The Triolettes

The Triolettes was a band that played in the Buffalo, New York area for several years in the early 1930s. The band consisted of Marjorie Sullivan, Eunice Miller and Loretta Clemens. They were a smooth singing trio who did their own arrangements. Marjorie and Loretta were staff members of AM radio station WBEN. Loretta Clemens was a staff pianist for WBEN. One of the announcers at the station heard her voice and told her that she would be a good singer. She did not believe him. However, one day while she was practicing some new songs on the piano, she was singing along to the music. The station manager had told the operator of the control room to turn on the microphone if she ever started to sing. When the station manager heard her sing, her old contract was torn up and a new contract was written that required her to sing.

In the early 1930s The Triolettes played on local stations CFRB and WBEN (in Buffalo, New York and Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Their debut performance included the songs “Without that Man,” words and music by Walter Donaldson, published in 1932, “I Need Lovin’,” composed by Henry Creamer and Jimmy Johnson, published in 1926 by Jerome H. Remick & Co., and “Now That You’re Gone” composed by Gus Kahn and Ted Fiorito, published in 1931 by Jerome H. Remick & Co. The Triolettes harmonized, sang and played piano and banjos. They first played on a weekly radio program called The Banjo Twins, which included Jack Clemens, Loretta’s brother. Jack Clemens died in 1970.

Loretta Clemens Tupper (Born 6 May 1906, Marblehead, Ohio - Died 17 September 1990, The Bronx, NY) was later famous for her acting career, she played the old lady in the Fruit of the Loom commercials and a character on the TV show Sesame Street called Mrs. Mae Trump. Loretta and her brother Jack Clemens played music in a band called Loretta and Jack. They recorded a number of songs including Stop,You're Breaking My Heart from the album Jazz Guitar Varieties, Black and Blue from the album Jazz Guitar Varieties and Just A Little Girl written by S. B. Fishburne.

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