Musical recollections from my early childhood mostly revolve around the scratchy 78s that were often played at our house, but my memory is notoriously porous so I can’t always remember specific records. Or to be more accurate, I can’t remember them until I stumble across a song and am instantly transported back, which is what happened when I recently rediscovered “Twilight Time” by the Three Suns.
Although the trio would in later years go through various personnel changes, the original Three Suns came together in the late 1930s. Brothers Al and Morty Nevins (who played — respectively — guitar and accordion) joined up with organist Artie Dunn, who also handled the occasional vocal, and began to find a little career traction during the war years.
By 1944 they’d enjoyed some success and had even made a few records, but their breakout occurred when they recorded a song they’d co-written with composer Buck Ram. The Three Suns’ rendition of “Twilight Time” became a huge hit, eventually selling four million records and becoming their signature song.
The Three Suns’ popularity continued in the post-war years as they sold a lot of records with similarlyschmaltzy songs like “Peg o’ My Heart” and “Delicado,” but by the early 1950s the group was beginning to undergo changes that started with the defection of leading light Al Nevins. Although the following years would see periodic resurgences in popularity for new versions of the Three Suns, the original trio was history.
When I was a kid I’d sometimes get a little puzzled while watching a movie that was supposed to be about someone famous, because often I’d never heard of them. Of course, I was spectacularly clueless in those days (still am, for that matter) but the reason for the confusion was usually just a generational thing. A good example would be a Doris Day film titled Love Me Or Leave Me, the story of prohibition-era musical star Ruth Etting, who was probably very well-remembered by the adult members of the movie audience — if not for her music, then certainly for her vivid past.
Born in small-town Nebraska and raised by her grandparents, Etting struck out of her own while still in her teens, moving to Chicago to attend art school. Over the next few years she grew up fast. After finding work as a costume designer for a local nightclub, she graduated to singing and dancing in the chorus, which in turn led to a solo spot. It also led to a romance and eventual marriage to gangster Marty Snyder (known to his cohorts as ‘Moe the Gimp’).
Pairing up with a mobster in prohibition-era Chicago sounds like a risky move, but Snyder took over the management of her career and by the late 1920s had turned her into a star, complete with regular radio appearances and lots of best-selling records. He even managed to get her into Broadway shows and a few movie spots in Hollywood.
Her stardom continued to build into the 1930s, but the couple always had a volatile relationship and the marriage finally ended in 1937. Unfortunately the fireworks didn’t end — the following year Snyder shot Etting’s young pianist and lover, and spent some time in prison. Etting ended up marrying her wounded lover but the scandal didn’t help her downhill career slide. She continued to work from time to time but had pretty much faded from view until publicity from the 1955 movie gave her a brief boost. She died in 1978 at age 81.
Although there have always been performers who defied the odds and became overnight successes, most have had to spend years working their way up the ladder of fame. Still, not many have had the perseverance of Freddie Hart, who didn’t really hit it big until he was in his mid-forties and “Easy Loving” topped the 1971 country charts.
Born as one of fifteen kids in an Alabama sharecropper’s family, young Frederick Segrest grew up during the Great Depression, surrounded by poverty but also immersed in the music of rural America. He picked up his first guitar when he was just five, and as he grew up he always had music in his life — even during experiences that included his underage service as a Marine in World War II combat.
During his time in the Marines he had become an expert in judo and jujitsu, and in the post-war years he used that knowledge to teach at the Los Angeles Police Academy. Other jobs came along too, but eventually he was again drawn to music and began to seriously pursue a career, performing as Freddie Hart. It wasn’t long before he began to make a few records, but he initially found more success as a songwriter since the songs he’d written became bigger hits when better-known artists recorded them.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Hart continued to make records and perform whenever possible, often appearing alongside well-known stars like Lefty Frizzell, Tex Ritter, and others, but big success continued to elude him. Things finally began to break his way in the early 1970s when his “Easy Loving” began to climb the country charts. It eventually hit the top and was later voted the CMA Song of the Year, firmly establishing Freddie Hart as a star. It would be the beginning of an long list of hits for the singer, including chart-toppers on “My Hang-Up Is You,” “Bless Your Heart,” “Got The All Overs For You,” “Super Kind Of Woman,” and “Trip To Heaven.”
Hart has continued to enjoy a long career for many years, and even now — well into his eighties — he still entertains his fans whenever possible.
c of rural America. He picked up his first guitar when he was just five, and as he grew up he always had music in his life — even during experiences that included his underage service as a Marine in World War II combat.
