Peggy Lennon (born 8 April 1941) is a member of the American vocal group The Lennon Sisters. They were initially made up of four sisters from a family that had seven sisters in all and five brothers. All 12 Lennon children were born in Los Angeles, California. The original quartet consisted of Dianne (born Dianne Barbara; aka DeeDee; December 1, 1939), Peggy (born Margaret Anne), Kathy (born Kathleen Mary, August 2, 1943), and Janet (born Janet Elizabeth, June 15, 1946).
They were a young, wholesome, crisply harmonic quartet of siblings who called themselves simply The Lennon Sisters. Making their singing TV debut in the mid-1950's, they became an instant household name on The Lawrence Welk Show (1955), a clean, old-fashioned variety show, with sixteen-year-old Dianne Lennon (Dee Dee), fourteen-year-old Peggy Lennon, twelve-year-old Kathy Lennon and nine-year-old Janet Lennon on board.
 |
| From left, Janet, Kathy, Peggy & Dianne |
The daughters were born to devout Catholics William, a milkman who also worked for a gold course, and Isabelle ("Sis") Lennon. Living humbly in Venice, California during their formative years, the Lennon girls' musical prowess was discovered early.
In 1955, a friend to Lawrence Welk arranged a meeting and audition between the Lennons and the famous bandleader. Completely charmed and impressed, Welk booked the girls immediately. Their a cappella version of "He" proved a scene-stealing success and America fell hard for the four pretty little innocents and their angelic vocal blend. Welk professionally adopted the girls and The Lennon Sisters became regulars on his show every Saturday night for the next thirteen years.
Their first hit, "Tonight, You Belong to Me", reached No. 15 on the charts in 1956. Dubbed "America's Sweethearts of Song," they recorded their first of many albums entitled "Let's Get Acquainted" in May of 1957. So popular were the girls that they became a merchandising factory with colouring books, lunch boxes and doll collections all doing very brisk business. Dianne retired for marriage in 1960 and the quartet became a trio until Diane's return in 1964.
Although much of the group's fame was based on their television appearances, they also recorded frequently for Dot Records in the 1950s and 1960s, producing a dozen albums, featuring their interpretations of well-known standards such as "Among My Souvenirs", "Moon River", and "Twilight Time". Some of their best-known recordings included "Scarlet Ribbons", "Greensleeves", and Schubert's "Ave Maria".
Having growing families, the sisters were only receiving Union scale wages for their jobs on Lawrence Welk’s show. The Lennon’s and Welk would agree that the sisters would only appear on the show, once a month starting in 1967 so the sisters could pursue other opportunities and earn a bit more wages for their families. Unfortunately, over time this agreement would not work for Welk and in February 1968 the sisters decided to leave the security of the Welk show (the parting was rather acrimonious) in order to branch out.
 |
| The Lennon Sisters & Lorne Greene |
But hey found the going extremely difficult as a pristine Camelot-era vocal group caught up in the radical Vietnam-era age. Although the eponymous sisters started off promisingly enough in their own sweetly sentimental musical variety show Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters (1969), the pairing of Jimmy Durante and the girls proved too odd a mixture and the show lasted only a season. Personal tragedy hit in the midst of shooting the series when, on August 12, 1969, their father, William, was shot and killed by a deranged fan of Peggy's at the Venice golf course where he still worked.
In the early 70s, The Lennon Sisters became frequent guests on The Andy Williams Show and subsequently performed with the singing star in Las Vegas on a fairly steady basis. Their talent notwithstanding, they became a hard act to book with a repertoire of songs that included "My Favourite Things,""Getting to Know You" and "Zip A Dee-Doo-Dah." They were plainly out of sync. They spent a large percentage of time on the road in the next couple of decades, sustaining their act at state fairs, charity benefits and convention halls. Broaching on a five-decade career, they eventually found a steady home in Branson, Missouri, at (where else?) the Welk Champagne Theatre where they continued to charm loyal, nostalgic, highly enthusiastic crowds.
They have sung for seven different United States Presidents - Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan. In 1999, Peggy, the mother of six children, retired from the sister act for good and was replaced by another sister Mimi Lennon. After Dianne, a cancer survivor, retired in December of 2001, the girl group remained a touring trio. Awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1987 for their television contributions, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001. They have frequented The Villages, the world's largest retirement community, for shows. They last performed in The Villages on February 15, 2016.
(Edited from Wikipedia & IMDb mini bio)