Dorothy McGuire

She was one-third of the music trio The McGuire Sisters. Dorothy was the middle of three sisters Christine (oldest) and Phyllis (youngest), their mother was an ordained minister, they were born and raised in Middletown, Ohio, a Northern suburb of Cincinnati. Due to their strict upbringing, contemporary music was not allowed and the sisters would resort to sneaking into the house records from The Andrews Sisters among other popular artists. Their first performance in public was at the family’s church and by the end of the 1940s, they were known throughout Ohio after appearances on local radio programs. Their first break in the industry was when they landed an engagement on Kate Smith’s radio show in New York which led to a contract with Decca Records under their Coral label. In addition, the were given a spot on the popular TV program “Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts” and became regular performers during a seven-year run (1951 to 1958). They found instant success with their first Pop-Chart placing “Sincerely” (1955), which secured the number one position for ten weeks while achieving gold record status and from their popularity, they earned the cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine. This was followed with further Top-10 hits including “Something’s Gotta Give” (1955), “He” (1955) and the number one, gold record “Sugartime” (1958) and during the 1960s, they were regularly-featured performers on “The Ed Sullivan Show”. They retired from show business by the end of the decade and reunited during the mid 1980s. They continued to perform together into the 2000s. The McGuire Sisters were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001. Dorothy died of complications from Parkinson’s disease and dementia. She is not to be confused with Dorothy McGuire the actress of the same name.