Sounds of Three


Cleveland, 1965-70

The Sounds of Three had a place in the greaser and lounge scene in Cleveland. They were one of the first bands to play rock music in Cleveland's supper club circuit. The group featured three musicians who played multiple instruments, often two or more at a time! 

The band was led by Tom Nicastro, with Frank Samson as the other constant member. Danny Ross was the original third member, replaced by Larry Patch in 1969. Check out this lineup - Nicastro played drums and trumpet at the same time, and handled a lot of the lead vocals. Samson played Hammond organ and valve trombone at the same time. Ross played two saxes at the same time. Patch could play sax, flute, and clarinet

They made a 45, written by Nicastro and recorded at Audio and released on Clevetown. The record did well locally, Nicastro reported that it sold about 1500 copies and got played on WKYC. The A side "Desire" has a nice Cleveland rock sound that is similar to the Outsiders, but predates "Time Won't Let Me". 

The group recorded two more songs for a follow up 45. Nicastro's "She's Gone" is another good Cleveland rock sound side, with the B side "Cat's Meow" more of a novelty. The song title was taken from the Cleveland club of the same name. These sides don't ever seem to have been released but exist on acetate. A few months later, local disk jockey Jerry G recorded a new version of "She's Gone" that took off and became a big local hit. The Jerry G recording is slicker, and more commercial. 

The group continued to play the local club scene, as well as travelling out of town, supposedly to Las Vegas. There were no more records released. The last info we could find on them is sometime in 1970. Frank Samson had fronted and played organ in the Wailers. After the Sounds of Three, Frank played with his brother, former Twilighter Denny Samsa, in the long running lounge band  the Crowd Pleasers.

Discography 
Desire / Sand and the Sea - Clevetown 140, Jan 1966
She's Gone / Cat's Meow - Audio Recording acetate, April 1966