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The Twins Share Their Memories
Euni Reflects:
The Tracey Twins, Eudi and Euni, grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. They began singing and dancing together as toddlers, and in their teen years appeared on Cleveland radio and televsion.
At the age of 19, they acquired their first manager and embarked on their professional career. For the next five years they appeared in nightclubs and theaters throughout the United States and Canada, including the Metropole in Windsor, Ontario, The Gay Haven and Club Clich in Detroit, The Vagabonds in Miami, The Town Casino in Buffalo, and the Alpine Village in Cleveland.
They also entertained the military in airbases from Biloxi, Mississippi all the way to Thule Air Force Base in Greenland. At the start of their professional career, they toured for two weeks with the Crew Cuts throughout the South and Midwest. One memorable summer they appeared at fairs in lower and upper Michigan. As a result of this experience, they couldn't look at a hamburger for a year. They appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, Merv Griffin's Going Places, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (on which they took first place, thereby winning a week's appearance on The Arthur Godfrey Show), The Tonight Show with Steve Allen, Midwestern Hayride, and the Soupy Sales Show.
They recorded for Reserve, Epic East West, and Atlantic Records. Their recording of TONIGHT YOU BELONG TO ME was on the national charts for many weeks.
Other recordings include PICKING SWEETHEARTS, taught to them by their friends in the band on Midwestern Hayride, DO YOU EVER THINK OF ME, KISSIN' DIPLOMA, THE PEDDLER SONG, TAKE BACK YOUR SWING, GIVE ME LOVE, WHY WAS I BORN TO LOVE YOU, HITCHHIKE, FLIP FLOP, DON'T MEAN MAYBE BABY, HEARTBREAK HILL, and EVERY LITTLE NOW AND THEN.
It was at The Alpine Village in Cleveland that a scout for Midwestern Hayride saw their show. He invited them to appear on Midwestern Hayride. They laughed and said, "We're not country artists!" He convinced them that they would fit in, so off to Cincinnati they went, carrying a case of music charts for twelve musicians. When the band saw all those charts, the leader said, "What's that?" Euni answered, "Our music." The leader said, "We don't read music!" The twins nearly died of heart attacks until the band struck up the songs they had been rehearsing (after having listened to the twins' recordings). One month of bliss in Cincinnati followed. Not only did the twins enjoy a professional relationship with the cast, they soon found they had a group of very protective big brothers as well. To this day, they are die-hard rockabilly fans.
Then, after five years, it was time to come back home. Marriage and families enhanced their lives, as they continued to play a part in the artistic community.
Eudi owned a dance studio for fifteen years and appeared in community theatre in Cleveland. She was president of her Temple Sisterhood and sang in the Temple choir. Today she is active in the Million Moms March to honor the memory of her daughter, Amy. She also takes her copyrighted chair exercise program, Tap-A-Way, to senior sites, including nursing homes and assisted living places, throughout the Cleveland area.
Euni was the host of two cable TV shows in the metropolitan Detroit area: LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION, in which she interviewed various performing artists, and TIME FOR A STORY, in which she read literature for preschoolers. Euni received the Philo T. Farnsworth Award for TIME FOR A STORY. She was also featured in WHO'S WHO IN AMERICAN WOMEN for her arts education projects, including her one-woman literature-based musical shows, YANKEE DOODLE SINGS AGAIN, a show that explores American folk music from pre-Revolutionary days to the present; A VISIT WITH MOTHER GOOSE, which introduces young children to poetry, and MARY POPPINS SINGS THE SONGS OF WALT DISNEY.
Euni has produced and performed literature-based musical programs for schoolchildren, and conducted children's choirs. Eudi has graciously allowed Euni to take Tap-A-Way to senior sites in the Detroit metropolitan area. Euni is active in arts education, serving on the board of Young Audiences of Michigan. She is the president of the Southfield, Michigan Library Board.
Besides her literature-based shows for schoolchildren, Euni has conducted children's choirs in Akron, Ohio, Buffalo, New York and Oak Park and Southfield, Michigan.
Euni serves on the board of Young Audiences of Michigan, a chapter of the national arts education organization. In recent years, she served on Southfield's Cornerstone District Association, and wrote a column called MY TOWN for the Southfield Eccentric Newspaper. She is the president of the Southfield Library Board.
Eudi Reflects:
Eudi Tracey, a native of Cleveland, has been a performer, writer and dance teacher all her life. As 1/2 of the singing Tracey Twins, her career began at the age of four when she and her sister sang between boxing matches at the old Cleveland Arena. During their school days, they hosted their own radio and TV shows and appeared on Cleveland's very first television show starring Hollywood star, James Stewart.
At the age of nineteen, they were discovered by the Crew Cuts' ("ShBoom") manager, who started them on their nightclub, concert, television and recording career. They toured throughout the U.S. and Canada, including an amazing experience at Thule Airforce Base in Greenland where a colonel met their plane, snarling at them, saying that they were a day late and that he'd keep them over one day. Nothing they could say deterred him -- they showed him their military orders noting the date they were to arrive and he STILL kept them over one more day!
For five years, they appeared in nightclubs and theaters throughout the US and Canada. They played the Metropole in Windsor, Ontario "The Gay Haven" in Detroit (how's THAT for a name of a club, not in THESE times!) They played the Club Cliche in Detroit, the Town Casino in Buffalo, the Alpine Village in Cleveland, and The Vagabonds in Miami. They appeared on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand", Merv Griffin's "Going Places," "The Arthur Godfrey Show", arriving at Grand Central Station in a huge snowstorm and putting on their gowns on board the train as passengers let them sit on their laps so they could grab a taxi the minute they got off the train. No taxis in sight but their NY agent was waiting for them, practically hysterical that they'd miss the show. The taxi miraculously appeared and off they went to the studio. The "powers that be" literally threw them on as the first act. They WON and as they bowed, they turned to the orchestra to see the violinists and violas tapping their bows on their instruments in applause and the rest of the orchestra applauding us. The week's engagement on the morning show went without a hitch!
They appeared on Merv Griffin's "Going Places", Midwestern Hayride in Cincinnati, (where the musicians couldn't read music but could follow every note we sang -- what a treat!), the Soupy Sales Show, The Tonight Show with Steve Allen and local TV shows in every city in which they appeared. They always carried their music charts with them for the musicians at each engagement. They recorded for Reserve, Epic, and Atlantic Records, having regional hits of each record, plus their rendition of "Tonight You Belong to Me" appearing on the national charts.
They appeared with the Four Lads, the Crew Cuts, Della Reese, Art Carney, Bob Crosby, Ray Anthony, Morey Amsterdam, Homer and Jethro, Connie Francis, Peg Leg Bates, the Vagabonds (in the Vagabonds' club), the Four Freshmen, and many more.
Among their regional and national commercials were Big Boy Restaurants, Central National Bank, Campbell Soup and The Cleveland Indians.
Since marrying and having families, The Tracey Twins continued in concert while pursuing separate careers. Eudi owned and operated the Eudi Tracey-Bea Fried Academy of Dance in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, for 15 years. She has choreographed such shows as, "If God had Wanted Women" for the Chagrin Valley Little Theater and "42nd Street" for the Mt. Carmel Players and has appeared in Gershwin and Rogers and Hart revues.
Eudi copyrighted a unique aeorbic program using tap movements, called, "Eudi Tracey's Tap-a-Way", which she has taken to nursing homes, senior adult residences and community parks and recreation programs in Cleveland and Detroit. A video series of this program featuring all ages from 3-103, received Winner, Best Series and Best Host for Bloomfield Cable in Michigan. A little aside note: when she coined the line, "we teach ages 3-103", she never dreamed she'd actually have an 103 year-old student in one of the nursing homes, thinking the phrase just sound good, because she liked the alliteration. Much to her surprise, there was, indeed, an 103 year-old woman sitting in her wheelchair and moving her hands to the music! After class, Eudi went looking for her and found her in her room where she was sitting elegantly in her wheelchair. Something had happened during class and Eudi told her about the incident, saying that she thought that after all these years, she'd know everything about her job. The lady smiled, took Eudi's hand, stroking it, and saying, "sweetheart, I'm 103 and I'm learnin' somethin' new every day." Eudi laughed and said, "I'm not a liar anymore -- I actually HAVE an 103 year-old student!" They hugged and Eudi left, knowing she might never see her again.
For the last several years, Eudi has been a counselor for the City of Shaker Heights' SAC (Shaker After Care) program and Summer Camp. For both, she taught ballet, tap and jazz as well as the Reading Rainbow Program.
DISCOGRAPHY
Flip Flop - Reserve Records
HITCH HIKE - Reserve Records
EVERY LITTLE NOW AND THEM - Reserve Records
DO YOU EVER THINK OF ME - Reserve Records
GIVE ME LOVE - Reserve Records
PICKIN' SWEETHEARTS - Reserve Records
THE PEDDLER SONG - Reserve Records
A PLACE OF YOUR OWN CALLED HOME - Reserve Records
TONIGHT YOU BELONG TO ME - Reserve Records (on the national charts for many weeks)
LOCKED IN MY HEART - Reserve Records
HEARTBREAK HILL - East-West
DON'T MEAN MAYBE BABY - East-West
GIVE ME LOVE - Reserve Records
WHY WAS I BORN TO LOVE YOU - Reserve Records (sang on Arthur Godfrey's talent show and they won)
TAKE BACK YOUR SWING - Reserve Records
KISSIN' DIPLOMA - Epic Records
BECAUSE WE ARE YOUNG - Epic Records
Posted January, 2006
