The Peculiar Truth about the Singing Sisters & the Mobster

• 1952: Three teenage sisters from Ohio appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s televised talent show. Their smooth singing style made them instant sensations. The McGuire Sisters would become famous for their identical hairstyles, matching clothing, and perfect harmonies. Together, they became the epitome of 1950s Alll-American girl-next-door apple pie sweetness and charm.

• Until one of the sisters began dating the leader of the Chicago mob.

• The McGuire Sisters were all indeed siblings: Christine, Dorothy, and the youngest, Phyllis. They were raised by a steelworker dad and a mother who was an ordained minister. From early childhood the girls sang weekly in their mother’s church choir.

• Their most popular - and most unctuous - hit record was Sugartime (“Sugar in the morning/Sugar in the evening/Sugar at suppertime”). The trio had several other gold records during their peak in the mid-50s.

• They performed regularly on TV variety shows and made live appearances all over the United States and Great Britain.

• Dorothy married a rich oilman and they stayed together for over 50 years. Christine would marry and divorce multiple times. Phyllis was married once, divorced, and never married again. However, she had a longtime relationship with the notorious Sam Giancana.

• From 1957-66, he was the boss of the so-called Chicago Outfit. They were involved in racketeering, gambling, drugs, and murder. Giancana joined the mob in the late ‘30s and rose through the ranks. His mob nickname was Momo. It was derived from the word madman.

• While he was crime boss, the CIA asked Giancana to help assassinate Fidel Castro. He had an affair with Judith Exner, a woman who also allegedly slept with President John F. Kennedy. She claimed to be a go-between delivering messages to and from Giancana and JFK.

• Phyllis McGuire met Giancana in 1960. She would later claim that she didn’t know he was a Chicago mob boss. She called Giancana the great love of her life, although they never married. She also claimed he never talked about “whatever he was doing.”

• Everyone else knew, though.

• Her parents disapproved. So did Phyllis’ sisters. And the general public.

• 1965: Giancana was indicted on federal charges. The FBI made Phyllis appear before a grand jury. Giancana never said a word to authorities, was found guilty of contempt, and was sent to prison for a year.

• Phyllis claimed that she tried to break off the relationship a few times. It was hurting the McGuire Sisters’ wholesome image. Yet she kept returning to him.

• 1968: The trio performed on the Ed Sullivan Show before disbanding. They claimed that the two younger sisters wanted to spend more time with their families. But the real reason was because Phyllis had received an ultimatum; end the affair with the gangster or end the McGuire Sisters’ singing career.

• She chose the gangster.

• Then Phyllis went solo.

• 1975: Giancana was murdered in his home in Oak Park, Illinois - just as he was about to testify before the famous Church Committee in Washington, DC. The murderer was never found.

• 1985: The McGuire Sisters reunited and they became Las Vegas headliners.

• Phyllis lived in a preposterously ostentatious 55,000 square foot Las Vegas mansion that included giant replicas of the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower, a giant moat filled with real swans, and bulletproof windows.

• Phyllis claimed that she had invested wisely in the oil business and that Giancana’s ill-gotten gains never paid for any of it.