The Offical Website of The Fleetwoods and Group Founder Gretchen Christopher.
"The Fleetwoods were one of the few vocal groups of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s to enjoy
success not
only on the pop charts, but also the R&B charts. Their forte was ballads – beginning with their
1959
debut single Come Softly to Me, which became a million selling number 1 gold record. The group
racked up
a number of Top forty hits over the next three years including Graduations Here, and Mr. Blue (#1 gold
record),
and
nearly
all of them were ballads. ... their songs
became pop-rock classics of the pre-British Invasion era."
- Vocal Group Hall of Fame
Captain America: Brave New World soundtrack features
Mr.
Blue! - 
"One day they were three students singing at their high school
talent assembly. Then, seemingly overnight, they had the No. 1 song in the country and were being
introduced on primetime television by Dick Clark. It was an amazing ride for the vocal group known as
the
Fleetwoods, who first claimed the top
spot on
the Billboard Hot 100 ... (April 13, 1959) with Come Softly To Me.
Seven months later, the trio was back in pole position with Mr. Blue, and making chart history as
the
first group to have two No.1 hits in the same calendar year." -
Gretchen Christopher composed "Come Softly" at the piano at Olympia High School. For the Senior Class Talent Assembly, she sang and combined it in counterpoint with the street corner humming and harmony of two classmates, creating what would become the magic of "Come Softly To Me" and the trio "The Fleetwoods." Gretchen recorded the song and the trio at home and took the tape to Seattle Record Promoter Bob Reisdorff. He listened, said, "It'll sell a million!" and formed Dolphin (soon changed to Dolton) Records. "Come Softly To Me" became the #1 Record, Best Selling Sheet Music in the U.S. and Britain and a worldwide hit.
From 1959 through 1963, The Fleetwoods charted eleven hit singles on the
Bilboard "Hot
100" for
a total of 110 weeks.
Listen to their hit
singles
THE FLEETWOODS FOUNDER GRETCHEN CHRISTOPHER
Gretchen Christopher is a resident of her birthplace, Olympia, Washington, "the hippest town in the West." She is featured in the documentary film "Go With The Flow". She paved the way for many regional artists. Her trio, The Fleetwoods, was the first in the Northwest to achieve national #1 Hits and earn Gold Records for millions of sales (now equivalent to Platinum).
Her music is familiar to the youngest movie-goers, as well as the millions who bought her records and hear them broadcast today. Cited as "Actress-Singer-Composer" with the ability to dramatize a song and move an audience beyond the mere recitation of lyrics and music, in 1992 she received the Southern California Motion Picture Council's highest honor, the Jeanie Golden Halo Eagle "Superstar" Award for her contribution to the Entertainment Industry and Performing Arts.
Gretchen has performed her new music and world-renowned hits in London, Manchester, Paris, Moscow, Helsinki, Brussels, Edinburgh, and from Mexico City to the Worlds Fair in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In 2000, she was among those honored as one of the "Voices of Washington" and acknowledged for a lifetime of achievements. Gretchen continues to be a woman of many "firsts", bridging two centuries. In Seattle, she performed for the June 25, 2000, Grand Opening Concert of the Experience Music Project (EMP), which is exhibiting her first Fleetwoods tour costume and Gold Records. The first Gold Records earned by a Northwest artist. more about Gretchen
