 Throughout the 1940s and mid-fifties, The Three Chocolates played at clubs along the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest and were favorites in many swank Harlem after-hour spots.In late 1943, The Three Chocolates performed at the Onyx Club on 52nd Street for seven months, the Famous Door for five months, and, before that, Kelly's Stables.Bassist Earl May (1926–2008), who substituted for Williams at Minton's, succeeded him when he stopped playing there.