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 Jones Sisters Trio at the Apollo Theater to over 12,000 people. They went on to record three more albums in the 1960s and 1970s. Cheryl's marriage in the early 1970s, according to mother Wanda, "curtailed the ministry of the Jones Sisters Trio." They still occasionally sang together, but their activity curtailed dramatically after this time, as well as any formal recording. In recent years the sisters have maintained a lower public profile but have continued to perform. Gail released one solo album. In 1979, she married Cleveland Indians star Andre Thornton. They have two children together (Jonathan and Dean) and raised Andre Jr.