Biography
Had the De John Sisters never cut “No More,” the Bonnie Sisters might never have come together. Pat Ryan, Sylvia Totter, and Jean Borgia were working as nurses at New York’s Bellevue Hospital when the De Johns’ record reached them over the laundry-room radio, prompting the three women to dream of cutting discs themselves. They practiced whenever shifts allowed, sometimes running through harmonies on the ward when their schedules overlapped. Performing first as the Belle Aimes, the nurses sharpened their sound sufficiently to appear on the Arthur Godfrey television program, where Mickey Baker—later one half of Mickey and Sylvia—took notice. Acting as both talent scout and guitarist, Baker secured the trio a contract with Rainbow Records. The women resigned from Bellevue, adopted new professional names, and began appearing in matching scotch-print skirts and blouses. Rainbow owner Eddie Heller supplied the name Bonnie Sisters. Their debut single, “Cry Baby,” had originally backed a Scarlet release whose group later evolved into the Five Satins. As white female vocalists delivering an R&B number, they attracted attention; “Cry Baby” reached the pop Top 40, lingered three weeks, and peaked at number 18. Follow-ups “Track That Cat,” “Wandering Heart,” and “Confess” failed to chart, sending the singers back to Bellevue. In 1990 director John Waters titled his film Cry Baby after the group’s solitary hit; the cast included sexy Joey Heatherton, ultra sexy porn star Traci Lords, future talk-show personality Ricki Lake, and the then-unknown Johnny Depp.