The Kingston Trio: a Primer on Proms	April 1961

With springtime madness only a whistle away, listen while this talented threesome give a little friendly advice to partygoers.

by DAVID DACHS

RIGHT ABOUT NOW, hundreds of thousands of students are beginning to worry and plan for the school event which blasts off in a cloud of orchid mist each May or June: "Prom night.' To all those caught up with prom fever, here's some comforting advice from the youthful Kingston Trio: Relax. Their words -- as well as their tunes -- are worth listening to. This threesome (scholarly Dave Guard, chunky Nick Reynolds, tall Bob Shane) is young enough to remember the buying of corsages, the Planning, the tension. Moreover, they have entertained at proms throughout the country.

The Capitol-recording trio strenuously insist they are not "authorities" on the once-in-a-lifetime ceremonial rite. But they'll do until somebody else comes along. At a recent TV rehearsal, after returning from a Far Eastern concert tour, they offered a "prom primer" to teens on clothes, drinking, date-swapping. As both former collegians and present "family men," the group even had some pointers for parents on a crucial teen time that often tries adult souls.

As Dave Guard tells it, the first family "summit meeting," so far as proms are concerned, takes the form of a clothes quiz: Should Diana get that chic little gown with the not-so-little $65 tag? Should Joel be fitted with a hand-crafted tux at $65 or more?

"Proms should be fun, but they don't have to be a financial blow to the family pocketbook," says Guard, who worked his way through Stanford by waiting on tables and washing dishes. "It's not necessary to spend a fortune for prom attire. Be as tasteful as possible, without being ostentatious, Don't put your parents into hock to buy an outfit you'll only wear once." Boys need not go to the expense of buying a tux. "I usually wore a rented jacket," confesses Hawaiian-bred Dave, who attended proms at the Punahou High School, Honolulu, and at college.

A non-singing member of the trio-Dave's pretty wife Gretchen-adds this hint to the gals: "The more simple your gown, the better. And choose one you can wear again. There will be plenty of functions coming up, so buy 3 dress that's adaptable. And, remember, gowns themselves do not make a successful prom."

Costly Dior creations may not make a successful prom, but thousands of young people believe that a car does. You need one to pick up your date, to get to the function and back. Which brings up a king-sized debate which has exploded in living rooms all across the land. The question:- Should Junior be given the family bus? This is a particularly sticky situation because of the vast number of teen accidents, as reflected in high insurance rates for young drivers. And, on this issue, parents and teenagers are often as divided as the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.P.

Bob Shane insists that the "too young" charge leveled against the real-life
Dobie Gillises isn't relevant. "I haven't seen more mature behavior in adults, so far as handling a car is concerned. Driving doesn't necessarily improve with age."

Though he is not oblivious to the serious problems involved, crew-cut Nick Reynolds is for the family lending Junior the car on sheerly practical grounds. "Where else are the teenagers going to get a car, unless they borrow Dad's? How else are they going to get home? There are few, if any, buses running at late hours."

Dave Guard argues: "My opinion is that, if you don't give the kids responsibility, they won't be ready to take it. I had to go out and buy a car and learn to drive it myself. I never drove the family car. Kids should be allowed to drive when they reach the legal age.

Besides observing the rules of the road, boys and girls should observe certain prom decencies, otherwise a beautiful evening can turn into a sad one. As the entertainment world knows -- and everybody else who isn't tone-deaf' -- the Kingston Trio rode to fame in 1958 with "Tom Dooley," a ballad about a fickle ]over who killed his sweetheart because he found another more to his liking. For this, he got the hangman's noose. The button-down balladeers don't intend to imply that fickle teen-agers will follow Dooley's footsteps to the gallows. But, for proms, they do recommend certain amenities.

"For example," says Nick Reynolds. "don't take another fellow's girl home from a dance. This is bad form for either sex, switching partners. If you're attracted to somebody at a prom -- other than the boy or girl you're with -- what then? Well, trading dances should be a regular custom at proms (prom committees, Please note). It gives a fellow an opportunity to get a line on a girl who attracts him. 'Bird-dogging' -- that is, sticking to one partner like corsage -- isn't a good prom habit"

In the next two months, few high schools or colleges will have the good fortune to have the Kingston Trio entertain at their proms. More seven requests for them to appear are turned down daily, according to their booking agency, I.T.A. At proms they stick pretty close to the same repertoire they use on TV (for Dinah Shore, Perry Como, Bell Telephone Hour) -- the best Of the world's folk music. The trio has also discovered that the setting (college auditorium or night club floor or TV mike) has no bearing on musical tastes. Neither does geography. Their folk tunes, sea chant songs ("Fast Freight," "The Jolly Coachmen," "John Henry") are as well received at California's Cocoanut Grove as on a Virginia university campus.

At proms, the West Coast folksingers do not play requests. This is not out of rudeness, but for professional esthetic reasons. However, they point out that, in most cases, a dance band is happy to comply with requests for certain tunes. "But don't go to the Bandstand," Bob Shane warns, "and shout, 'Hey, you. Play "I Could Have Danced All Night" !' There is a simple and dignified way of making a request. Just go over quietly to the bandleader and say, 'Mr. Elgart' -- or whatever the bandleader's name is -- 'could you please play "I Could Have Danced All Night"?' Chances are he'll be happy to play it."

Whether a top U.S. band, local jazz combo or the Kingston Trio entertain. the function's meaning is the same. Proms mark a high point in school social life and a coming-of-age for young people. They are an old American custom. "Prom," of course, comes from the word "promenade" -- in the sense of a fancy ball or dance. From the start, these have been considered exciting, romantic, memory-filled events, graced by soft lights and music. They still are. "Many college students get married right after the prom!" says happily-wed Bob Shane.

Today, going to a prom is relatively inexpensive. For a high-school student, it may be five dollars a person, while a college prom may be five to ten dollars a person. Years ago, they were only for the well-born and rich. However, though tickets are now relatively inexpensive, the prom itself is getting move complex. Right after the dance, for instance, the big question is: "What'll we do now?"

The Kingston Trio's Dave Guard advises that, when the band strikes up the traditional farewell strains of "Auld Lang Syne," this shouldn't be a signal for wild carousing, high-speed drives to suburban roadhouses. A good idea is to have a late snack or early breakfast at someone's home. Some may prefer a quiet hamburger at a drive-in. Some may prefer more substantial refreshments at an all-night restaurant. Whatever the post-prom dance activity may be, self-discipline should be accented. "Moderation." he says, "should be the keynote."

Should teenagers go to a night club? This is rapidly becoming a point of contention, since many night clubs are now featuring top teen record and TV stars.

To Dave Guard. there's "nothing particularly wrong in post-dance night-clubbing, even for high-school grads, providing they're prepared to behave as adults. Teenagers at the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles, and other places where they have come to see us, have been well behaved -- and great to us!

"It's a responsibility which teenagers should assume only if they're prepared for it. And, of course, if the law allows it. Reputable night clubs know how to handle teenagers, and waiters can usually spot youngsters if they are underage, and won't serve them liquor.

"Those who are really too young should try to have a quiet home party, or a snack with friends. If youngsters are really under-age and they walk into clubs with dates, and sit all evening nursing a Coke apiece, the waiters are justified in sounding an air-raid alert to get them out into the open."

About drinking, the Kingston Trio -- to a man -- insist that it's "silly" to get drunk in the mistaken notion that this is adult behavior. So far as imbibing goes, Bob Shane suggests: "Drink only what you would at home. Drink moderately, if at all. If you get drunk, you merely spoil what could be a beautiful sentimental occasion."

Lately, there's been the rise of the "all-night prom," These take many forms. Usually, a dinner begins the festivities, followed by a clothes change, the dance itself, a movie, perhaps a moonlight swim, a night-club visit, breakfast at a Rotary Club -- or anything else the prom committee can dream up. Sometimes school busses provide the transportation.

Sometimes, the students themselves concoct all-night prom activities in which the prom dance is followed by a Party at home. Such parties have to be run impeccably, according to Dave Guard. "Such parties have to be well-organized. No resorting to such tactics as breaking up furniture for laughs or making so much noise that the neighbors call the police!

"When a party goes on all night, nobody can object -- if the host's or hostess's parents are around to serve the sandwiches and Cokes or lobster thermidor. Smart parents know how to be Present at their kids' parties without making themselves too obvious and putting a damper on the fun. Staying up all night on special occasions is just a natural part of the process of growing up."

As a bright footnote. it might be worth noting that today's young people are not addicted to "mad sprees" on prom night. The Eugene Gilbert Youth Research group recently reported, in a spot check, that only thirteen percent of the teenagers queried wanted to "have a wild time." Most said that they wanted to have a good time, but also "to mind their manners and watch their conduct."

Good conduct implies; a sense of responsibility. Which brings up the electronic device that binds together young America, the telephone -- a good instrument to remember on prom night. The Kingston Trio's Bob Shane suggests that wherever "the crowd" goes, after the dance, responsible teenagers should not forget to call home, particularly it they agreed to be home at a certain time and aren't there yet. "If you're late for any reason, phone. Parents are naturally worried if it's late and they don't get a call from the kids. That doesn't mean that the parents are playing Gestapo. It's only normal for parents to get worried if the kids don't, check in at a certain time. They might have been in an accident."

Informal as sportswear, and wary of regimentation, the former collegians do not want to be killjoys in regard to proms, binding them in with lots of rules and regulations. They believe proms are more fun, if self-discipline is practiced. They contend that parents can help youngsters to acquire greater self-confidence by a degree of trust in their children. And teens can repay this trust by taking care of themselves and their dates.

Now some final tips from the Trio. Bob: "Just take the prom in your stride, and you'll have a good time." Nick: "Act natural, as if the prom were just another school-gym dance." And from Dave: "Have fun!"

Last revised: February 23, 2006.