Patience and Prudence

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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:

Patience and Prudence

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  • Genres: Vocal Music

Biography

The sister duo Patience and Prudence reached the Top Ten in 1956 with a fluke hit, the ghostly "Tonight You Belong to Me." The daughters of a professional musician -- Mark McIntyre, who accompanied Frank Sinatra on piano during the mid-'40s -- Patience and Prudence McIntyre reportedly learned the song while at summer camp in 1955 (when they were nine and 12, respectively). Their father recognized it as a Billy Rose hit from several decades earlier, and was impressed enough to work up the arrangement as a demo intended for cabaret singer Lisa Kirk (wife of Robert Wells). McIntyre also recorded a version with Patience and Prudence's vocals, strictly for personal reasons, but gave a dub to studio friend Ross Bagdasarian, who passed the record on to Si Waronker of Liberty Records. Waronker loved the song, so Patience and Prudence signed to Liberty and recut the song with overdubs to strengthen their ethereal vocals, then watched as the record soared to number four nationally (with several cover versions eventually coming along). After performing on Perry Como's television show, they chose for a follow-up single "Gonna Get Along Without You Now" (earlier a minor hit for Teresa Brewer), which just missed the Top Ten later in 1956. The duo recorded several more singles -- including a pairing with fellow Liberty act Mike Clifford and several singles for the Chattahoochee label -- but never reached the charts again. They reunited for a 1978 performance on a Dick Clark feature, and earned a surprisingly long lease on life after their songs were used in a pair of films, 1999's Election ("Gonna Get Along Without You Now") and 2001's Ghost World ("A Smile and a Ribbon"). ~ John Bush, Rovi
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Patience and Prudence

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Patience and Prudence McIntyre, known professionally as Patience and Prudence, were two sisters who were a young singing act in the 1950s.

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Career

Mark McIntyre was an orchestra leader, pianist, and songwriter who accompanied Frank Sinatra on piano during the 1940s.[1] In the summer of 1956, he brought his daughters, 11-year-old Prudence and 14-year-old Patience,[2] into the Liberty Records studio in Los Angeles, California. They made a demonstration recording of the song, "Tonight You Belong to Me," which had been a hit for Gene Austin in 1927, and was written by Billy Rose and Lee David. Liberty signed them and immediately released a recording of the girls singing the song as a commercial single, (with the B-side, "A Smile and a Ribbon," a composition with music by Mark McIntyre) and by September the song reached #4 on the Billboard charts[1] and #28 in the UK Singles Chart,[3] and was the biggest selling record put out by Liberty for two years. It sold over one million copies and reached gold record status.[4]

Another recording by the girls, "Gonna Get Along without Ya Now," was released the same year they performed on Perry Como's television show.[1] It reached #11 on the Billboard chart[1] and #22 in the UK;[3] its B-side, "The Money Tree," also reached #73 in the U.S.

The girls continued to record—including a pairing with fellow Liberty act Mike Clifford, and several singles for the Chattahoochee Records label--but had no subsequent hit records.[1] In 1978, they reunited to appear on a Dick Clark television feature.[1] Collectors Choice issued a CD compilation of all their Liberty Records singles.

Song use

  • "A Smile and a Ribbon" is featured on a Sepia album, Lisa Kirk Sings at the Plaza. It was also the b-side of a single she cut for Columbia in the mid 1950s.
  • "A Smile and a Ribbon" was used in the film, Ghost World as the child song of protagonist Enid, played by Thora Birch.
  • "A Smile and a Ribbon" was used as the accompaniment to a television advertisement for the National Lottery in the UK in the spring of 2006.
  • "Tonight You Belong to Me" was used by eBay in Germany as the soundbed for its television ad campaign in 2006.
  • "Tonight You Belong to Me" was used in the 2004 film, Birth starring Nicole Kidman and Lauren Bacall.
  • "Tonight You Belong to Me" was covered by NRBQ on their album, Grooves in Orbit, released in 1983 on Bearsville Records. The song was sung by an adult male vocalist instead of two teenaged girl singers, but was arranged in a similar manner to the original.
  • "Gonna Get Along without Ya Now" was covered by the Spanish singer Soraya Arnelas on her album, Ochenta's, and was chosen as the second single off the record, and released in February 2007.
  • "Gonna Get Along without Ya Now" was also covered by Viola Wills in 1980, reaching #37 in Australia
  • "Tonight You Belong to Me" was used in the film, The Jerk and was sung as a duet by Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters.
  • "Dreamer's Bay" was used as the accompaniment to a television advert for Unilever's Surf detergent in the UK and Ireland in the summer of 2007.
  • The track "Dreamer's Bay" is used in the Surf Small and Mighty commercial.
  • "Tonight You Belong to Me" was used in the first episode and first season finale of the FX television series American Horror Story.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Biography by John Bush". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p190875. Retrieved 12 February 2009. 
  2. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 32. CN 5585. 
  3. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 420. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  4. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 84. ISBN 0-214-20512-6. 

External links


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Mentioned in

The Best of Patience and Prudence (2004 Album by Patience and Prudence)
Original Hits, Vol. 3: Past & Present (1961 Album by Various Artists)
Glimmer (1996 Album by Glo-Worm)
From the Vaults/More from the Vaults (1999 Album by Various Artists)
Early Girls, Vol. 4 (2005 Album by Various Artists)