The forgotten act that became the best-selling female group of all time
Since the dawn of pop music, women have had to fight for their place within it.
From Billie Holiday to Mary Lou Williams, the earliest female stars were often measured against their male counterparts, and even when they were admired, they were labelled and scrutinised in an unjust manner.
The tables, however, have started to turn, at least on a commercial front. As WIPO data shows, “In 2024, songs from female artists represented some 30% of the most-streamed songs, compared with only 16% in 2017, according to the WIPO analysis released to coincide with International Women’s Day 2025.”
The nature of that data shows just how recent the ramp-up has proven. While the likes of Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell certainly made waves amid the counterculture scene, you may well trace the start of a major female presence in commercial pop back to the ‘girl power’ revolution of the Spice Girls.
The British girl band proved to be a sensation. They had nine chart-topping singles in the UK, their own video game, and even a major motion picture starring Richard E Grant. However, these feats were eclipsed over half a century earlier by a group who are all too often forgotten about in the annals of pop culture history.
Who is the best-selling female group of all time?
The Andrews Sisters began recording music back in 1925. While their last song was released in 1974, they primarily operated up until 1953, recording over 600 songs in that time. The family trio found tremendous success during that early period, offering hope and levity during the Great Depression and World War II period.
Together, LaVerne Sophia, Maxene, and Patricia (Patty) represented the wholesome values of family and free expression, not to mention the alchemical magic of close sibling harmonies. So, hits like ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’ were sent soaring towards the top of the charts, and their record sales flourished.
But a rift would curtail their steady rise. “We had been together nearly all our lives,” Patty explained in 1971, according to Fox News. “Then in one year our dream world ended. Our mother died (in 1948) and then our father (in 1949). All three of us were upset, and we were at each other’s throats all the time.”
It was Patty herself who decided to curtail this tumultuous time by going solo after marrying the trio’s pianist, Walter Weschler. When her sisters found out about this in a gossip column, there was no coming back. At least not until 1956. But by then, the rock ‘n’ roll revolution had already risen up, and they were beginning to feel a little bygone. Sales suddenly stuttered to a halt.
Yet, during their prominent years, it is estimated that they sold at least 80million records. Many experts, however, believe that owing to record-keeping issues and levels of underhand reporting, that figure probably lies close to in excess of 100million, which would potentially put them out ahead of the Spice Girls.
So, with 113 charted Billboard hits, more of which reached the top ten than The Beatles or Elvis Presley ever managed, it seems about time that the three sisters and the vital boon they provided the world in truly trying times should be reprised and reappraised, because without them, pop culture most certainly wouldn’t be the same.
In fact, it seems part of the reason that younger generations have forgotten them is simply owing to how fast they helped to propel the world into the future. They themselves were seemingly well aware that the times had a-changed, but it’s vital we remember that they had been pivotal in bringing about that a-changing.
