The Dandridge Sisters were an American all-girl singing trio, started in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, and ended in 1940, comprising the sisters Vivian and Dorothy Dandridge together with their friend Etta Jones (not the more well-known jazz vocalist Etta Jones, her namesake).
[1] They had a short period of fame traveling around the United States performing for night clubs, theatres, radio shows, and eventually left the U.S. to tour in Europe.
Dorothy Dandridge decided to become a solo artist, the band split, and each woman then pursued projects individually.
When they added Etta Jones to the group, they changed their name to The Dandridge Sisters and moved to Los Angeles.
They were so well-liked at the Cotton Club that they were given a regular spot on the show in 1939,[3] performing in their years at that popular Harlem venue alongside such famous African-American artists and entertainers as Cab Calloway,[4] W.C.
[2][3][7][8] Vivian Dandridge, who was a year older than her sister and two younger than Etta, acted as the leader of the group.
The three were all seemingly religious (Etta was Roman Catholic) and attended church each Sunday in every city they visited.
She was an extra in the movie Stormy Weather (1943), and the voice of "So White" in a controversial cartoon short Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943).
It is known that she sang with the Jimmy Lunceford orchestra for some time, and her first husband, trumpeter Gerald Wilson, was a member of the group.