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BONNIE SISTERS
CRY BABY
Rainbow 328
No. 18 March 3, 1956
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In the winter of 1955, three sisters checked out of Bellevue; the oldest public hospital in the United
States (formed 1736). The sisters-Sylvia, Jean, and Pat-were nurses at the facility who sang together
on the side. Mickey”Guitar” Baker (later of MICKEY & SYLVIA) heard them and offered them a
contract with Rainbow Records. The girls left their jobs. As the Bonnie Sisters, they issued a pop
moaner, “Cry Baby” that remained in the Top 40 for only three weeks. “Track That Cat” was the follow-
up single. And weeks later, quite probably, Sylvia, Jean, and Pat were back at Bellevue.
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In 1990 off-beat director John Waters named a flaky flick after the Bellevue belles hit, Cry Baby featuring
JOEY HEATHERTON, porno-popster Traci Lords, talk show hostess Ricki Lake, and star-to-be Johnny
Depp.