The Barry Sisters: America’s Yiddish Swingsters, with Andy Muchin

Claire and Merna Barry—born Clara and Minnie Bagelman in New York City—were a popular singing duo who performed on radio, television, records, and in concert halls and nightclubs from 1937 to 1973. In their elegant form-fitting gowns and coiffed hair, they popularized Yiddish Swing, which melded Yiddish theater tunes with a big-band beat. The sisters also performed highly polished arrangements of English-language pop songs and eventually Hebrew folk tunes. This presentation will survey their career and feature numerous clips from their recordings.­