Another artifact from the Rocketing Rhythms series for Armed Forces Radio – this one featuring The Paris Sisters, busy promoting their then-newly released single “I Love How You Love Me” from the broadcast of October 24, 1961.
Ironically, it would be this single that would prove to be their most memorable, benefitting from the production of Phil Spector and most often included in many Phil Spector retrospective packages. Aside from that , The Paris Sisters pretty much faded from view after their breakup in 1968. The audience for dreamy love ballads had left years before and the world had changed in so many ways as a result.
But at the time, the were riding the crest of a rather substantial wave. Music for Date Night – Music as an antidote to songs of protest – Music for a bygone era.
The Paris Sisters, consisting of sisters Albeth, Sherrell, and Priscilla Paris, formed as a singing and dancing trio in 1954 in San Francisco, California. Building on encouragement from their family upbringing, the sisters initially focused on dance routines that incorporated semi-acrobatic elements, drawing from their early exposure to performance arts. Priscilla, the youngest, began formal training at age two, enrolling in a local dancing school where she learned acrobatics alongside her sisters.To refine their skills, the trio later attended singing school after a vocal coach overheard their natural harmony during an appearance at an Army show. They committed to rigorous daily rehearsals lasting five to six hours after school, practicing choreography and vocal arrangements to build a cohesive act. These sessions emphasized precision in both movement and pitch, as Priscilla later recalled in a 1990 interview: “We rehearsed every day after school for five or six hours.” Their first professional steps came through performances as dancers, entertaining at hospital benefits, radio broadcasts, and USO and Air Force shows across the region. The sisters showcased routines to songs like “Ragtime Cowboy Joe,” blending tap dancing with synchronized steps that highlighted their agility. Gradually shifting toward a vocal emphasis, they began incorporating singing during bus trips to camp performances, inspired by the harmony of the Andrews Sisters, whom they emulated in their sets. Initial auditions and local gigs followed, with the trio performing in San Francisco venues and securing spots alongside established acts. They met the Andrews Sisters backstage at one early show and even shared the stage with the McGuire Sisters and King Sisters, gaining exposure through these connections while honing their blend of dance and song. These outings solidified their identity as a versatile sister act before pursuing broader opportunities.
In 1961, The Paris Sisters, consisting of sisters Albeth, Sherrell, and Priscilla Paris, began their pivotal collaboration with producer Phil Spector through the intervention of music executive Lester Sill, who had recently acquired their recording contract and enlisted Spector to helm their sessions. This partnership marked a turning point, as Spector applied his emerging “Wall of Sound” production technique—characterized by dense orchestral arrangements and reverb-heavy recordings—at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. Their first release under this arrangement, the Spector-produced single “Be My Boy,” was issued in March 1961, entered the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring, and peaked at No. 56, introducing the group’s ethereal harmonies to a wider audience. The collaboration’s breakthrough came with “I Love How You Love Me,” written by Barry Mann and Larry Kolber and recorded in 1961 at Gold Star Studios, where Priscilla Paris provided the lead vocals amid lush instrumentation including guitar by Russ Titelman and piano by Michael Spencer. Released in August 1961 on Gregmark Records, the ballad climbed the charts, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October and remaining on the chart for 15 weeks while selling over one million copies, earning gold certification status. This success propelled the group to national prominence, showcasing Spector’s innovative production that blended their soft, breathy style with symphonic backing. Building on this momentum, the follow-up single “He Knows I Love Him Too Much,” penned by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, was released in early 1962 and peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100, further demonstrating the group’s compatibility with Spector’s dramatic soundscapes. During this period, the sisters expanded their media presence with an appearance in the 1962 British film It’s Trad, Dad! (released as Ring-a-Ding Rhythm! in the U.S.), directed by Richard Lester, where they performed the Spector-produced track “What Am I to Do?,” a poignant ballad written by Doc Pomus and Spector himself. Additionally, in the early 1960s, they recorded a catchy jingle for Diet Rite soda, singing lines like “Stay thin with the best-tasting cola of all!” in television commercials, which highlighted their versatility beyond pop records.
Following the decline of their recording career in the late 1960s, the Paris Sisters transitioned away from live performances and entered media production roles, beginning with commercial jingle work that served as an entry point into television advertising. This brief foray into advertising marked their last on-camera television appearances, with no further group performances documented after 1968. Sherrell Paris, the youngest sister, shifted to behind-the-scenes television work in the 1970s, serving as a production assistant on the game show The Price Is Right and later as the personal executive assistant to host Bob Barker for over two decades, handling program staff duties until her release in 2000 amid staff changes following harassment allegations against Barker. Albeth Paris, the eldest, pursued independent television production after raising her family, collaborating with her husband, Clancy B. Grass III, a music and film producer. Their joint efforts focused on production and public relations in the television industry, building on Grass’s prior experience in executive production roles, until her death in 2014.
Priscilla Paris died on March 5, 2004, at age 63, from injuries sustained in a fall at her home in Pays de la Loire, France. Albeth Paris died on December 5, 2014, in Palm Springs, California, at age 79.
In addition to the interview, Rocketing Rhythm managed to fill the half-hour with a flood of newly released singles. All making for some interesting listening.
