#778 (1/5/13 - 1/18/13)

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THIS WEEK'S SELECTIONS PROVIDED BY
DAVE SAVIET AND ANDREW BOHAN

"I'm Glad For Your Sake"/ "Bewildered" by Joe Medlin And The Three Riffs on Atlantic 867 released in 1948

"I Wish I Didn't Love You So"/ "Hard Ridin' Mama" by Manhattan Paul And The Three Riffs on Atlantic 868 released in 1949

"I'm Gone" by King Pleasure And The Three Riffs on Prestige 908 released in 1954

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The Three Riffs (Article from New York Age dated 12/25/48)

New York Age (December 25, 1948): BEBOP TIES and all, The Three Riffs, in the usual order, are Eddie Parton, Joel McGhee and Bunny Walker, who were Willie Bryant's guests last week on his famed disc show via WHOM. You've heard them as the background of Joe Medlin's latest record and they also backed up Manhattan Paul on his recently released "I Wish I Didn't Love You So," and "Hard Ridin' Mama."

(NOTE: Disco-File's release date of January 1949 for the Manhattan Paul record disagrees with the December 1948 date of this article. Joel McGhee was also known as Joe Seneca.)

Above: (Left) Cash Box advertisement dated 12/25/48 and (Right) picture of Manhattan Paul from 1952.

Above: Billboard advertisement dated 12/4/48

Above Left: Night Club Review: "Le Reuban Bleu" (excerpt from The Billboard dated 10/6/51).

Above Right: Label image for Manor 1137 released in 1948. Manhattan Paul was actually Paul Bascomb, who was a singer, tenor saxophone and clarinet player, and band leader. So who really DID have (literally) the first "Rock And Roll" record?

Above: Label images of Atlantic 867 recorded on 11/23/48 and released in December 1948 and Atlantic 868 recorded on 10/21/48 and released in January 1949. Atlantic 867 was reissued in February 1949 with "My Last Goodbye" replacing "Bewildered." The Three Riffs had one release on Atlantic (1949) on their own.

Both Medlin and Paul went to the ASA label in 1950. The Three Riffs went to the Apollo label in 1950. They also had releases on Decca (1939) and Pic (1954).

The Three Riffs also backed up LaVerne Ray on Jubilee (1949), King Pleasure [see below] on Prestige (1954) and Rena Collins (as The Three Barons) on Chicago (1945).

The Billboard Review (1/1/49):

JOE MEDLIN WITH THE THREE RIFFS
I'm Glad For Your Sake (84) Sock sentimental warbling of oldie marks singer Medlin as comer in race field. Side figures to score in jukes.
Bewildered (80) Good enough performance of tune that's clicking via a Bullet waxing. Could pick up overflow coin.

(NOTE: Ratings had a range of 0-100 with 70-79 as "good" and 80-89 as "excellent.")

The Billboard Review (1/22/49):

MANHATTAN PAUL WITH THE THREE RIFFS
Hard Ridin' Mama (87) Fast-moving driving blues with Paul shouting, the band zestfully hollering and stirring up a big beat and a dirty tenor ride shoving it into pay dirt.
I Wish I Didn't Love You So (82) Last year's pop hit sounds like a good selection for race boxes now as Paul sings it.

The Billboard Review (2/26/49):

JOE MEDLIN (The Three Riffs)
My Last Goodbye (71) A recoupling, with side replacing "Bewildered." Medlin sings strong on a winning ballad, but ork and vocal group backing don't hit the mark.
I'm Glad For Your Sake (84) Sock sentimental warbling of the standard.

The Billboard, January 1, 1949: ...The Three Riffs, who opened at the Ruban Bleu for a 15-week stay, signed a two-year waxing pact with Atlantic diskery...

The Billboard, February 18, 1950: ...The Three Riffs, a standard Ruban Bleu act for the past couple of years, is a diversified singing threesome that scores with a couple of straight harmony tunes and then breaks it up with a most amusing Ink Spots' take-off...

Above Left: Label image of Prestige 908 recorded on 12/7/54 and released in December 1954. "James Moody" played tenor saxophone in various bands for the Prestige label and had contributed to composing a best-selling song for King Pleasure.

Above Right: Picture of King Pleasure from 1961.

Listen to this week's selections by The Three Riffs on the Atlantic and Prestige labels:
[Audio restoration by Dave Saviet.]

A. Stream RealAudio (DO NOT USE...LISTEN USING DOWNLOAD REALAUDIO)...             1. I'm Glad For Your Sake - Joe Medlin And The Three Riffs - Atlantic 867 - 1948           2. Bewildered - Joe Medlin And The Three Riffs - Atlantic 867 - 1948           3. I Wish I Didn't Loved You So - Manhattan Paul And The Three Riffs - Atlantic 868 - 1949           4. Hard Ridin' Mama - Manhattan Paul And The Three Riffs - Atlantic 868 - 1949           5. I'm Gone - King Pleasure And The Three Riffs - Prestige 908 - 1954             ALL FIVE played in sequence      B. Download RealAudio...             1. I'm Glad For Your Sake - Joe Medlin And The Three Riffs - Atlantic 867 - 1948           2. Bewildered - Joe Medlin And The Three Riffs - Atlantic 867 - 1948           3. I Wish I Didn't Loved You So - Manhattan Paul And The Three Riffs - Atlantic 868 - 1949           4. Hard Ridin' Mama - Manhattan Paul And The Three Riffs - Atlantic 868 - 1949           5. I'm Gone - King Pleasure And The Three Riffs - Prestige 908 - 1954      C. Stream/Download Media Player...             1. I'm Glad For Your Sake - Joe Medlin And The Three Riffs - Atlantic 867 - 1948           2. Bewildered - Joe Medlin And The Three Riffs - Atlantic 867 - 1948           3. I Wish I Didn't Loved You So - Manhattan Paul And The Three Riffs           4. Hard Ridin' Mama - Manhattan Paul And The Three Riffs - Atlantic 868 - 1949           5. I'm Gone - King Pleasure And The Three Riffs - Prestige 908 - 1954

     [To download audio files, right-click on link and then select "Save (Link) Target As..."]

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