Abstract
The Cliff Trenier Papers (approximately 1950-1999) document the life and career of Clifton "Cliff" Trenier, who performed with various siblings across the United States beginning in the 1940s. The collection contains photographs of Cliff with his twin brother Claude performing, documents and newspaper clippings relating to the musical group's tours and their numerous performances in Las Vegas, Nevada including at the Moulin Rouge. Also included in the collection are photographs of Cliff's wife, Bedez, and correspondence between the couple up until Cliff's illness and death in 1983.
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Scope and Contents Note
The Cliff Trenier Papers (approximately 1950-1999) document the life and career of Clifton "Cliff" Trenier, who performed with various siblings across the United States beginning in the 1940s. The collection contains photographs of Cliff with his twin brother Claude performing, documents and newspaper clippings relating to the musical group's tours and their numerous performances in Las Vegas, Nevada including at the Moulin Rouge. Also included in the collection are photographs of Cliff's wife, Bedez, and correspondence between the couple up until Cliff's illness and death in 1983.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged in chronological order.
Biographical / Historical Note
"The Treniers," or later "The Rockin' Rollin' Treniers," was a band based around twins Clifton L. "Cliff" Trenier and Claude Oliver Trenier. They were born in Mobile, Alabama. In 1943, Claude Trenier joined Jimmie Lunceford's band as lead singer, and Cliff joined a year later. However, the twins left the Lunceford band in 1947 and began performing together as the Trenier Twins, backed by the Gene Gilbeaux Quartet and made their first recordings for Mercury Records in 1947. The group developed a reputation for their lively performances. In 1949, they were joined by older brother Buddy Trenier, and started to be billed as "The Rockin' Rollin' Treniers."
They had their only national chart hit in 1951, when "Go! Go! Go!" reached number ten on the R&B chart, but several other records including "It Rocks! It Rolls! It Swings!" (1952) and "Rockin' Is Our Bizness" (1953) were popular. The group was considered a strong influence on many of their contemporaries, and one of the first times rock and roll appeared on national television was in May 1954 when the Treniers appeared on the Colgate Comedy Hour, hosted by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
Sources:
"Milt Trenier - Biography" Milton Trenier's Homepage. http://www.rockabilly.net/milttrenier/bio.shtml
"The Treniers" Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Treniers
Preferred Citation
Cliff Trenier Papers, approximately 1950-1999. MS-01137. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f1kj5s
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Acquisition Note
Materials were purchased from Vigilante Rare Documents (via Gregory Bock) in 2023; accession number 2023-001.
Processing Note
In 2023, Sarah Jones rehoused the material and created the finding aid in ArchivesSpace.
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Appraisal Note
Acquired by Director of Special Collections and Archives, Sarah Quigley, as part of UNLV Special Collections and Archives holdings on African Americans in Las Vegas. All material that formed the original gift has been retained.