A Brief History
One week ago, on January 19, 2015, we featured 10 sets of famous siblings who had achieved greatness. Today we list 10 more sets of famous siblings with whom you may or may not be familiar, but who at one point in time had been prominent. This time we are including fictional siblings as well as real relatives.
Digging Deeper
10. The Thompson Twins (fictional).
Not really twins or even siblings, this rock group, who played from 1977 to 1993, hit the charts with “Hold Me Now” and “Doctor Doctor” among other hits. Honorable mention to Twisted Sister, a Heavy Metal band comprised of neither sisters nor any female for that matter.
9. The Paris Sisters (real).
If you are younger than 60 years old, you may not know them, but Priscilla, Albeth and Sherell sang sweetly, with their big hit being “I Love How You Love Me.” Honorable mention to the Pointer Sisters, June, Bonnie and Anita, talented ladies indeed.
8. The Statler Brothers (fictional, well, sort of).
Although 2 members of this harmonious country group that sang back up for Johnny Cash are real brothers, the other members are not, and in any case, none of them are named Statler.
7. The Smothers Brothers (real).
Dick and Tom were singers and comedians who came to prominence in the 1960s with their cutting-edge political satire 1960s and even had their own television show that drove the network and the censors crazy. Honorable mention to the Three Stooges television show which featured real-life brothers Moe, Curly and Shemp Howard along with Larry Fine. Later, another stooge billed as Curly Joe joined the show and was played by Joe DeRita and Joe Besser.
6. The Hardy Boys (fictional).
The protagonists of hundreds of books by various authors, the teenaged sleuths Frank and Joe Hardy have been solving crimes since 1927. Popular with teen and preteen boys, the books still sell over 1 million copies a year.
5. Sister Sledge (real).
This group consists of real sisters Debbie, Kathy, Joni and Kim Sledge. Still singing, these ladies have taken over 100 awards home for their music. We would be remiss if we neglected to mention that all 4 of these gals are college graduates. Their most famous song, “We Are Family,” was sung by fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates as the baseball team marched to the World Series in 1979.
4. The Righteous Brothers (fictional).
Pioneers of “blue-eyed soul,” Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield sang many great songs. Their hits include: “Unchained Melody;” “Soul and Inspiration;” “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling;” and “Rock and Roll Heaven.” Even if they are not blood brothers, these 2 certainly are “soul” brothers.
3. The Dodge Brothers (real).
Horace and John Dodge supplied auto parts to Henry Ford before founding their own car company in 1914. Dodge quickly became the second-biggest seller of cars in the United States and was bought by Chrysler when both brothers died in 1920. Of course, Chrysler still produces cars with the Dodge name plate.
2. The Blues Brothers (fictional).
Playing Jake and Elwood in Saturday Night Live skits, the comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, not only sang pretty darn well but also reprised the characters in a movie! (The sequel that did not feature these 2 was not so good.)
1. The Brothers Grimm (real).
Although their fairy tales may be fiction, these guys were real enough and were some of the premier story tellers of their day or ever for that matter. The original stories are actually much darker and gorier than the watered down versions we read to our kids.
Question for students (and subscribers): Feel free to nominate any brothers and sisters you think deserve mention in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Dixon, Franklin W. Hardy Boys Starter Set – Books 1-5 (The Hardy Boys). Grosset & Dunlap, 2012.
Grimm, Jacob, Wilhelm Grimm, et al. The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition. Audible Studios, 2014.
