There were lineup changes in the trio when Lou left the group in 1946 – either to begin a family, go solo, or both. Lou was signed to Capitol still, and released several records with her husband, Don Robertson, who is most famous for songs like “Born to Be With You” and “The Happy Whistler.”
Here’s a nice tune that Lou recorded with Don Robertson:
Lou’s first replacement, Jayne Bundesen, was not related, but soon after Lou’s spot was filled by her younger sister, Dolores “Tootsie” Dinning. By the end of their collaboration, the Dinning Sisters had scored two Top 10 hits and appeared in several films. After the group broke up in 1954, Tootsie sang as a member of “Nashville Edition” on the show “Hee Haw.” I venture that at this point, the family was living in or near Nashville.
Here’s Tootsie in the final lineup of the Dinning Sisters, singing “Brazil.”
Interesting and informative. Thanks for doing all that research and broadening our horizons.
Shelby Singleton is actually the name of a country music label owner who bought the rights to Sun Records from Sam Phillips in the late 60s, as well as putting out records by Orion, who was alleged to Elvis performing under a mask. Great article.
Interesting story. Will we see a book in the future?
Definitely a book. Simply print this post, then staple the pages together!
Standing ovation. Outstanding work, formidable research, quite a story or set of stories. Very impressive.
THAT is some musical family roundup! Thanks, and thanks for reminding me of “Teen Angel,” a song I always dug as a kid.
cher, I meant to ask you what spurred your deep interest in this family? Did you connect the dots starting at the beginning of the story, or did that Mystery Date clip lead you to work from the middle out?
Not sure how it began – I knew one song by the sisters, kind of at random. One day I had the songs “The Streets of Laredo” and “El Paso” in my head and while surfing around, came across “Teen Angel” and I wondered about the connection.
The sisters’ wikipedia page also connects the dots. Everything I wrote here is really semi-unsubstantiated hearsay of the internet. I think they are still local heroes in Missouri and so I have a feeling that anybody over the age of 60 in MO could tell you more than what I wrote here.
Yeah, but I want more details. Besides my printer is having a tough time with those You Tube clips.