Biography
Born Eugenia Dinning, Jean Dinning wrote the 1960 Mark Dinning rock tragedy “Teen Angel.” In the 1940s and ’50s she performed as part of the Dinning Sisters, a prominent vocal quartet whose first long-player, Songs by the Dinning Sisters, held the number-one spot on Billboard for eighteen weeks and whose treatment of “Buttons and Bows,” drawn from the 1948 Bob Hope–Jane Russell film Paleface, became the group’s signature success.
One of nine siblings, the soprano-voiced singer began performing in church under the direction of her father, John Dinning. Harmonizing with sisters Ginger and Lou from her earliest years, she captured several amateur titles before turning ten. The sisters’ first paid appearances took place in 1934, supported by the band of their older brother Ace.
After a brief early-1935 tour with Herbie Holmes & His Band, the trio moved to Chicago and served for seven years as staff vocalists on NBC Radio. They also appeared with Ozzie Nelson’s Orchestra in the 1942 motion picture Strictly in the Groove.
Soon after the Dinning Sisters issued their self-titled debut album in 1945, Lou Dinning withdrew to marry and begin a solo career. Jayne Bundesen filled the vacancy until Tootsie Dinning joined in 1952. Throughout this period the sisters supplied vocal harmonies on albums by Tennessee Ernie Ford, Tex Ritter, and Bob Crosby.
Following several solo singles issued in the late 1950s, Dinning created “Teen Angel” for her younger brother Mark. The recording climbed to the top of the charts and remained her greatest commercial accomplishment. The Dinning Sisters reunited in 1993 with Elvis Presley’s backing vocal group, the Jordanaires, to record the gospel collection Rhinestone Christian.
One of nine siblings, the soprano-voiced singer began performing in church under the direction of her father, John Dinning. Harmonizing with sisters Ginger and Lou from her earliest years, she captured several amateur titles before turning ten. The sisters’ first paid appearances took place in 1934, supported by the band of their older brother Ace.
After a brief early-1935 tour with Herbie Holmes & His Band, the trio moved to Chicago and served for seven years as staff vocalists on NBC Radio. They also appeared with Ozzie Nelson’s Orchestra in the 1942 motion picture Strictly in the Groove.
Soon after the Dinning Sisters issued their self-titled debut album in 1945, Lou Dinning withdrew to marry and begin a solo career. Jayne Bundesen filled the vacancy until Tootsie Dinning joined in 1952. Throughout this period the sisters supplied vocal harmonies on albums by Tennessee Ernie Ford, Tex Ritter, and Bob Crosby.
Following several solo singles issued in the late 1950s, Dinning created “Teen Angel” for her younger brother Mark. The recording climbed to the top of the charts and remained her greatest commercial accomplishment. The Dinning Sisters reunited in 1993 with Elvis Presley’s backing vocal group, the Jordanaires, to record the gospel collection Rhinestone Christian.