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Music

DEAD MUSICIANS 5/25/11: The Boswell Sisters Showcase Their Short-Attention Span Genius

Even without the brilliant, mad arrangements and their unique showmanship, the Boswells would still have been the best white jazz vocal group because they had the hippest, bluesiest sound. If you listen to their contemporaries and the bands that later imi

In the 1930s, songs were sacred. To alter a melody, you had to get special permission from the track's publishers. For the Boswell Sisters, exceptions were made. They couldn’t play a song straight. The Boswells were known for their frantic, wild arrangements. They felt no obligation to sing a melody as written or to stick with one tempo, feel, or key for more than a few seconds.

This dizzying two-minute musical roller coaster performance of “Crazy People” showcases their short-attention-span genius. They speed through the tune and a scat vocal interlude, only to mellow out at 1:00 without warning. Then the song speeds up even faster than before, careening into dark minor key, and the Boswells twist the original melody into a devilish blues. They throw the song back into a happy, major key again for literally five seconds before the scary, bluesy climax.

The Boswells really put on a great show. I love the way they play with their heads in a tight triangle. I imagine this visual idea came to them as the creative solution to a serious problem: Connee Boswell, the lead singer, had to remain seated. Her legs had been paralyzed in an accident. The Boswells use their tight physical position to emphasize simultaneous movement, like when they bob their heads in unison or lean back together (at 1:29 or the clip’s last moment). This is a great showbiz lesson: you can work around anything. The same limitations that frustrate you often force you to be unique.

Even without the brilliant, mad arrangements and their unique showmanship, the Boswells would still have been the best white jazz vocal group because they had the hippest, bluesiest sound. If you listen to their contemporaries and the bands that later imitated them (the Andrews Sisters, most notably), you’ll notice a virtual absence of blues influence. Perhaps white bands avoided church music and the blues for career reasons, feared the ramifications of sounding black. But being inspired and influenced by black music didn’t stop the Boswell Sisters from becoming the world’s most popular vocal group from 1930 until they broke up in 1936.