Connee Boswell (1907-1976) was a singer, composer, actress, arranger and multi-instrumentalist, who became popular with the vocal harmony group, The Boswell Sisters, together with sisters Martha (1905-1958) and Helvetia “Vet” (1911-1988), and also had a successful solo career, influencing many future singers.
Ella Fitzgerald said “There was only one singer who influenced me. I tried to sing like her all the time, because everything she did made sense musically, and that singer was Connee Boswell.” Irving Berlin said she was “the finest ballad singer in the business.”
Connee first performed with her sisters Martha and Helvetia as The Boswell Sisters in their native New Orleans, as a classical piano trio, Connee playing cello. The vocal trio, one of the greatest in pop history, was initially inspired by Mamie Smith. Their soft, velveteen voices excelled on dreamy blues numbers, with rich close harmonies arranged by Connee. Their first recording was in 1925, and they began to get a following in the South. After Tom Rockwell of Brunswick Records became their manager, he arranged for them to record with some of the top jazz musicians of the time, including both Dorsey Brothers, Bunny Berigan and Joe Venuti. These recordings from 1931-33, led to frequent radio appearances, and a regular slot on Bing Crosby’s popular show.
The Boswell Sisters had hits with Harry Warren’s ‘I Found A Million Dollar Baby’, Irving Berlin’s ‘Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea’ as well as ‘The Object Of My Affection’ and ‘Dinah’. From 1932, Connee began to record solo, as well as with the group, starting with the Irving Berlin song ‘Say It Isn’t So’. Her biggest hits without her sisters (‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’ and ‘Bob White’) both came with Bing Crosby duets.
She wanted to join the USO tours in Europe during WWII, but was not able to, as a bout of polio had left her reliant on a wheelchair from a young age. However, she did entertain the troops back home and appeared in Broadway shows Star Time, Curtain Time, and Show Time. She wrote a few of her own songs, including ‘Putting It On’, ‘I Don’t Mind’, and ‘You Ain’t Got Nothin’. Further hits included Duke Ellington’s ‘I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart’ and one of the first recordings of ‘Let It Snow’.
Connee Boswell continued to record until the late 1950s. She died of cancer in 1976.