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The mere mention of the name the McGuire Sisters evokes images of '50s America and comfortable white, middle-class life and aspirations. Their work was the perfect musical embodiment of the popular culture of the period, of a piece with Snooky Lanson and Gisele MacKenzie on Your Hit Parade, and Dwight Eisenhower's America. They even came from a place called Middletown. Christine (b. 1929), Dorothy (b. 1930), and Phyllis (b. 1931) were from Middletown, Ohio, the daughters of Asa and Lillie McGuire. Lillie McGuire was an ordained minister, and the girls' first singing experiences were in church -- indeed, secular music was frowned upon in the household -- and they had to sneak the Andrews Sisters and other popular acts into their regular listening. They sang at weddings, funerals, and revival meetings, revealing a special knack for close harmony. In 1949, they were recruited to tour veterans hospitals and military bases, and it was during this period that they took the opportunity to l...