The Lennon Sisters

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Lennon Sisters
Lennon Sisters
Background information
Origin	Venice, California, United States
Genre(s)	Traditional Pop Music
Years active	1955 – Present
Label(s)	Brunswick, Coral, Dot, Mercury, Atlantic, Ranwood, Heartland, Maryco
Website	LennonSisters.com
Members
Dianne Lennon (1955-1960, 1964-2001) Peggy Lennon (1955-1999) Kathy Lennon (1955-Present) Janet Lennon (1955-Present)

The Lennon Sisters were a singing group consisting of four siblings: Dianne (born December 1, 1939), Peggy (born April 8, 1941), Kathy (born August 2, 1943), and Janet (born June 15, 1946). They were all born in Los Angeles, California. They are the eldest four in a family of 12 siblings. Dianne is age 68, Peggy is age 66, Kathy is age 64, and Janet is age 61.

The quartet debuted on The Lawrence Welk Show on Christmas Eve 1955 after their school classmate, Larry Welk, son of Lawrence Welk, brought them to the attention of his father. Mr. Welk was home, sick in bed, when his son brought the sisters in to sing for him. He was so impressed he picked up the phone and booked them for that week's show. Their immediate and immense popularity was due not only to their beautiful harmonies, but to their natural charm and genuine sweetness as well. They were a mainstay on the show until they left to start a career of their own in 1968. The quartet was only three members from 1960 to 1964; oldest sister Dianne got married, left the group, and then rejoined them again.

Over the decades, they recorded many albums. Their first album was on Brunswick Records and they later recorded on Coral, Dot, Ranwood and Mercury. They have recently released four CD volumes of songs taken from their own ABC-TV show, as well as a DVD of the show.

Their 1961 single, Sad Movies (Make Me Cry), (Dot 16255), was their highest-charting record. It provided them with the only number #1 single of their career, reaching the top of the charts in Japan.

In 1969, the sisters starred in their own variety show, Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters Hour. Six weeks before the show premiered on August 12, the sisters were forced to deal with the shooting death of their father, William, by a deranged fan, Chet Young (a stalker who believed himself to be married to Peggy and that the father stood in the way and had to be eliminated.) Lying in wait, Young shot Mr. Lennon in the parking lot of the Marina Del Rey golf course and two months later used the same gun to commit suicide. The sisters discovered an unopened letter having a cutout of Bill, a picture of a gun pointed at his head, and the words "High Noon" (the time of the murder). (Source, Dr. Doreen Orion, I Know You Really Love Me)

In the wake of the murder, The Lennon Sisters Hour lasted one season before it was ended by all four of the girls. In the 1970s, the sisters performed regularly on The Andy Williams Show, and toured with Williams across the country. From 1994 to 2004, the quartet performed as headliners at the Welk Champagne Theater in the Ozark community of Branson, Missouri. When Peggy retired from singing in 1999, younger sister Mimi took her place, and when Dianne left for a second time in 2001, the act became a trio again for the rest of its run in Branson.

While continuing to play tour dates, Kathy and Janet Lennon have branched out into the toy market, designing and selling their Best Pals dolls. These rag dolls are replicas of the ones their materal grandmother made for them when they were children. They still have their originals today. In addition to the dolls, the sisters have recorded cds of favorite children songs for their "Best Pals" line.

**The Lennon Sisters**
	Dianne	Peggy	Kathy	Janet

Born:	Dec. 1, 1939 (age 68)	April 8, 1941 (age 66)	Aug. 2, 1943 (age 64)	June 15, 1946 (age 61)
Spouse(s):	Dick Gass m. Oct. 16, 1960 - three children	1) Dick Cathcart (1924-1993) m. May 24, 1964 six children 2) Robert Felt m. July 02, 1995 -	1) Mahlon Clark (1923-2007) m. June 26, 1967 div. 1979 2) Jim Daris m. April 24, 1982 -	1) Lee Bernhardi m. May 7, 1966 div. 197? three children 2) John Bahler m. Sept 25, 1976 - two children

They are not related to the former Beatle John Lennon, who died in 1980.

They are related to the popular rock band Venice. (Kipp and Pat Lennon from Venice are their younger brothers, and Michael and Mark Lennon from Venice are their first cousins.)

The four original Lennon Sisters wrote their autobiography "Same Song, Separate Voices" which was originally published in 1985 and updated a decade later.

In the late 1950s the Lennon Sisters were approached by producer Don Fedderson to star alongside Fred MacMurray in a new tv series to be called My Four Daughters. They were tempted but decided it would be too much work to do both the sitcom and The Lawrence Welk Show. The show, of course, later became the long-running classic My Three Sons

Peggy's son, Joey Cathcart, was a member of the band Nelson. [1] [2] [3] [4]

In 2001 The Lennon Sisters were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.