Uploaded July 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The "Mirror Voiced" Sopranos Nellie & Sara KOUNS
Sing, Smile and Slumber (Gounod)
Just A-Wearyin' For You (Jacobs-Bond)
Recorded: c.1919 --
The "Mirror Voiced" Sara & Nellie Kouns, aka Kouns Sisters, daughters of Charles Kouns, General Manager of the Santa Fe Railroad, appeared in concerts in the Midwest United States before making their New York debut at the Palace in 1917, when The New York Times praised the beauty, artful refinement and youthful freshness of their voices. They also had successful tours in England, France, and Germany. They recorded for Victor and Vocalion, appeared on radio, and were in at least one Vitaphone talkie (1928).
An article in the March 24, 1929 Milwaukee Journal reads as follows:
Kouns Sisters on Palace Bill
Young Sisters Return to America After a London Triumph
Vaudeville can offer no better musical entertainment than that of the Kouns Sisters, famous "mirror voiced" sopranos, who share stellar honors on the new Palace Orpheum bill with Vanessi, Jimmy Savo and Al Herman. Nellie and Sara Kouns have achieved the highest distinction on the concert stages of England, France and Germany, as well as in this country. They have just returned from a London triumph at the Coliseum. Each of the talented girls has a voice of beauty of expression and of high soprano range. So precisely alike are they in tone, quality and tempo that the separate voice can scarcely be detected when they sing together.
And the following is from an undated Knoxville, Tennessee auctioneer's list:
"We have been commissioned to sell the fine antiques and personal affects of the Sherman and Patricia Kouns Estate. The Kouns family has played an integral part in American history. Mr. Kouns was the great-great nephew of William Tecumseh Sherman, and Patricia's father was the Secretary of the Navy under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Various other members of the family include Sara & Nellie Kouns (1st radio opera singers in the 1920s), and a great uncle who invented the 1st telephone answering service. This is an unusual opportunity to purchase items associated with well-known American historical personalities."
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The "Mirror Voiced" Sopranos Nellie & Sara KOUNS
Sing, Smile and Slumber (Gounod)
Just A-Wearyin' For You (Jacobs-Bond)
Recorded: c.1919 --
The "Mirror Voiced" Sara & Nellie Kouns, aka Kouns Sisters, daughters of Charles Kouns, General Manager of the Santa Fe Railroad, appeared in concerts in the Midwest United States before making their New York debut at the Palace in 1917, when The New York Times praised the beauty, artful refinement and youthful freshness of their voices. They also had successful tours in England, France, and Germany. They recorded for Victor and Vocalion, appeared on radio, and were in at least one Vitaphone talkie (1928).
An article in the March 24, 1929 Milwaukee Journal reads as follows:
Kouns Sisters on Palace Bill
Young Sisters Return to America After a London Triumph
Vaudeville can offer no better musical entertainment than that of the Kouns Sisters, famous "mirror voiced" sopranos, who share stellar honors on the new Palace Orpheum bill with Vanessi, Jimmy Savo and Al Herman. Nellie and Sara Kouns have achieved the highest distinction on the concert stages of England, France and Germany, as well as in this country. They have just returned from a London triumph at the Coliseum. Each of the talented girls has a voice of beauty of expression and of high soprano range. So precisely alike are they in tone, quality and tempo that the separate voice can scarcely be detected when they sing together.
And the following is from an undated Knoxville, Tennessee auctioneer's list:
"We have been commissioned to sell the fine antiques and personal affects of the Sherman and Patricia Kouns Estate. The Kouns family has played an integral part in American history. Mr. Kouns was the great-great nephew of William Tecumseh Sherman, and Patricia's father was the Secretary of the Navy under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Various other members of the family include Sara & Nellie Kouns (1st radio opera singers in the 1920s), and a great uncle who invented the 1st telephone answering service. This is an unusual opportunity to purchase items associated with well-known American historical personalities."
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