The Barry Sisters

There are two artists sharing this name: 1) The Barry Sisters, Clara and Minnie Barry, were popular American jazz and klezmer entertainers of the 1940s to the early 1970s. Born in the Bronx, New York, they were first known as The Bagelman Sisters. They made a name for themselves as Yiddish jazz singers. When their act became more popular, they changed their stage name to The Barry Sisters. They started performing in the New York Catskills resort hotels. They eventually toured with Mickey Katz.

1) The Barry Sisters, Clara and Minnie Barry, were popular American jazz and klezmer entertainers of the 1940s to the early 1970s. Born in the Bronx, New York, they were first known as The Bagelman Sisters. They made a name for themselves as Yiddish jazz singers. When their act became more popular, they changed their stage name to The Barry Sisters. They started performing in the New York Catskills resort hotels. They eventually toured with Mickey Katz. From 1937 until the mid 1950s they performed on the New York Radio Show "Yiddish Melodies in Swing", where they would sing jazz recordings in the Yiddish language. Their recordings included popular tunes, such as "Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head" translated into Yiddish (Trop'ns Fin Regen Oif Mein Kop). During the height of their popularity, the Barry Sisters even made appearances on the Ed Sullivan and Jack Paar shows and were one of the few American acts to tour the Soviet Union in 1959.

2) The Barry Sisters were signed to Sydney's EMI Pye label in 1959 and recorded seven singles, all of which were never released. In 1960 they were asked to perform on Johnny O'Keefe's Six O'Clock Rock where they met The Allen Brothers, consisting of Peter Allen and Chris Bell.

The two duos formed a great friendship and by the end of 1960 had recorded a single together. "No Hesitation" was released in May of 1961 and peaked at number 15 on the Sydney Top 40. Later that month, The Barry Sisters released "Fly Away Peter, Fly Away Paul", a jazzed-up version of the traditional nursery rhyme which charted in Sydney only at number 38.

When the Australian Pye label closed down in 1962, the duo was signed to Leedon Records where they released one single under the name 'Mary-Ann and Rebecca Barry'. Nevertheless, it flopped with a capital F and only 2 copies were sold, making it a mega-ultra-rare item today.

After 1962 the Barry Sisters left the public scene forever, and it is not known where they are today, or even if they are still alive, but they left behind a very small contribution to Australia's Rock'n'roll scene.