The Fontane Sisters

The Fontane Sisters formed a tight-knit vocal trio rooted in the American popular style of the postwar years, initially rising through their knack for reworking rhythm-and-blues successes originally recorded by Black artists. The members were Marge Rosse on lead, Bea Rosse supplying low harmony, and Geri Rosse handling additional harmony, each born in New Milford, New Jersey; their mother worked as a choral director and organist. Once they finished high school the three sisters toured for eight months as part of an all-female revue, after which their brother Frank added guitar and the family act played radio broadcasts plus theater and club dates. Following Frank’s death in World War II they resumed in 1944 as a trio and spent several years performing on Perry Como’s radio and television programs while also supplying backing vocals on some of his recordings, among them the chart-topping singles “You’re Adorable” and “Hoop-Dee-Doo.”

RCA Victor signed the group in 1949, yielding modest early-fifties successes such as “Tennessee Waltz,” “Let Me In” with Texas Jim Robertson, and “Cold, Cold Heart.” Their move to Dot Records in 1954 placed them under the guidance of musical director Billy Vaughn, whose orchestra supplied accompaniment on nearly all their notable releases. “Happy Days And Lonely Nights,” a 1929 composition by Fred Fisher and Billy Rose, entered the charts early that year, and in December they reached number one with “Hearts Of Stone,” whose original version had been the first single by the Cincinnati rhythm-and-blues ensemble Otis Williams And The Charms. Subsequent covers of Black artists’ material encompassed “Rock Love,” “Rollin’ Stone” by the Marigolds, and “Eddie My Love” by the Teen Queens. They also scored with renditions aimed at the mainstream audience, taking Boyd Bennett And His Rockets’ “Seventeen” to number three and lifting “Daddy-O”—a number originally popularized by Bonnie Lou and said to reference a character from the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle—into the Top 20. Their 1957 treatment of “Banana Boat Song” climbed into the same region yet was overtaken by the Tarriers’ competing version; Steve Lawrence’s recording of the song marked his initial chart appearance. As increasing numbers of Black performers began placing their own records on the pop lists, the Fontane Sisters’ run as leading girl-group harmonizers of the decade gradually waned, leaving “Chanson D’Amour” and “Jealous Heart” as their final two chart entries in 1958.