Formed as a non-sibling threesome under the guidance of musician Marcella Puppini, the Puppini Sisters update the close-harmony vocal style popularized by 1930s and 1940s ensembles such as the Andrews Sisters. Their recording career opened in 2006 with Betcha Bottom Dollar, which was followed by the seasonal collection Christmas with the Puppini Sisters in 2010 and the film-song project Hollywood in 2011. For their sixth studio effort, Dance Dance Dance, issued in 2020, the group teamed with the veteran British swing ensemble the Pasadena Roof Orchestra.
Taking their name directly from Marcella Puppini, the London-based act was launched after she drew inspiration from the soundtrack of the animated feature The Triplets of Belleville. Born in Bologna, Italy, Puppini relocated to London in 1990 to pursue studies in fashion and soon became absorbed in the local music community. Although she held a position at Vivienne Westwood’s design house, she stepped away to devote herself fully to music, earning a degree from Trinity College of Music in 2003. Her primary focus remained jazz, leading her to serve as musical director and conductor for the Whoopee Club while also fronting her own quartet. To complete the trio’s signature three-part harmonies, she recruited vocalists Stephanie O’Brien and Kate Mullins. Studio work on the debut single “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” released in 2006, was overseen by producer Benoît Charest, who had previously contributed to The Triplets of Belleville soundtrack. The full-length Betcha Bottom Dollar appeared in the United Kingdom that same year and reached the United States via Verve the following May; before 2007 ended, the group issued its second album, the nostalgically styled The Rise & Fall of Ruby Woo.
A holiday-themed set, Christmas with the Puppini Sisters, arrived in 2010, and the fourth studio album, Hollywood, followed in 2011 with its selection of classic motion-picture songs. In September 2012, Emma Smith took O’Brien’s place in the lineup, and this configuration unveiled The Highlife in March 2016. Puppini, Mullins, and Smith later joined forces with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra for an album of covers spanning swing standards such as “Sing Sing Sing,” ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” and Deee-Lite’s “Groove Is in the Heart.” Issued in September 2020, the collection was titled Dance Dance Dance.
