THE BARRY SISTERS

The Barry Sisters comprised Lorna Whiteside (born 1927) and Dorothy Davidson (born 1933). Dorothy grew up on an apple orchard at Tallong, near Goulburn. She came to Sydney for her education and there teamed up with Lorna who lived at Granville.

At twelve Dorothy auditioned solo for Australia’s Amateur Hour. She was advised to get a guitar and learn to play. She learnt one song and with it won a heat of the Amateur Hour. She appeared on 2KY Harry Yates Digger’s Show, was heard by Mr Roy Eades, promoter of Arnott’s Biscuits Concert Party who took her on many shows at Army Hospitals and camps for the Navy, Air Force and American troops awaiting discharge from the forces when the war ended. At a school concert Dorothy and Lorna performed for the first time together and soon were back on Amateur Hour as a duo and won that heat.

The early 1950’s saw the girls became part of a teenage cabaret at a hotel in Annandale. They were billed as the Bar-Y Girls but were often referred to as the Bar BQ Girls. In 1954 they submitted a demo to ARC (now CBS) records, and got an immediate response, being asked to record (with guitar only accompaniment) for ARC’s country label, Rodeo. Sales were encouraging so they recorded several more 78’s, firstly for Rodeo and then with Bill Walker’s quartet for ARC’s pop label, Pacific

Their first recording, “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” and “Lazy Lack-a-Daisy Melody” was under the name of Bar BQ Girls. When they came to do more recordings on the Rodeo Label they changed the name and became the Barry Sisters. Working professionally on radio and television, they were discouraged from doing original material, instead doing covers of the popular songs of the day. Dorothy appeared regularly on “Bunk House Show” with Tommy McNamara on Sydney Radio 2GB. She appeared as a regular on Tim McNamara’s show on Radio 2KY, and sang with Tim on the “Country Encores”. Dorothy was also a regular on Reg Lindsay’s Radio Show on 2KY.

The Barry Sisters regularly appeared on Bandstand with Brian Henderson, (where they were backed by either the Joy Boys, (Johnny Rebb’s) Rebels, Don Burrows or Bob Young’s Orchestra). They also appeared on TCN9’s Bobby Limb show (backed by the Isador Goodman Orchestra). For Channel 7, the Barry Sisters appeared on Teentime, Roy Hampton’s Rhythm Roundup, plus various shows including Digby Wolfe’s Review 61. They were still heavily booked on ABC radio shows, including Johnny O’Keefe’s “Rockville Junction”, which had a live audience, a Hawaiian show with Johnny Wade, mainstream for Moderns with Don Burrows, and a travelling factory show with Jim Gussy’s Orchestra. They were also heavily booked on the Sydney club circuit. Dorothy and Lorna felt they had fulfilled their ambitions as a duet at this stage so they split up in the mid 60s. Dorothy remained in the business making a name for herself as a soloist, whilst Lorna has turned to her long-time love – song writing. Lorna died in 2014.

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