The Treniers
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The Treniers (pronounced /trəˈniərz/) were an
Career
The band was based around twins Clifton L. "Cliff" Trenier (July 14, 1919 – March 2, 1983) and Claude Oliver Trenier (July 14, 1919 – November 17, 2003). They were born in Mobile, Alabama, and formed the Alabama State Collegians when in college together in 1939. In 1943, Claude Trenier left to join Jimmie Lunceford's band as lead singer, and Cliff joined him the following year.[2] The twins left the Lunceford band in 1947 and began performing together as the Trenier Twins, backed by the Gene Gilbeaux Quartet which included Gene Gilbeaux on piano and Don Hill on alto sax. They made their first recordings for Mercury Records in 1947, and developed a strong reputation for their live performances. In 1949, they were joined by older brother Buddy Trenier (December 11, 1913 – March 15, 1999), and started to be billed as "The Rockin' Rollin' Treniers".[2]
They played a form of music intermediate between swing and early rock and roll. Though their sound is more swing influenced, the Treniers incorporated a thumping backbeat and several songs that included the words "rock" and "roll" - "Rocking on Sunday Night" and "It Rocks! It Rolls! It Swings!", for example, and in the 1940s were already playing "Rockin' Is Our Bizness," which was inspired by Jimmie Lunceford's "Rhythm Is Our Business" from the 1930s. They were also known for the humorous content of many of their songs, and their on stage acrobatics were seen as precursors to the wild antics of many later rock and roll groups. Their lively stage presentation influenced Bill Haley and Comets, The Shadows in the UK in 1959, Paul Revere and Raiders, and beyond.
They had their only national chart hit in 1951, when "Go! Go! Go!" reached #10 on the
One of the first times rock and roll appeared on national television was in May 1954 when the Treniers appeared on the
The group appeared in several films in the 1950s including The Girl Can't Help It and Don't Knock the Rock (which also featured Haley), and continued to perform as recently as 2003.
In 1955, the group released the song "Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)" about Giants center fielder, Willie Mays, which included some dialogue by the Hall-of-Famer himself. The song is included on the soundtrack to Ken Burns 1994 documentary Baseball.
In 2013, surviving member Milt Trenier performed semi-weekly at Chicago area restaurants.[citation needed] Milt retired from performing in 2017, after 70 years (1947-2017).[7]
Saxophonist Don Hill died on June 18, 2021, aged 99.[8]
Film appearances
- Don't Knock the Rock (1956)
- The Girl Can't Help It (1956)
- Calypso Heat Wave (1957)
- Juke Box Rhythm (1959)
References
- ISBN 1-904041-96-5.
- ^ a b c Dik de Heer, "The Treniers", Black Cat Rockabilly. Accessed November 31, 2014
- ^ "Milt Trenier - Discography". Rockabilly.net. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- ^ "Milt Trenier - The Fabulous Comets presents the Treniers". Rockabilly.net. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- ^ Rcs-discography.com Archived March 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [1][permanent dead link]
- ^ "Milt Trenier - Gigs".
- ^ John Przybys, "Don Hill, saxophonist with The Treniers, dies", Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 25, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021