McGuire, Phyllis (1931–)

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McGuire, Phyllis (1931–)

American pop singer. Born Feb 14, 1931, in Middletown, Ohio; youngest sister of singers Christine McGuire (b. 1928) and Dorothy McGuire (b. 1930).

With older sisters Christine and Dorothy, singing as the McGuire Sisters in the close three-part harmony, won a showdown on the popular "Arthur Godfrey Talent Hour" (1954); signed with Coral Records and had a hit with 1st single, "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight," (1954); followed that with "Sincerely," which reached No. 1 (1955); had several other top-10 hits, such as "Give Me Love," "Volare," "Theme from Picnic," "Delilah," "Tears on My Pillow" and "Sugartime" which reached No. 1 (1957); launched solo career, becoming successful on Las Vegas nightclub circuit and romantically linked with alleged crime figure Sam Giancana, who was later murdered (their affair was the basis for HBO's movie Sugartime, starring Mary-Louise Parker and John Turturro, 1995).

See also Women in World History.

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