Shepherd Sisters

The Shepherd Sisters (also known as The Sheps) were an American vocal quartet from Middletown, Ohio, United States. The band consisted of four real-life sisters: Martha, Gayle, Judith, and MaryLou Shepherd.

In the late 1950s, they appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. One of their first recordings, "Gone with the Wind" got them a call from Dick Clark. Subsequently they made many appearances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.

In New York City, Morty Craft had a song he wanted them to record, "Alone (Why Must I Be Alone)". In 1957 "Alone" would become their biggest hit and their signature song. In the U.S. it reached No.18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; in the UK Singles Chart it made No.14.[1] Its chart progress may have been hindered by several rival cover versions on both sides of the Atlantic. In all the Shepherd Sisters recorded over thirty songs, many of them on one of Morty Craft's record labels such as Melba and Lance.

Craft also introduced them to the DJ Alan Freed, the man often credited with coining the term "rock and roll." The Shepherd Sisters played the Brooklyn and Manhattan Paramount Theaters and toured with Alan Freed's 'America's Greatest Teenage Recording Stars', along with The Everly Brothers, Paul Anka, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Danny and the Juniors, Lee Andrews and the Hearts, The Twin Tones, Little Joe Dubs, Thurston Harris, Terry Nolan, and Jo Ann Campbell.

Besides rock and roll the Shepherd Sisters were also a stage and cabaret act. They performed at hotels, nightclubs, New York's Apollo Theater, and casinos in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada. They also sang in the Philippines, Canada, South America, and parts of Europe.

Martha died in 1992 and Judith died in 2009. Gayle (born Joyce Gayle Shepherd in Middletown, Ohio on May 31, 1936) died of dementia on May 7, 2018, at age 81.[2] As of 2018, MaryLou Shepherd is the only surviving member of the quartet.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 496. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ↑ "Gayle Shepherd of the Singing Shepherd Sisters Dies at 81". The New York Times. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.



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