The Three X Sisters were an American all-girl harmony singing trio initially known as The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce. They were on stage singing together in New York City, on Broadway, as early as 1922 and formed their trio in 1924, which was composed of Pearl Santos (née Hamilton) and Violet Hamilton from Cumberland, Maryland, and Jessie Fordyce from Brooklyn, New York. They were known on NBC radio as "radio's foremost harmony trio".
History and career The Hamilton family had been in Cumberland for nearly a century by the early 1910s, with their European heritage coming from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. They also descended from the Native American population who lived in the Allegheny Mountains. The Hamilton sisters sang individually in Cumberland theaters, winning prizes for their music. Pearl's early sheet music was inspired by Frédéric Chopin and Stephen Foster. The sisters began singing harmony during their careers in Cumberland.
Jessie's family, the Yules, immigrated from Scotland. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and performed alongside her father, Arthur Yule. She was in the Brooklyn vaudeville circuit with the stage name "Baby Helen" when she was a child. By 1914, both the Hamiltons and Jessie were fairly well known in their respective industries.
Pearl Hamilton began her career on Broadway as early as 1917. Her roommate during this era was Joan Page, another 'Stars of the Future' entertainer/singer. The average salary in 1919 was $22.00 per week for the All Jazz Revue "chorus girls." Pearl started out as a soft shoe (ballet style) and high-kick dancer, and received positive dance reviews. The Hamiltons began their professional singing careers in harmony at the Haymarket Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Pearl watched a live performance of the Original Dixieland Jass Band in Coney Island, New York after her arrival to Broadway stages, which also served as an early music inspiration. Some walk-on or cameo parts in silent films with Paramount Pictures showed their dancing talents. Pearl's earliest known paired ragtime and jazz piano took place on August 17, 1919 with the 'Jazz Quartet with the Morette Sisters' at the Fremont Opera House in Fremont, Ohio. December 30, 1920 paired broadway Pearl's musicianship and jazz piano. Since 1907, the Morette Sisters were highly acclaimed instrumentalists of violin, alto viola, coronet, and trombone. The Morette Sisters also utilized duet singing along with the terpesciorian dance themes. They had a fluent knowledge of classical and dance music, as well as the popular Ragtime music of the early 1900s. Songs the Morettes introduced to the new troupe included "Danse d'eve," "Artist's Model," "The Entertainer," and "Ragtime Cowboy." In 1920, Pearl and Violet Hamilton had been part of the vocal chorus. A later addition was friend Jessie (Yule) Fordyce with the 'All Jazz Revue', the Swear Club (a women's club) was reviewed by The Billboard on January 10, 1920. Pearl, "a tall, willowy girl, Is a dancing wonder" as her artistry in dance had become well known. The Morettes had been part of "Oh Baby!", a burlesque theatre circuit act during the 1919-20 season had sold out performance engagements. Somewhere between a "one liner", as Pearl noted, harmony influence with the Morettes, and a viewed performance by the Ford, and Brox Sisters, then Pearl had decided to try trio harmonies for her dream trio. The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce later carried the "Oh Baby!" theme to the 1928 original broadway show "Rain or Shine".
The trio started out on Broadway and in vaudeville, with Helen Kane Schroeder, the original Boop-boop-a-Doop Girl. Broadway singing styles, and Irving Berlin music had inspired this group. The trio performed various song and dance acts, eventually settling for close harmony, which was associated with three-part harmony singing. The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce earliest known performance together (as a trio team) was at B.F. Keiths Theater in Syracuse, New York, on May 13, 1923. In 1924, they also toured in vaudeville, with Helen Kane and Anna Mae Wong. Pearl's harmony trio had the musicianship of the Raymond Fagan Orchestra (a band with no known recordings); a band compared to Paul Whiteman or the Vincent Lopez Orchestras. Pearl Hamilton met Ed Santos (a Music Union member), who also had a lengthy stay with early 1930s Red Nichols; according to Patty Andrews, "He [Ed] played with Tony Pastor". Ed played trumpet with Fagan's band, and a year later, Pearl and Ed married in Rochester, New York. During early July 1925, the Hamilton Sisters and Jessie Fordyce were singing at the Eighty-First Street Theatre. In 1926, the trio toured with another popular all-girl act, Jerry and her Baby Grands, appearing together at the Palace Theater in New York. They also toured together in Canada.
1927 The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce gained enough success to tour abroad. After they departed from the "Stars of the Future" entertainment showcase in the spring of 1927, their management, fronted by Ed Wolfe, had them tour Europe. They departed by airplane at a Long Island airport with the American portion of New York's Savoy Orpheans musical unit during the week of May 23, 1927.
In the UK, they met up with American songwriters Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. They also spent time in the recording studio with Bert Ambrose, a British bandleader, musical director Caroll Gibbons, and violinist/director Reg Batton. They toured with the New York engagement and appeared on London and Manchester stages. Played the London Palladium, Alhambra Theatre of Variety, and Plaza. Made a big splash in the theater production Blue Skies.
On October 27, 1927, Harry Plunket Greene, Irish baritone tenor, wrote of the trio after an England performance: "The Hamilton Sisters & Fordyce are just A1 as they are. I wouldn't interfere with them for anything. It's just perfect in its way. I do trust they leave things alone, not try to change."
That November, the trio teamed up with Billy Mayerl, pianist, to do close harmonizing on "Who You, That's Who?", and "Zulu Wail". Their first on-air radio broadcasts were in England on the BBC.Pictures account for this, as reproduced in Santos, Glenn (1998) In Sweet Harmony: The Three X Sisters, Apple Blossom Publishing, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-94889. The photograph session also included British bandleader Bert Ambrose of Ambrose & his Mayfair Orchestra. Also Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, American songwriters. Various recordings were made on His Master's Voice, Columbia, and RCA labels. Popular American tunes were "Blue Room", "My Heart Stood Still", and "Someone to Watch Over Me". The trios' first return to America; departed England on December 10 for Paris. They sailed from Cherbourg, France (New York, Passenger Lists) on the U.S.S. LeviathanSS Leviathan 1913 on Dec. 15, 1927 for New York City. Reports also show a two-year radio contract signed with the BBC, tours with the Savoy Havana Band to European clubs in Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Monte Carlo, and at the 'Kit Kat Club' in 1928.
Broadway to American radio When the popularity of the vaudeville on stage showcase Playtime had become a real success, it attracted the attention of Broadway play Rain or Shine in early 1928. Jessie had the idea for Playtime. Tom Howard was the writer. The routine they did placed their on-stage performance alongside Joe Cook, comedian. The Hamiltons and Fordyce were so well received that the Playtime showcase was recommended to run on its own merit.
The group's radio success started when the trio appeared in publicity photographs wearing eye masks and capitalized on the new popularity of radio. Pearl needed to make a choice between investing in records or concentrating on radio work. She chose to tour the US extensively and sign with such sponsors as Ford, Chase and Sanborn, Best Foods, Tydol, Babbo, and others to pursue the radio career for her trio. A CBS Radio sponsor hired them, and they took a new stage name, "The Three X Sisters". In 1932, they were featured alongside other harmony trios in the November issue of Radio Digest Magazine. From October to December on the WABC-CBS radio program, you'd find this scenario, with the Three X Sisters at the 7:30 p.m. time, followed by Connie Boswell at 7:45 p.m. They were also with ABC radio doing some cartoon scenario songs, appeared on the Eddie Cantor Show, and harmonized the song "Those Eddie Cantor Eyes". Some radio transcribed tunes which they sang to identify the 1930s era in rhythm and blues are "Old Clothes", "Good Times Coming", and "Still No Luck With You" (with Pearl's piano, and Steve Brown (bass player)). Pearl's piano style was crafted exclusively on their Musical Grocery Store radio tenure, alongside the Harry Salter Orchestra. By 1934 they were guests on The Nick Kenny Radio Hour and were performers/singers in part of the Nick Kenny (poet) scripted "Radio Scandals". They also introduced animation soundtrack songs over on-air radio broadcasts. They attributed voice-work for the popular Max Fleischer Cartoons synched with their early radio-work, and by 1933 they had a regular time-slot with NBC Radio. They continued on the airwaves until 1938 and were still popular at the Chicago Theater in Illinois, Palace Theater in NYC, and the Stanley Theater (now Benedum Center) in Pennsylvania on the same playbill as the Three Stooges. Entertainment news columnists found amusement in the name recognition.
Recordings and movie shorts in the 1930s When a combined recording count is made, from 1927 to 1933 this trio had made 15 known professional song recordings (if song medleys are added then it's closer to 20). Most of those have been on records. This does not account for the Fleischer cartoon soundtracks. Additionally, their best known filmed song routine was completed with Paramount Pictures in 1935 with "Rex and His Soundeffects." Numerous transcribed recordings had been made on commercial 16 inch disks, or for hire by Tin Pan Alley recording studios onto 10" disks, years 1933–38; between 100 and 200, 3 song sets or medley's were transcribed, although, results of low cost recorded efforts which have damaged, deteriorated, and effected the recordings by age and time. Additional recordings in 1937, and 1940-42 exist on the NBC "Behind the Mike" program, Fleischer Studio soundtracks, and demo recordings. Modern day UK-based harmony trio, The Haywood Sisters, have recorded and perform "Rex and His Sound Effects" and are working on recording more of the Three X Sisters' music for modern audiences.