December 3
CONNEE BOSWELL DAY
On this day in 1907, Mr. and Mrs. Boswell of New Orleans were celebrating the birth of their daughter, Connie. They should have known from her melodic cries that she would one day be singin’ the blues. Connie or Connee (a spelling she preferred later in life), who also played several musical instruments, arranged vocals for herself and her two sisters.
Although she was stricken with polio and worked from her wheelchair, she never let this get in the way of being part of her white, jazz-singing trio. The Boswell Sisters’ talent was quickly recognized and by the time Connee was 24 years old, the sisters were doing vaudeville, radio, playing New York’s Paramount Theatre, recording with the Dorsey Brothers: You Oughta Be in Pictures; making films and appearing on the U.S.A.’s first public TV broadcast.
One thing led to another and Connie went solo, entertaining World War II troops, making films, appearing on Broadway and recording with big names like Woody Herman; even a duet classic with Bing Crosby: Basin Street Blues. Her musical influence spanned many generations and music styles. If you’d have asked Ella, she would have told you, “They just don’t make ’em like Connee Boswell anymore.”
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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