RETRO CLASSIC TV KINESCOPE - (1953) Bye, Bye Blues - The Three Suns [RESTORED in DYNA-STEREO]
From a 1953 LIVE kinescope TV film recording of The Three Suns performing "Bye, Bye Blues", a 1925 jazz standard, in an over-the-top arrangement! The audio was re-engineered into 8 music stems to create the Dyna-Stereo effect heard in this video. Enjoy!
From Space-Age Pop:
Reputed to be Mamie Eisenhower's favorite group, the Three Suns are the leading small group in exotica. Brothers Al and Morty grew up in Brooklyn, where they joined with their cousin, Artie Dunn, as a trio, Al switching from violin to guitar to pick up more gigs. After a year or two working around New York City, they got their first serious show at the Adelphia Hotel in Philadelphia in 1939 and then moved on the Circus lounge of the Hotel Picadilly in New York in 1940, where a two-week engagement turned into a seven-year stay.
They had their first hit in 1944, with "Twilight Time," and their cover of "Peg O' My Heart," released just after the Harmonicats' version came out, contended with it for the #1 spot.
The Three Suns were a concept as much as a group, since Al Nevins dropped and added players to suit the material. In the late 1940s, the group was a quintet, with a rhythm guitar and bass added. Their first big hit, "Twilight Time," written by Morty Nevins, went on to have over 3 million air plays, according to BMI. In 1951, they recorded as a quintet with Marty Gold on organ and Larry Green on piano. They also recorded as a quartet with Ray Bohr on pipe organ (and later, on "Swinging on a Star," with R&B sax legend King Curtis!), as a sextet, a septet (with Billy Mure on second guitar), a combo of 13 (on "Perdido," 1954), and with orchestral accompaniment. Nevins himself stopped performing live in 1954 and concentrated on producing and publishing. Johnny Buck and later Joe Negri replaced him on guitar. Artie Dunn then reformed the group for live performances in 1957 with Tony Lovello on accordion and Johnny Romano on guitar. Morty Nevins went into studio work as an arranger and composer, and Al Nevins formed a music publishing house, Aldon Music, with Don Kirshner.
Aldon Music, located at 1650 Broadway, was just across the street from the legendary Brill Building. Nevins and Kirschner signed many of New York's best young songwriters and Aldon Music placed over 200 songs on the Top 40 charts, including "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and "Up On The Roof" by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, and "Uptown" by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Aldon Music was bought by Columbia Pictures-Screen Gems in 1964. Kirschner took over as head of the music company, and Al Nevins retired.
The Three Suns became considerably more experimental after Nevins formed Aldon Music. Al suffered a series of major heart attacks in the early 1960s that forced him out of performing, and he began to shift the producing work to others.
Al Nevins, guitar (Born Albert Tepper 1915, Washington, DC; Died 25 January 1965, New York City, NY)
Morty Nevins, accordion (Born Morton Tepper 26 May 1917, Washington, DC; Died 20 July 1990, Beverly Hills, California)
Artie Dunn, organ (Born 14 March 1922, Dorchester, Massachussetts; Died 15 January 1996, Palm Springs, California).
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