THREE WHO MADE A REVOLUTION, that book about some bearded political revolutionists who changed world history, might , with a bit of tailoring and shaving, describe the Kingston Trio. Now, we'll grant you that our three cherubic, well-scrubbed and highly collegiate looking fellows never regarded themselves as any sort of revolutionaries, never in the least considered themselves as anyone anxious to change the face of anything.
No, Nick Reynolds, Bob Shane, and Dave Guard simply thought they would have a bit of fun singing, and before they knew it they had ushered in an era, a musical revolution, a total new life style. We know, of course, that folk music is the oldest music known to man, and we know that the Kingston Trio did not spring from a vacuum. There were antecedents of all sorts; there were pioneers and there were stars of American folk song long before the Kingston Trio ever hit its first conga drum.
But the turning point was clearly the break-out of the Kingstons. Once described as "rock-less, roll-less and rich," the trio chose its name because it sounded both Ivy Leaguish and Calypsonian. The Ivy image prevailed, from crew cuts to button-down, short-sleeved shirts, though all three hailed from California. Dave attended Stanford while the other two went to Menlo College of Business Administration. Guard was said to have had something of a pre-beatnik look about him in student days.
Their appearance at the Purple Onion in San Francisco began to give a hint of things to come. It was apparent that they would turn truly professional, take voice lessons, acquire the managerial assistance of Frank Werber, and so on. Then came their first recording triumph, with "Tom Dooley," and both the trio and the revival were hitting in earnest in late 1958 and early 1959.
"Tom Dooley" was a traditional Southern mountain song that Frank Werber had collected from the singing of the late Frank Proffitt. The murder ballad had cropped up in a Lomax collection and nearly all the bases of the folk process had been touched. The "home run," however, was that a song of such background and history could possibly become a national hit. Clearly, the audience that had enjoyed such a song by such a group was quite a changed audience from the one that had just helped elevate Elvis Presley and a host of hard-rockers to stardom.
At the first Newport Folk Festival in 1959, it was clearly the Kingston Trio that was the leading box-office attraction. At first it was a strange meeting, the popular Kingstons on one hand, the Jean Richies on the other , and the Bob Gibsons standing uncomfortably in the middle. But, as with all new things, it just took a while to find a meeting ground and a mutuality of interest. The folk traditionalists and the more ethnically oriented members of the audience felt that some of the humor and styling of the Kingston was a bit hard to take. But the more civilized of the old guard tolerated, and learned, ten years later, to understand that there is room for more than one approach to music.
The Kingston
Trio changed personnel some years ago when Dave Guard
left for Australia and was replaced by John Stewart. And
since then they switched to the Decca label from Capitol
and have finally disbanded. They left their mark on the
face of the revival. Their true worth and contribution
will still be a source of debate, but the number of
people they brought to folk music of a deeper kind must
number in the hundreds of thousands.
CHOICE OF NICK REYNOLDS: Midnight Special
CHOICE OF JOHN STEWART: Greensleeves
CHOICE OF BOB SHANE: Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight?
