10+10 Pisces against the wind. 14) The Del Rubio Triplets.
Whip It The three Boyd sisters (Elena, Eadie, and Milly) were practically inseparable: "one body with three heads," they defined themselves. They were born in Ancón, Panama, in 1921 to a family that included a first lady (their great-aunt Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, who was married to Woodrow Wilson).
At 14, after a trip to Hollywood, they decided to dye all their hair blonde. That’s how the "Del Rubio Triplets" were born (rubio means blond in Spanish).
Between the 1940s and 1960s, the three sisters tried to break through as a musical trio and they managed to achieve something: they sang with Xavier Cugat and Bob Hope, performed concerts and shows, and also did some radio and TV appearances, but the "real" success didn’t come.
They were about to give up everything when, in 1965, their mother’s illness forced them to return to Panama. During those days, they sang and played for their mom until she passed away, and they realized they could bring joy in that place of sorrow.
They decided that this was their path.
Throughout the 1970s and part of the 1980s, they traveled America in their camper to perform in hospitals. Always dressed in their go-go boots, miniskirts, flashy makeup, and a sea of blonde hair. And with a repertoire of hundreds of songs, from jazz standards to rock music (even from punk and new wave bands).
Always together. "We can't find a husband. For each of us, God comes first, then the other two sisters, then music. A husband would have to settle for being in fourth place."
Then, in 1985, Alee Willis discovered them (who was not just anybody; she had already won two Grammy Awards).
Willis went crazy for the three Boyd sisters, took them everywhere, included them at high-profile parties, and had them perform wherever they were invited.
Thus, the Del Rubio Triplets recorded two albums and were booked for a number of shows on national TV.
Their biggest success would be this terrible version of "Whip It" by Devo (
@[noveccentrico] don't tell me you don't have this record!), but their repertoire included incredible stuff, from the Rolling Stones to Nirvana, from the Doors to Christmas carols!
Then, in 1996, Eadie passed away, and the story ended there. One body with three heads, remember? It didn’t make sense to continue without one of them.
Milly would be left alone in 2001 and would also pass away in 2011.
Alee Willis was close to them until the end.
