The Ross Sisters
Trio of American singers
The Ross Sisters were a trio of American singers and dancers consisting of Betsy Ann Ross (1926–1996), Veda Victoria "Vicki" Ross (1927–2002), and Dixie Jewell Ross (1929–1963), who used the stage names Aggie, Maggie, and Elmira. They performed as a three-part harmony trio, who also danced and were particularly noted for their acrobatics and contortionism. Their careers peaked during the 1940s, when they featured prominently in the 1944 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film Broadway Rhythm, footage from which appeared in the 1994 compilation film That's Entertainment! III.
Early life and performing careers
The Ross sisters were born in West Texas, to Veda Cordelia Lipham and Charles Adolphus Ross. Their performances were first reviewed in Billboard in September 1942, when they appeared in Boston in the show Count Me In. The reviewer wrote, "The acrobatic antics of the Ross Sisters stop the show on two occasions. These kids are fresh, and their work is sensational." In May 1943 they appeared in Post War Revue, presented by Billy Rose at the Diamond Horseshoe nightclub in New York City, where a review praised their "amazing acro contortion work".
After performing a "grand acrobatic dance" in the 1944 MGM musical film Broadway Rhythm, to the song "Solid Potato Salad" co-written by Don Raye, Gene de Paul and Hughie Prince, they appeared regularly in nightclub shows around the United States. In May 1944, a reviewer noted that: "Girls are weak in the voice department but go over on the contortion stuff. Trick back bends with hanky pick-ups raise a flock of oohs and aahs from customers.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Ross Sisters” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.