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Connee Boswell
Constance Foore "Connee" Boswell was an American female vocalist born in Kansas City but raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. With her sisters, Martha and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell, she performed in the 1930s as The Boswell Sisters and became a highly influential singing group during this period via recordings and radio. Connee herself is widely considered one of the greatest jazz female vocalists and was a major influence on Ella Fitzgerald who said, "My mother brought home one of her records, and I fell in love with it....I tried so hard to sound just like her."
In 1936, Connee's sisters retired and Connee continued on as a solo artist (having also recorded solos during her years with the group).
The Boswells came to be well known locally while still in their early teens, making appearances in New Orleans theaters and radio. They made their first recordings for Victor Records in 1925, which included "Cryin' Blues" where Connee is featured singing in the style of her early influence, the African American singer Mamie Smith. The Boswell Sisters became stage professionals that year when they were tapped to fill in for an act at New Orleans' Orpheum Theatre. They received an invitation to come to Chicago and perform in 1928 and honed their act on the Western Vaudeville Circuit. When their tour ended they traveled to San Francisco. The hotel that had been recommended had a less than savory reputation, and the man at the desk suggested that these three young ladies might be better off in another hotel. That man, Harry Leedy, would later become their manager on a handshake and become a permanent part of Connee's life as her husband. Harry was also part owner of Decca Records.
Connee was married only once and had no children.
The Boswell Sisters travelled to Los Angeles where they performed on local radio and "side-miked" for the soundies, including the 1930 production "Under Montana Skies." They did not attain national attention, however, until they moved to New York City in 1930 and started making national radio broadcasts. After a few recordings with Okeh Records, they made numerous recordings for Brunswick Records from 1931-1935. In 1935, the sisters had a #1 hit with "The Object of My Affection", the biggest of twenty top 20 records they would enjoy.
In 1936, the group signed to Decca Records and after just three releases called it quits (the last recording was February 12, 1936). Connee Boswell continued to have a successful solo career as a singer for Decca.
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Celebrating New Holiday Releases and Connee Boswell's Birthday
![Read "Celebrating New Holiday Releases and Connee Boswell's Birthday" reviewed by Mary Foster Conklin](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/dec0a22f035624b8347c1fb99fbabe88.jpg)
by Mary Foster Conklin
The broadcast features new holiday releases from vibraphonist Warren Wolf and vocalists Lauren Henderson, CeCe Gable, Avery Raquel and Leslie Odom, Jr., plus birthday shoutouts to Connee Boswell, Dave Brubeck (100!) saxophonist Melissa Aldana, Cassandra Wilson and pianist Amina Figarova among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by purchasing their music during this time of lockdown. Playlist Warren Wolf Do You Hear What I Hear?" from Christmas Vibes (Mack Avenue) 00:00 Lauren Henderson ...
read moreConnee Boswell, 1934: "Isn't It a Shame?"
![Connee Boswell, 1934: "Isn't It a Shame?"](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/2010/helpinghands100x100.jpg)
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Jazz Lives by Michael Steinman
Even though Ella Fitzgerald insisted that Connee Boswell was her first and perhaps greatest influence, Connee hasn't been given her due. Perhaps because there hasn't been a proper reissue of her solo recordings (as opposed to the well-deserved attention given to the recordings she made with her sisters) listeners don't pay enough attention to her solo work. For me, she is the poet of yearning--consider the first chorus of this recording and of IN A LITTLE SECOND-HAND STORE--and then she ...
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