The Heathertones vocal quartet took form in 1946 with members Nancy Swain Overton, her sister

Jean Swain Jean Adair Swain (August 12, 1923 – July 17, 2000) was born in New York City and grew up in Port Washington, New York, Port Washington, Long Island, where she graduated from high school at age 16. Her musical talents included playing the cello ...

, Bix Brent and Pauli Skindlov. Jean and Bix were both graduates of

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

, while Nancy and Pauli had completed their studies at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

. Pauli was replaced by Ellie Decker whose lead spot was eventually filled by Marianne McCormick for six of the seven years the group was together. They wrote all their own vocal arrangements and band lead sheets. Among their many recordings were those with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

Buddy Greco Armando Joseph "Buddy" Greco (August 14, 1926 – January 10, 2017) was an American jazz and pop singer and pianist who had a long career in the US and UK. His recordings have sold millions, including "Oh Look A-There Ain't She Pretty", " Up, Up ...

and

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

. They appeared regularly on

network TV A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or, in the United ...

with

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Bert Parks Bert Parks (born Bertram Jacobson; December 30, 1914 – February 2, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and radio and television announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979. Early life Parks was bor ...

and others, always involved with the skits, live commercials, etc. typical of TV shows of that era. The group disbanded in 1953. Three recordings they made on October 27, 1949 with Buddy Greco and the Benny Goodman orchestra are available on a cd recording "Benny Goodman: 1949-1951". The songs are "Brother Bill", "Spin a Record" and "You're Always There".

References

* Information based on interviews with Nancy Overton. {{DEFAULTSORT:Heathertones Musical groups established in 1946 Musical groups disestablished in 1953 American vocal groups American pop music groups 20th-century American women musicians