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The Chordettes - Biography
The Chordettes were an American female popular singing quartet, usually singing a cappella, and specializing in traditional popular music.
The group organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1946. The original members of the group were Janet Ertel, Alice Mae Buschmann Spielvogel (replaced by Carol Buschmann, her sister-in-law, in 1947), Dorothy "Dottie" (Hummitzsch) Schwartz, and Jinny Osborn/Lockard (April 25, 1927 – May 19, 2003). In 1952 Lynn Evans replaced Schwartz and in 1953, Margie Needham replaced Osborn (who was having a baby), though Osborn later returned to the group. Nancy Overton also was a member of the group at a later time. Originally they sang folk music in the style of The Weavers, but eventually changed to a harmonizing style of the type known as barbershop harmony or close harmony. Part of this change seems to be influenced by Osborn's father.
Alice Mae Buschmann Spielvogel died in 1981 and is buried at Little Rock National Cemetery. Janet Ertel Bleyer died in 1988. Jinny Osborn (later known as Jinny Janis) died in 2003. Nancy Overton died on April 5, 2009, after a long battle with esophageal cancer. Dorothy “Dottie” (Hummitzsch) Schwartz died on April 4, 2016.
