Dunn, Artie

Composer and organist Artie Dunn, born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, managed to play by ear and make his way in the music world without being able to read music. He started out in vaudeville and played the electric organ for radio, but when he partnered with his Brooklyn cousins, Al and Morty Nevins (originally Tepper), he was on his way. In 1939 the three formed a trio they called the “Three Suns” with Al on guitar, Morty on the accordion and Artie on the electric organ. They started out playing at the Adelphia Hotel in Philadelphia, but the next year were hired by the Piccadillo Hotel in New York where they worked for 10 years. In 1944, they wrote “Twilight Time,” which was later recorded with lyrics by Buck Ram. As sung by The Platters, it became the No. 1 pop song in 1958; Andy Williams and Willie Nelson made other renditions. It was said that the “Three Suns” was the favorite group of First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. That same year they signed to appear in short musical films for nine songs for “soundies,” musical jukeboxes. Their 1947 version of the song “Peg o’ My Heart,” with Dunn on vocals, was also a best seller. The group’s membership later became rather fluid, sometimes re-forming to a quartet or quintet, and in 1957 it broke up.