They literally grew up in front of Americans’ eyes — appearing for 13 years on live television — since their Christmas Eve debut on popular bandleader Lawrence Welk's weekly TV program in 1955. The Lennon Sisters performed for seven United States Presidents and, though partially reconstituted, continue to do shows in Branson, Missouri.

During the 1950s and early ’60s, the Lennons were a Saturday night institution, with families gathering around the living room television sets — and girls watching the young singerrs while sippig hot cocoa, pinning up hair curls or dancing with their dads when Janet, in braids, danced with Mr. Welk.

As one music critic remarked, “They have quality harmony that’s more beautiful than the music itself.” Theirs has always been a gentle sound — clear as a bell but soft and comforting.

From a family of 11 children, headed by their milkman father, William, they all lived in a modest, two-bedroom house. "Bill" had sung in a quartet with his three brothers during the Big Band era, so began teaching his daughters how to harmonize. The girls idolized Patti Page's smooth, multi-track harmony sound, and worked hard to emulate her style. They were also inspired by the Andrews Sisters and the Mills Brothers.

A high school classmate of the teenaged Dianne's — Larry Welk, Jr. — heard the girls sing and was so impressed he brought them home to meet his father, who was sick in bed. Mr. Welk knew talent when he heard it, and immediately booked the young ladies for an appearance on his Christmas broadcast. They were an immediate sensation with Welk's national viewers, and were featured nearly every week for years. A multimillionaire but a notorious cheapskate, Lawrence only paid the four girls scale — as if they were one performer — amounting to about $150 a week.

In 1969, just as they were set to star in their own variety show, “Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters Hour,” tragedy struck the family. Their father, Bill Lennon, was fatally shot in the parking lot of the golf course in Marine Del Rey, California where he worked. He was only 53. The murderer, a delusional stalker named Chet Young, believed himself married to Peggy, and was convinced that Mr. Lennon stood in his way and had to be eliminated. Two months later, Young used the same weapon to take his own life. The sisters discovered an unopened letter containing a cut out of their father, a picture of a gun pointed at his head, and the words “High Noon” (the time of the murder). In the wake of the tragedy, their series lasted only one season.

Devout Catholics, the Lennon family went on and the young women continued to perform. “Best Loved Melodies” contains nine beautiful tracks. They range from the Disney favorite “My Favorite Things” to one of the prettiest renditions of the traditional “Greensleeves” you will ever hear. “Goin’ Out Of My Head” sounds very dated, as does “Scarborough Fair,” but if it's musical nostalgia you’re after, you’ll enjoy these versions. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is inspiring, as is the heavenly “Ave Maria.”

Two of the girls often solo — Dianne and Kathy — and they are good enough to have pursued solo careers had they chosen to do so. Though the Lennons would lip-sync their numbers on the weekly Welk show, there's no denying they had real talent, and this CD captures some of this magic.


To sample some of the tracks, click the speaker icon below to hear them. Then scroll down the page to order today!