Rock 'N Roll Case Study: Patience
& Prudence
When you think of pop-star families,
you normally think about the Jackson-5 or the Osmonds
of the '70s, or even modern-day groups such as Hanson. But in 1956 when rock 'n
roll first started to make inroads on the record charts, one of the first
sibling groups appeared. I'm talking about the one-hit-wonder sister duo of
"Patience and Prudence".
Patience & Prudence
One Hit Wonders of 1956
By Ronnie
Above: Prudence
McIntyre (left) and Patience McIntyre (right) at the height of their chart
success.
It's funny how the internet can answer even the
most trivial little questions you have. A few weeks ago, I was channel surfing
and came across an old favorite from the '70s - Steve Martin's comedy movie,
"The Jerk". During one (semi) serious scene, Steve Martin and
Bernadette Peters sing a night-time duet on the beach. The song in question is
a little ditty called, "Tonight You Belong To
Me" (and NO, it is not the Paul Stanley song on his KISS solo album by the
same name!). The song sounded nostalgic, like a 1920's classic, in which Martin
played Ukulele and Peters accompanied on flugelhorn. Well, at the end of the
movie I watched the credits for the song writer and then did a quick search on
the internet.
Turns out I was right, as "Tonight You Belong To Me" (words & Music by Billy Rose & Lee
David) as performed by Gene Austin first hit the charts in the 1927. But, then came the surprise: it was also a top 5 hit by the
one-hit-wonder group, Patience and Prudence in 1956. Yep, they were up there on
the charts alongside Elvis Presley! Although their follow-up single charted at
#11, their subsequent singles failed to chart and the singing duo quickly
disappeared into the "where are they now files".
Patience & Prudence were actually sisters and
the daughters of orchestra leader Mack McIntyre. Patience (11 years old) and
Prudence (14 years old) McIntyre were encouraged by their father, who was
already a well know piano player and songwriter (who also co-wrote the B-sides
of their two hits). Mack McIntyre brought his daughters into the Liberty
Records recording studios in
Liberty Records (also the home of rocker Eddie
Cochran) signed "Patience and Prudence" and rushed the tune into
distribution. The bouncy song became a hit, charting at #4 in September of 1956
and became
So, what happened to the two sisters? On the
internet I find nothing about the sisters after 1959. Who knows, maybe they
decided that the "music thing" was just a lark and they faded into
normal suburban bliss. Their "normal" life in the 1950's after their
hit record would obviously be too boring for an installment of VH1's
"Behind the Music".
Where are they now?
A reader sent us the following
info:
Back in the early 90's I saw them on some
television talk show that came on one day about
During this TV interview they were asked why they
did not continue their singing. They became upset as they said the reason was
their dad was very strict and wanted them to get a good education. I think they
also said once they were old enough they moved away and would have nothing to
do with their dad. I'm not sure if they went to college or not.