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They were first organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1946. The original members of the group were Janet Ertel ( 1913- November 4, 1988), Carol Bushman (her sister-in-law), Dorothy Schwartz , and Jinny Osborn (or Lockard) ( April 25, 1927- May 19, 2003). In 1952, Lynn Evans replaced Schwartz, and in 1953, Margie Needham replaced Osborn (who was having a baby), though Osborn later returned to the group. Nancy Overton also was a member of the group at a later time. Originally they sang folk musicFolk music in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. Folk music arose, and best survives, in societies not yet affected by mass communication and the commercialization of culture. It normally was shared and performed by the entire in the style of The WeaversThe Weavers were an immensely popular and influential folk music quartet from Greenwich Village, New York, United States. The Weavers group was formed in 1947 by Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman and Pete Seeger. A fifth member, Eric Darling, somet, but eventually changed to a harmonizing style of the type known as barbershop harmony. Part of this change seems to be influenced by Osborn's father.

Jinny Osborn was born in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle is the largest city in the U. state of Washington, and in the U. Pacific Northwest, with a total estimated population of 569,101 as of 2003. It is situated between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 108 miles (180 km) south of the Canadian bor. She was born Virginia Cole, the daughter of O. H. "King" Cole, who was president of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA), and Katherine Flack.

After performing locally in Sheboygan, they went on Arthur GodfreyArthur Morton Godfrey ( August 31, 1903- March 16, 1983) was an American entertainer. He was born in New York, New York. Military When he served in the United States Navy from 1920 to 1924, he was assigned to radio training and learned to become a radio o's radioFor other uses see: radio (disambiguation Radio is a technology that allows the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of light. Radio waves Radio waves are a form of electromagnetic radiation, and are program, Talent ScoutsArthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (also known as Talent Scouts was a television variety show which ran on CBS from 1948 until 1958. It starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting Arthur Godfrey and His Friends at the same time. The concept for the show was in 1949.They went on to feature status on Godfrey's daily program, and then went on to make a number of recordings for Columbia Records.

In 1953, Godfrey's music director and orchestra leader, Archie Bleyer, founded Cadence Records. He signed a number of Godfrey regulars and former regulars, including the Chordettes, who had a number of hit records for Cadence.

Their biggest hit was Mr. Sandman in 1954. Archie Bleyer himself is on that record along with the group.

Janet Ertel married Bleyer in 1954. Her daughter Jackie married another Cadence recording star, Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers. She died of cancer in 1988.

In 1961, Jinny Osborn left the group, and they were unable to find a replacement with whom they were happy, leading to a breakup.

The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.

Jinny Osborn (by that time Jinny Janis) died in 2003.