The Murmaids were an American one-hit wonder all-female vocal trio, composed of sisters Carol and Terry Fischer (1 April 1946 – 28 March 2017); and Sally Gordon from North Hollywood, California, United States, who, in January 1964 reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with "Popsicles and Icicles".^[1]

History

The Fischer sisters were 15 and 17 years old in 1963. Sally Gordon, also 17, was a fellow student of Terry Fischer at Grant High School, where they sang in the choir.^[2] The Fischers' father was Carl Fischer, composer of standards such as Billie Holiday's "You've Changed" and "We'll Be Together Again," sung by Frankie Laine. Carl Fischer was also Laine's musical director and arranger for 10 years. Their mother, Terry Sr., sang with the big bands of the day, ultimately becoming the first female singer with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Their grandmother and her three sisters played the vaudeville circuit as the Locus Sisters. Sally’s father, Leonard Gordon, was Assistant Music Librarian at Paramount Pictures.

Carol and Terry Fischer made their first recordings singing on demos produced by Mike Post. A school friend of Terry Fischer's, Post would occasionally have the Fischer sisters provide back-up vocals on sessions at Gold Star Studios. Sally Gordon was hired to sing with the sisters on a demo record for producer Kim Fowley. He presented the group to Ruth Conte who signed them to her company, Chattahoochee Records.^[1]

Aftermath

We never got an accounting.... Now, we're meeting people all over the country who say "Oh my God! I love that song." We're just amazed at how many people knew that song. We had no idea.
– Terry Fischer ^[4]

Terry Fischer would recall that from the time the Murmaids met Kim Fowley "within...three months we had recorded the single, recorded an album and...had risen to #3...the downside is it lasted about 6 months and then it was finished."^[4] "When ["Popsicles and Icicles"] was a hit, we had calls from every major record company and mother said, 'No, [Chattahoochee Records owner Ruth Conti] took a chance on us and we're gonna stick with her.'"^[4] (The Murmaids' mothers acted as the group's managers; Carl Fischer was deceased.) "I guess we did about two television shows ^[7] and a local concert here [in Los Angeles]. And that's all we did. At that time we got a statement from the record company charging us an exorbitant amount of money against royalties^[8]...Everyone else got paid. Kim Fowley got paid. The musicians got paid. We were paid nothing."^[3]

There was an album. Terry: "A couple of weeks after we recorded the single, we went in and recorded an album which we never heard until about five years ago. We never heard it at that time and that was over forty years ago."^[4] In fact, Chattahoochee released two further singles off The Murmaids album—"Heartbreak Ahead" and "Wild and Wonderful"—and subsequently used the Murmaids name for at least two singles which did not feature any of the three "Popsicles and Icicles" singers. The vocalists on these latterday Murmaids singles have been identified as Cathy Brasher—a solo act on the Chattahoochee roster—and Yvonne Young.^[9][10] Fowley said the Murmaids joined with Jackie DeShannon to form the Chattahoochee act the Lady-Bugs, whose cover of "How Do You Do It?", the Gerry and the Pacemakers 196 UK No. 1, lost out to the US re-release of the original in the summer of 1964.^[11] However, Fischer does not mention any involvement of any of the original Murmaids in that recording.

In 1968, Liberty Records used the Murmaids name for the release of a single version of the Traffic song "Paper Sun". The vocalist on "Paper Sun" was Sally Gordon. That was the last "Murmaids" single release.

Later history of Carol and Terry Fischer and Sally Gordon

Sally Gordon left for Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon in September 1963, before "Popsicles" became a hit. After the song completed its chart run, Terry Fischer went off to college^[1] while Carol Fischer continued with high school.

In 1969, Terry Fischer recorded as a member of The Carnival.^[12] whose self-titled album on Liberty was produced by Bones Howe; the Carnival also featured Janis Hansen and Jose Suares. both former members of Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '66. Subsequently, Terry Fischer had a prolific career as a background vocalist with television appearances on Kraft Music Hall, The Merv Griffin Show, the Jerry Lewis Telethon and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and live work with Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, Don Rickles, Sonny and Cher and Tina Turner. Terry Fischer's career highlight came in 1977: while working as a percussionist and vocalist supporting Fabian in Lake Tahoe, she was spotted by sax player Sam Butera and invited to sing with Sam Butera and the Witnesses on their gig opening Frank Sinatra's Ol' Blue Eyes is Back Tour.^[13]

Carol Fischer married John Morell, a prolific session guitarist. The couple have two sons who are both musicians.

Sally Gordon married Daniel Mark, studio musician and Vikki Carr’s bass player, and had a son, Emmy-winning film editor Tony Mark. She worked as a studio singer until 1976, when she went to work for Warner Brothers Records, then for Francis Coppola, and finally was head of promotions and public relations at Lucasfilm from 1981 to 1987. She then moved to Paris, France where she became a historical researcher and translator, as well as a singer and piano teacher. She later moved to Italy to work on the biography of film producer Robert Watts.

In 1995, Collectables Records issued a Golden Classics remastered CD of "Popsicles and Icicles" featuring the original trio.

In 1998, the Fischer sisters reformed The Murmaids with a third singer, Cynthia Perry (replaced by Petra Rowell, then replaced by Suzi Robertson), debuting the new act at a "Legends of Rock 'n Roll" show in Los Angeles in October of that year. They subsequently released a CD called The Murmaids Splash Back.

Terry Fischer died on 28 March 2017 at age 70 from Parkinson's disease.^[14]

Discography

References

External links

• The Murmaids website
• History of Rock - Murmaids
• Popsicles and Icicles
• oldies.com, The Murmaids
• Interview with The Murmaids