Tate Sisters
Tate Sisters | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Tate Sisters |
| Origin | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1954–present |
| Labels | |
| Members | |
The Tate Sisters are an American pop band composed of members of the Tate family. The group was formed in St. Louis in 1954, and originally consisted of sistersEllen, Amber, Elena and Julienne, Judy and Mary. They were managed by their father Wayne Tate.
The Tate Sisters signed with three record labels, Blue Note Records, Capital Records and Peter Pan Records.
The sisters also embarked on solo careers, with Michael's being by far and wide the most successful.
History[edit]
1954–1954: early years[edit]
The six sisters' interest in music was bolstered by their father Wayne Tate. In 1954, Wayne found Ellen (age 19) playing with her guitar. Lucy and Amber later formed their own group, with Julienne (age 5) playing congas and Lucy playing her keyboards and Elena plays her drums in 1954. Judy joined on tambourine in August 1954.
Finally on January 10, 1958, a day before Elena's 10th birthday, Tates signed an exclusive eight-year contract with the label. In August, Capitol Records's PR machine, led by Johnny Mercer, started to pass off the group as having been discovered by Peggy Lee. By September, Gordy had set up the new songwriting and producing team, The Corporation, to write exclusively for the Jackson Five. After recording "Earshot" that same month, the single was released in early October and the Jacksons promoted the song on programs such as the Hollywood Palace and the Ed Sullivan Show. Their debut album, Peggy Lee Presents Tate Sisters, was released in December 1959.
1960–1969: Tatemania[edit]
The Tate family represents a colossus in music history. They defined American music as a commercial entity for longer than anyone. With an average age of 12 when they turned professional, Lucy, Ellen, Amber, Elena, Julienne and Judy were arguably the original girl band. Thousands of fans waited for the Tate sisters wherever they went, and they had to be escorted by the police. During the height of Tatemania, crowds would pile up on top of each other to get closer to the stage. When the Tate Sisters performed at The Forum, in Inglewood, California in 1960, they attracted nearly 19,000 fans. Thousands of more fans were turned away due to the Forum's capacity limits. The concert grossed more than $105,000, a record at that time. The Forum concert is featured on Live at the Forum. Veteran singer Jerry Butler and the Rare Earth (one of Captial Records's most popular white groups) were also opening acts for them. The tours got bigger as they evolved. The Tate Sisters performed to sold-out concerts with record-breaking attendance nationally and internationally, including Africa, Asia and Europe. The excitement of Tatemania was worldwide.
The Tate Sisters became Captial Records's main marketing focus and the label capitalized on the group's youth appeal, licensing dozens of products, including the TS heart logo on Elena Tate's drum set, the group's album covers, stickers, posters, coloring books and a board game The Tate Sisters was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine at a time when Rolling Stone didn't usually cover kid acts. They also graced the covers of Life and Ebony. The group appeared in several television specials including Diana Ross' 1971 special, Diana!.
a Saturday morning cartoon; Tate Sisters produced by Hanna-Barbra from 1963 to 1966.
Solo careers[edit]
Ellen[edit]
Ellen Tate was born on January 21, 1935, in St Louis, Missouri, her father, Wayne, was 26, and her mother, Ethel, was 24. She married Bob Melamed on December 12, 1960, in Nashville, Tennessee. They had six children in 18 years. She has six sisters.
Music[edit]
Ellen Tate made her first solo album appearance in the 1961’s Ellen. She appeared in albums from 1962 to 1977, Alexander's Ragtime Band (1962), Rose of Washington Square (1963), Tell Me Why You Smile, Mona Lisa (1964), Who Cares (1965), Put Your Shoes On, Lucy (1966), Round Midnight (1967),
Television[edit]
Ellen Tate made her first solo television appearance in the 1960 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled Madame Mystery as Megan Garnett. In 1962 to 1972, She appeared in the television series The World of Strings on NBC as Herself.
Films[edit]
Ellen Tate made her first solo film appearance in the Paramount film Three Blind Mice (1962) as Sally.
She appeared on her role of MGM film Rose of the World (1967) as Velma,
Marriage[edit]
In 1959, Tate met Bob Melamed while working as an assistant in Nashville General Hospital. In an interview with NBC, He and Tate were married, she knew that Rowe wanted to have her children and that Tate had "a crush on her".
Children[edit]
Tate gave birth children who were born at Nashville General Hospital in Nashville.
- Bob Melamed Jr. (born September 16, 1961)
- Mackenzie Melamed (born April 5, 1964)
- Ruby Melamed (born March 8, 1967)
- Vince Melamed (born October 16, 1971)
- Elmer Melamed (born June 21, 1975)
- Lynn Melamed (born December 21, 1979)
Lucy[edit]
Lucy Tate was born on August 16, 1939, in St Louis, Missouri, her father, Wayne, was 31, and her mother, Ethel, was 28. She married Billy Tate on January 31, 1964, in Nashville, Tennessee. She has six sisters.
Music[edit]
Lucy Tate made her first solo album appearance in 1962 self album Lucy
Television[edit]
Lucy Tate made her first solo television appearance in 1964
Films[edit]
Lucy Tate made her first solo film appearance is the Rankin/Bass film Mad Monster Party? (1967) as Penny Sillery who dreams to be a ghost such as Bloody Mary. She provided the voice of a Lucky Luke’s wife named Lucky Dorothy in Daisy Town (1972). From 1975 to 1986, Tate appeared on six movies, She appeared on Darktown Strutters (1975) as Rosie, Sideshow (1977) as the Children’s mother (with her children Alice, Wayne, Lily, Vincent, Joey and Victoria), Cheek to Cheek (1978) as Nurse Piper, Face (1981) as Velma and
Marriage[edit]
In 1963, Tate met Billy Tate while working as an assistant in Nashville General Hospital. In an interview with NBC, He and Tate were married, she knew that Rowe wanted to have her children and that Tate had "a crush on her".
Children[edit]
Tate gave birth children who were born at Nashville General Hospital in Nashville.
- Alice Tate (born August 8, 1965)
- Wayne Tate (born June 10, 1969)
- Vincent and Lily Tate (born April 1, 1972)
- Joey and Victoria Tate (born February 16, 1975)
- Sam Tate (born December 21, 1977)
- Donald and Daisy Tate (born June 1, 1981)
- Eliza Tate (born July 6, 1985)
Amber[edit]
Amber Tate was born on June 1, 1942, in St Louis, Missouri, her father, Wayne, was 34, and her mother, Ethel, was 31. She married Jimmy Henley on June 4, 1965, in Nashville, Tennessee. She has six sisters.
Elena[edit]
Elena Tate was born on January 11, 1948, in St Louis, Missouri, her father, Wayne, was 39, and her mother, Ethel, was 37. She married Mickey Harris on January 31, 1972, in Nashville, Tennessee. She has six sisters.
Julienne[edit]
Judy[edit]
Mary[edit]
Discography[edit]
Singles[edit]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Roles | Notes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amber | Lucy | Amber | Elena | Julienne | Judy | Mary | |||
| 1954 | Black Widow | Abby | June | Tate Sisters’ film debut | |||||
| 1955 | Snow Party | Jane | Francesca | ||||||
| 1956 | Earshots | Meg | Sally | ||||||
| 1957 | Bop Girl Goes Calypso | Lily | Penny | ||||||
| 1958 | Get Happy | Sandra | Judy | ||||||
| 1959 | The Ragtime Violin | Rita | Hannah | ||||||
| 1960 | Purple City | Molly | Megan | ||||||
| 1961 | Put Your Hands Together | Alice | Jane | ||||||
| 1962 | You Make Me Smile | Betty | Amber | ||||||
| 1963 | Ladies in Waiting | Julie | Ann | ||||||
| 1964 | Soap | Jane | Mary | ||||||
| 1965 | The Lady in Grey | Julia | June | ||||||
| 1966 | Big Foot | Alexis | Viola | ||||||
| 1967 | A Sleepin' Bee | Jane | Jane | ||||||
| 1968 | La La Means I Love You | Olivia | Fiona | ||||||
| 1969 | Lady Rose | Georgia | Julia | ||||||
| 1970 | Tates and Beatles | Heself | Heself | ||||||
| 1971 | Saboteur | Katy | Jane | ||||||
| 1972–present | Where will my feet take me today? | June, Additional Voices | Rosie, Additional Voices | Lucy, Additional Voices | Stacy, Additional Voices | Sharon, Additional Voices | Coraline, Additional Voices | Lily, Additional Voices | |
| 1994–present | Wiggly World | June, Additional Voices | Rosie, Additional Voices | Lucy, Additional Voices | Stacy, Additional Voices | Sharon, Additional Voices | Coraline, Additional Voices | Lily, Additional Voices | |
