Three Keys - Wah-dee-dah

ARC master B 12342-A, rec. New York, 1932. George “Bon Bon“ Tunnell (voc), Slim Furness (voc, g), and Bob Pease (voc, p). One of the pioneering black vocal/instrumental groups and, they were a role model for many others to come, despite the fact that they played together only for three years. George Tunnell started a solo carreer, singing with Jan Savitt’s orchestra from 1937 to 1942, being the first black singer to be employed by a white bandleader; he later recorded with the Red Caps (. The Toppers) for Joe Davis. Slim Furness founded a new group (creatively called the Four Keys) who recorded for Decca in the 1940s, including some sides with Ella Fitzgerald. He had nothing to do, however, with the Five Keys ... Several sources claim that Tunnell was the group’s pianist and Pease played bass, but in all pictures of the group playing I have seen it’s always Pease at the keys and no bass at all (as on this recording). Until I found this disc, I’d never h