Dorothy McGuire, One-Third Of Hit-Making Sister Vocal Trio, R.I.P.

Dorothy McGuire, one-third of one of the 1950s most popular vocal groups, The McGuire Sisters, passed away this past Friday at Paradise Valley, Arizona of complications from Parkinson's disease at age 84.

Alongside older sister Christine and younger sister Phyllis, Dorothy became a major pop music star at the time that rock 'n' roll was just becoming a worldwide phenomenon.  Such as was the music of Patti Page, Perry Como and others of their generation, the McGuires' music existed in their own parellel universe, with a solid barbershop vocal mentality (like that of the Chordettes and the Lennon Sisters) blending perfectly whether it's songs like "Sincerely" (an ealry 1955 #1 hit,which was a cover of major rhythm and blues hit for the Moonglows) or Sugartime (another chart topper, this one from 1958).

The girls still continued to have records on the pop charts as late as the early 1960s, but split up in 1968 when Phyllis went solo and Christine and Dorothy retired from show business to raise their families.

The sisters reunited in 1985 and continued performing into the 21st century.