The Three Flames

Music & comedy trio consisting of Tiger Haynes on guitar, Roy Testamark on piano and Averill 'Bill' Pollard on bass. The group formed in 1945. The group were a popular and well reviewed nightclub attraction and recorded for the Gotham, Mayfair, Columbia and MGM record labels. Their recording of "Open the Door, Richard" for Columbia went to #1 on the Billboard singles chart in 1947. They had a 15 minute weekday TV program (Mon-Tues-Thurs-Fri) at 3:15 pm over WNBT in New York City beginning on February 1, 1949. From the NY Times review (2/13/49) by Jack Gould "The housewife's temptation to abandon home and family in favor of looking at television has now received further stimulus at the hands of NBC...in fact, NBC has an act which is the proverbial wow. It consists of a trio of happy gentlemen named The Three Flames and they radiate exuberance, enthusiasm and rhythm. Specifically, they consist of Roy Testamark at the piano, Bill Pollard at the bass, and Tiger Haynes at the guitar. When t