flat for solo piano. In 1938, the group toured Argentina. In SeptemberNovember 1938, the group appeared in three episodes of the BBC Television programme Cabaret; in the first as The Viennese Singing Sisters, and in the other two as The Six Viennese Singing Sisters. In November 1938, the group gave a 20-minute performance broadcast by two BBC regional radio stations, as The Viennese Singing Sisters.[4]
By early 1939, the group had disbanded. Some of them were Jewish, or were married to Jews. In 1938, Austria was incorporated into Nazi Germany by the Anschluss, and they could no longer safely perform there. Some members relocated to Argentina, some to the United States of America.[5]
In the 1940s, some of the members who had relocated to Argentina formed a group called Singing Babies, and toured Argentina and Bolivia. That group may have contained only two or three of the original members.. A history of the group was published in 2015 by Karsten Lehl, Wolfgang Schneidereit, Andreas Wellen, Josef Westner: Die Singing Babies. Eine Spurensuche. In: Fox auf 78, Sammlermagazin (Nr. 28), 2015. S. 52-59.
The group included, at various times:(see the photo album link below for a playbill from the South American tour with each member's name listed next to their picture)
"Jeepers Creepers" (with A. C. Allan's Orchestra), Sahibinen Sesi (Turkish subsidiary of His Master's Voice) AX 2263
"Lili Marleen (Vor der Kaserne)" / "Komm in meinen Rosengarten" (with Georg Gärtner), 7" 45rpm single Continental Records (NYC) C-45-060 [6]