The Three Flames

Music & comedy trio consisting of Tiger Haynes on guitar, Roy Testamark on piano and Averill 'Bill' Pollard on bass. The group formed in 1945. The group were a popular and well reviewed nightclub attraction and recorded for the Gotham, Mayfair, Columbia and MGM record labels. Their recording of "Open the Door, Richard" for Columbia went to #1 on the Billboard singles chart in 1947. They had a 15 minute weekday TV program (Mon-Tues-Thurs-Fri) at 3:15 pm over WNBT in New York City beginning on February 1, 1949. From the NY Times review (2/13/49) by Jack Gould "The housewife's temptation to abandon home and family in favor of looking at television has now received further stimulus at the hands of NBC...in fact, NBC has an act which is the proverbial wow. It consists of a trio of happy gentlemen named The Three Flames and they radiate exuberance, enthusiasm and rhythm. Specifically, they consist of Roy Testamark at the piano, Bill Pollard at the bass, and Tiger Haynes at the guitar. When they so choose, which is most of the time, the boys can really deliver both the sweet and the hot from their instruments, boasting fresh arrangements and a relaxed style of delivery which is thoroughly engaging. Mr. Pollard can also do handsomely by a lyric. At other moments the Three Flames indulge in infectious high jinks-a bit of a gin rummy game punctuated the rendition of one number recently, and have themselves a thoroughly good time. The audience does, too." Variety's Bob Stahl reviewed the WNBT daytime programming (2/9/1949) and wasn't particularly impressed, finding most programs draggy, but thought The Three Flames "a bright spot," adding "at 3:15 The Three Flames, a colored instrumental trio, finally changed that pace, with one of the two bright spots of the afternoon. (The other bright spot was a short lived show called "We're On" hosted by Yul Brynner and his wife Virginia Gilmore) These boys have always projected well visually and so are naturals for TV, with their antics and rapid-tempoed music. It was the one program that was comparable to evening TV." Audience response was so good that WNBT added a once a week prime-time version of the show starting on Wednesday February 23, 1949 at 10:45 pm. Hot Lips Page, Avon Long and singer-pianist Martha Davis guested on the premiere. The evening show later went national on NBC in the summer of 1949 and aired until the end of August. Testamark died at age 32 in September 1954 and was replaced by Loumel Morgan. The Three Flames were a longtime attraction at the Bon Soir nightclub in New York City, backing artists ranging from Phyllis Diller to Barbra Streisand. Mercury Records released the LP "The Three Flames at The Bon Soir" in 1957. The group disbanded in 1964.