The Three Suns | |
|---|---|
 1945 advertisement | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | United States |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 1939–1966 |
| Past members |
|
The Three Suns were an American pop group, most popular during the 1940s and 1950s.
The Three Suns | |
|---|---|
| 1945 advertisement | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | United States |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 1939–1966 |
| Past members |
|
The Three Suns were an American pop group, most popular during the 1940s and 1950s.
The group was formed in 1939 by brothers Al Nevins (guitar) and Morty Nevins (accordion) and their cousin, radio and vaudeville veteran Artie Dunn (vocals, electronic organ). They became a popular nightclub attraction around New York; during an engagement in 1944, they were signed to appear in short musical films for the Soundies movie jukeboxes. They performed nine songs for the cameras.
A review in Billboard in 1942 addressed the group's potential. Referring to a December 13, 1941, remote broadcast from New York's Hotel Piccadilly on NBC Red, Dick Carter wrote: "Here was something out of the ordinary, and very welcome, too. The Three Suns are an electric organ, an accordion and guitar, and they produce some sensational musical effects." [1]
In 1944, the Three Suns scored their first hit record, "Twilight Time"; their version was strictly instrumental and did not feature the lyrics written later by Buck Ram. [2] "Twilight Time" sold over four million copies and was awarded a gold record. [3]
This was followed by "Peg o' My Heart", which was one of the biggest hits of 1947 in the United States. The group was featured in the Alfred Hitchcock film Rope (1948) performing an off-screen "radio sequence", and in Two Gals and a Guy (1951). The band is also notable in that they were reputed to have been the favorite musical group of former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. [4]
During the 1950s, the group continued to make live appearances with the same personnel, but their RCA Victor recording sessions would often have studio musicians substituting for one or another, because keyboardist Artie Dunn did not read music and guitarist Al Nevins became much more interested in the production end of the record business. The group's popularity began to wane as rock and roll became popular in the mid 1950s, but the group reinvented itself by using its RCA Victor recording sessions as an audio laboratory, employing additional instruments and novel stereophonic effects. These new arrangements became popular among fans of lounge music and exotica. [2] Al Nevins remained with RCA Victor as a producer and arranger until his death in 1965; Morty Nevins then hired studio musicians Fred Mendelssohn and Vinnie Bell and recorded a new stereo album for Musicor in 1966, using the Three Suns name.
Founding member Al Nevins was also co-founder of Aldon Music, a Brill Building songwriting company. [3]
The first records released by the Three Suns, during the 1940s and 1950s, were 78 rpm discs. Between 1950 and 1954, RCA Victor issued several 10-inch long play albums. In 1955, the Three Suns released their first 12-inch LP, Soft & Sweet and in 1958, their first stereo LP.
The Three Suns recorded a number of sides for V-Disc in the 1940s, which were only issued by the US Government to the USO units overseas. These sides were reissued on a two-CD set in 1997 by IMC Licensing. Most of the titles were not sequenced on the CD as they appeared on the original 78s.
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and twenty Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.
Edmund Dantes Urick, known professionally as Ed Ames or Eddie Ames, was an American pop singer and actor. He was known for playing Mingo in the television series Daniel Boone, and for his Easy Listening number #1 hits of the mid-to-late 1960s including "My Cup Runneth Over", "Time, Time", and "When the Snow Is on the Roses". He was also part of the popular 1950s singing group with his siblings, the Ames Brothers.
Frankie Carle was an American pianist and bandleader. As a very popular bandleader in the 1940s and 1950s, Carle was nicknamed "The Wizard of the Keyboard". "Sunrise Serenade" was Carle's best-known composition, rising to No. 1 in the US in 1938 and selling more than one million copies.
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A Date with Elvis is a compilation album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, issued on RCA Victor in July 1959. The album compiled a selection of previously released material from multiple sessions at Sun, an August 1956 recording session at 20th Century Fox Stage One and two from Radio Recorders in Hollywood. The album reached #32 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.
"Twilight Time" is a popular song with lyrics by Buck Ram and music by the Three Suns. Ram said that he originally wrote it as a poem, without music, while in college.
Elvis for Everyone! is a compilation album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3450, on August 10, 1965. Recording sessions took place over a ten-year span at Sun Studio in Memphis, RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. It peaked at number 10 on the Top Pop Albums chart.
Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4 is a greatest hits album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3921, in January 1968, with recording sessions taking place over an eight-year span at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and at RCA Studios and Radio Recorders in Hollywood. It is a compilation of hit singles released between 1961 and 1967, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold on March 27, 1992, by the Recording Industry Association of America.
G.I. Blues is the third soundtrack album and seventh (overall) album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2256, in October 1960. It is the soundtrack to the 1960 film of the same name in which he starred. Recording sessions took place on April 27 and 28, and May 6, 1960, at RCA Victor Studio C and Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. The album topped the Billboard Top Pop Album chart. It was certified gold on March 13, 1963 and platinum on March 27, 1992 by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album remained at the #1 spot for ten weeks.
This article contains the discography of American singer Eartha Kitt.
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Lawrence Welk and His Sparkling Strings is an album by Lawrence Welk and His Sparkling Strings. It was released in 1955 on the Coral label. On January 28, 1956, the album reached No. 5 on Billboard magazine's "Popular Albums (Over-All)" chart, trailing only the Oklahoma soundtrack and popular albums by Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte, and Julie London. Lawrence Welk and His Sparkling Strings remained on that chart for 11 weeks
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