The Tune Twisters | |
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Origin | Manhattan, New York, U.S. –––––––––––––––––––– |
Died | Andy Love – 23 April 1911 Manhattan
8 July 1982 (aged 71) Greenacres City, Florida
Robert Wacker – 9 November 1909 Manhattan
3 September 1985 (aged 75) Carlsbad, California
Jack Lathrop – 11 May 1913 Sherburne, New York
30 January 2013 (aged 94) Stonington, Connecticut
Gene Lantham – 7 November 1915 Lawrence, Kansas
18 October 1977 (aged 61) Los Angeles
Johnny Smedberg – 20 March 1911 Coos Bay, Oregon
7 December 1979 (aged 68) Kaneohe, Hawaii
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Genres | |
Years active | 1934–1946 |
The Tune Twisters was an American jazz vocal trio founded in 1934 as The Freshmen by Andy Love, Robert "Bob" Wacker, and Jack Lathrop, who also played guitar. They were featured on radio broadcasts and recorded with jazz artists that included (i) Ray Noble in 1935 (with Noble, the Tune Twisters were initially known as "The Freshmen"), (ii) Bob Crosby in 1935, (iii) Glenn Miller in 1937, and (iv) Adrian Rollini in 1938. The Tune Twisters performed in the 1937 Broadway production, Between the Devil, singing "Triplets." The production ran from December 22, 1937, to March 12, 1938 (93 performances). During the audition, the Tune Twisters were known as the Savoy Club Boys. Lathrop was a member of the Tune Twisters in 1939 when they recorded the first radio jingle of its kind for Pepsi – "Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot" (aka "Nickel, Nickel"). The trio also performed in two 1935 films, Sweet Surrender and Melody Magic, the latter directed by Fred Waller. Gene Lantham, in 1940, replaced Lathrop, who went on to become guitarist and vocalist with Glenn Miller.[1]