The band formed in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States, as the Four Sounds.
The original lineup consisted of Gene Harris on piano, Andrew Simpkins on double bass and Bill Dowdy on drums, along with saxophonist Lonnie "The Sound" Walker, who dropped out the following year.
They toured nationally during this period, building a large following in jazz clubs across the country.
The trio played and recorded with the likes of saxophonists Lester Young, Lou Donaldson, Stanley Turrentine and Sonny Stitt, cornet player Nat Adderley, singer Anita O'Day, and guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, among others.
Part of the Three Sounds song "Put On Train", from the 1971 Gene Harris album The 3 Sounds, was the prominent background sample in the hip hop group Beastie Boys' song "What Comes Around" on their 1989 album Paul's Boutique.