Saturday Song-suasion 53: The Kingston Trio

The Kingston Trio was one of the most prominent folk-pop groups of the 50s era. Their first album released in 1958 with their hit song Tom Dooley selling more than three million copies as a single.

I would have never guessed that this group started off as a San Fransisco Bay area nightclub act. I was certain they originated across the pond, as my ear detects a hint of an Irish or Scottish accent. Do you hear it, too?

Oh well…where The Kingston Trio came from isn’t important, I suppose. Their popularity spanned about a decade before the group broke up. The songs I knew best came from the late 50s to early 60s. Join me in listening to the classic folk-pop sounds of The Kingston Trio (TKT).

This next song several artists from the 60s recorded, but TKT released it first in 1961… Where Have All the Flowers Gone.

Folk music of this era generally tended to veer to the far left, but TKT deliberately kept politically neutral and they got a bum rap by other said “Folk” singers and magazine reporters. However, the group never called themselves folk singers and felt uncomfortable with the label, but got tagged with this genre for their musical style.

Next up, is a Bahamian folk song from Nassau transcribed and published in the early 1900s, but it was Carol Sandburg’s 1927 version which inspired the TKT to record Sloop John B in 1958.

Hoyt Axton penned the lyrics for TKT 1963 hit, peaking at 21…. Greenback Dollar.

The year DH was born (1959), TKT released their version of a song that tells the crazy story about a man named Charlie trapped on the Boston subway system known then as the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Give a listen to M.T. A.!

The Kingston Trio early members ended things in 1967, but Bob Shane wanted to reinvent the group. After talking with the others, they decided that Shane could keep the name of the group with one except, a slight name change. Thus, The New Kingston Trio was born.

The group performed earlier hits entwined with newer contemporary songs, but that didn’t go over too well with songs like The World Needs a Melody.

Thank you for taking time out of your weekend in hopping over to listen to the music! I hope you enjoyed your visit. In fact, I hope you enjoyed it so much that you cannot wait to tell your friends. Go ahead, hit the share (Facebook, Twitter, Google+) button! You know you wanna.