The Andrews Sisters the group was formed, and 12 when they won first prize at a talent contest at the local Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, where LaVerne played piano accompaniment for the silent film showings in exchange for free dancing lessons for herself and her sisters. Following the collapse of their father's Minneapolis restaurant, the sisters went on the road to support the family. They started their career as imitators of an earlier successful singing group, the Boswell Sisters, who were popular in the 1930s. After singing with various dance bands and touring in vaudeville with the likes of Leon Belasco (and his
The DeMarco Sisters Records among other labels. The DeMarco Sisters consisted of five sisters originally from Rome, New York: Antoinette (Anne), Jeanette (Gina), Gloria, Terri, and Arlene. Later, singer Joyce DeYoung, who also sang as a member of The Andrews Sisters during her career, joined the group in 1955 when Terri married actor Murray Hamilton and left the group. The DeMarco Sisters were originally a vocal trio consisting of Anne, Gina, and Gloria. Believing in their talent, the DeMarcos' father moved his family from Rome, New York, to an apartment in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in the hopes of earning the girls a contract with