The Trio considered themselves entertainers and not activists, and felt that protest songs didnt fit into their act. As I said, we were so busy that Nick and I didnt see reason to change.. I had always liked it," he explained. Craig Hankenson, his longtime agent, confirmed the death, in a hospice facility. He did four tracks on a 12-track cassette recorded to accompany the "All Along the Merrimac" tour of New Hampshire and a final solo album, Up & In (1988), which received mixed reviews. I have studied techniques. Reynolds once said they first heard the song when a now-forgotten singer sang it during an audition at the Purple Onion. He kept insisting that all three members take time out to study the older styles, to try to make their performances more authentic. From 1958 to 1964 (the year they left Capitol records), they had played thousands of shows and had released 19 LPs, five of which made it to the top spot on the Billboard charts. to the Stanford library, then, during the summer of 1972 in the British Isles They also helped create a demand for acoustic guitars that continues to this day. 1:36: A4: Tom Dooley. Furthermore, nobody in the Trio could recount how they happened to learn their most famous song, Tom Dooley. It was a failing that had legal repercussions later on (see sidebar). Most of the people in the area assumed that Laura had run away, but about a month later rumors started to spread that Tom had murdered her. He also met Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds, and their campus party The Kingston Trio were one such group, transforming folk music into a hot commodity and creating a demand -- where none had existed before -- for young men (sometimes with women) strumming acoustic guitars and banjos and singing folk songs and folk-like novelty songs in harmony. Purple Onion and into the national big time as the Kingston Trio. That year saw the No. By now, the Kingston Trio were a national phenomenon and folk songs were a national craze, particularly among younger people. Jan. 29, 2020 9:48 AM PT. For four years, from 1958 to 1961, they were one of the most popular bands in America. March 22, 1991, Rollinsford, New Hampshire), Bob Shane (b. to student; Tom, 17, who wants to be a filmmaker, and Sally, 15, and a soccer champion. Dave Guard Folksinger #136570. After he decided to leave Dave Guard formed Dave Guard & The Whiskeyhill Singers immediately after his departure from The Kingston Trio. We got a 1939 Beechcraft D-18, with a split tail that sat on the ground, Shane says. With help from the Trio's bassist and musicologist David "Buck" Wheat, Guard embarked on a self-education program of learning more about harmony, becoming more and more disenchanted with what appeared to him to be a lack of willingness or effort to "improve" on the part of his partners.[5]. At Menlo Shane met Nick Reynolds, a hotel management major from Southern California who grew up in a musical household. After a few months onstage at the Purple Onion, the Trio was still a little rough around the edges, but they had forged a winning performance formula. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. That was the first of three songs written about the murder. From the beginning, the Kingston Trio decided to avoid protest songs and material with a political bent. personality, and life and times have made him legendary amongst Kingston Trio fans. At one point, their accountant made a bookkeeping error. Why did Peter Paul and Mary break up? She really liked the music, but she had a soft spot for the Kingston Trio because in 1956, when she was a teenager, Dave Guard pulled her out of a wrecked car. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "FMA Finance Financial news and information on borrowing money", "The Telegraph - Google News Archive Search", "Valley Voice: Passing of last Shaw twin, who taught world to sing". The original trio had nine gold albums, The Kingston Trio at the Hungry i, its most successful. On November 17, 1958, the Kingston Trios Tom Dooley hits #1 on the Billboard pop chart. KINGSTON TRIO : THE GUARD YEARS. Kingston Trio. Dave Guard And The Calypsonians a.k.a. Tragically, Pauline had syphilis, which she passed on to Tom, who in turn gave it to Laura and Ann. Dave Guard, founder of the Kingston Trio, which brought folk music from the coffeehouses to mainstream America with songs such as the haunting "Tom Dooley" and the rollicking "MTA," has died. "The Hawaiians won't (He currently oversees a version of the Kingston Trio made up of musicians who played in the band in the past.). Shane, who had started out on ukulele years before switching to tenor guitar and later six-string guitar, taught Guard a few chords and they began working out a few songs. Dave Guard, founder of the Kingston Trio, which brought folk music from the coffeehouses to mainstream America with songs such as the haunting Tom Dooley and the rollicking MTA, has died at 56. The Seavers first heard it in a hotel lounge when they were on their honeymoon in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1935; they had the piano player write the lyrics and melody down so they would always remember it. From the beginning, it was always the sound. music. By the time Stewart died a couple of years ago, he had written well over 600 songs. he was. After a reportedly acrimonious meeting with Shane, Reynolds, and the Trios business manager over the future of the Trio, Guard quit the group. February 19, 1978. in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Guard grew up hearing the soft vocal melodies and strummed guitars of Hawaiian music. Folk U.S.A. - Archived vintage Kingston Trio audio and video clips. As an album, Up Dave Guard and The Whiskeyhill Singers recorded their first album at Henry Jacobs' studio at Sausalito, and it was released on the Capitol record label. March 7-11 at the Boarding House. . March 22, 1991, Rollinsford, New Hampshire), Bob Shane (b. February 1, 1934, Hilo, Hawaiid. Over the next several years, Dave Guard put out a couple of eclectic but fine solo albums The original members were Dave Guard (b. October 19, 1934, San Francisco, California, U.S.d. Dave Guard died in March 1991, at 51, of lymphatic cancer. The Tarriers were best known for writing The Banana Boat Song, which became a huge hit for Harry Belafonte under the name Day-O.), In 2010, Shane was cleaning out a closet and found a box of old reel-to-reel tapes that the Trio made in 1957 during their initial stand at the Purple Onion. Date April 14, 2023 7:00pm Pricing $35 - $55. After a reportedly acrimonious meeting with Shane, Reynolds, and the Trio's business manager over the future of the Trio, Guard quit the group. The genre problem would bedevil the Kingston Trio throughout their careers. The first, a jazzy barroom ballad called Scotch and Soda, was brought in by Dave Guard, and it was perfectly suited to Shanes slightly raspy baritone. IMPORTANT! When I called him for this story, I was pleased to discover that he had been thinking quite a bit about that period himself. We were all pretty natural performers. He attended Honolulu's Punahou School, where he met Bob Shane; they both graduated in 1952. He retired from performing in 2004 after suffering a heart attack. In 1940, a folklorist named Frank Warner made a field recording of Wilkes County native Frank Proffitt singing a version of the song that had the same melody but somewhat different lyrics as the Grayson and Whitter version. Limited to only 100 instruments, the 00-21 Kingston Trio pays tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the group and honors the life of founding member Dave Guard. interest anyone. Over the years following his return to the US, Guard worked with a number of people, including Alex Hassilev, Mike Settle, Judy Henske, Cyrus Faryar, Tim Buckley, Tommy Makem and David White. When Shane left the Calypsonians and returned to Hawaii to work in his family's business, Guard added two members, bassist Joe Gannon and vocalist Barbara Bogue, making the Calypsonians a quartet. on the "Get RealPlayer Free" icon below to go to the RealMedia site to download the RealPlayer software The Kingston Trio ended 1958 as one of the most popular bands in America. Dave Guard met in 1955, "going to school," said Dave, "because As one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio, Dave Guard's music, Nick Reynolds became like a foster father to me . repertoire. by a Salt Lake City disc-jockey, The After the second trial, Tom Dula was hanged on May 1, 1868. song; to listeners, the music moved! Dave Guard was born on October 19, 1934 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Tom appealed the verdict and a new trial was held, which also reached a guilty verdict. In 1957, he, Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds founded the trio. Thats what it was like upstairs above the Purple Onion. Jan Hammer 79.2K subscribers 934K views 10 years ago "M.T.A.", often called "The MTA Song", is a 1949 song by Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes. 'You'll be more peaceful,' Judy Henske was eventually replaced by Liz Seneff, but the Whiskeyhill Singers were disbanded in late 1962 after Guard left for Australia. When I got a couple of dollars with the Kingston Trio We would record our songs on a Wollensak tape recorder so we could go home and learn our parts, he explains. I did a few different things like singing Harry Belafonte and Hank Williams songs, but what most people dont know is I was the first Elvis Presley impersonator in the world, Shane says. Shane introduced Reynolds to Guard and they began performing together at frat parties and local beer gardens as Dave Guard and the Calypsonians, sometimes as a trio or occasionally with other friends. it, RESTART YOUR COMPUTER to be sure all RealPlayer components are loaded! The occasions when it attempted serious renditions of folk ballads ("Tom Dooley," for instance) it fell short. DAVE GUARD. follow it with a book on a Hawaiian legend late this year. They would be on the road playing more the 250 shows a year for the next few years. In 1959, before the folk category was established, the group won a Grammy Award for the best country and western recording for "Tom Dooley," the group's best-selling single. (Truth be told, the Beach Boys did more than just ape the Kingston Trios garb; in 1965, at Al Jardines insistence, they covered Sloop John B from the Trios first LP.). "I wanted to illustrate children's books, and while Ivy Leaguers, talked about their life together, from "the little green According to Guard, while he was in Australia, he was never in contact with Reynolds and Shane, and he never heard any of their albums. That, combined with some dissatisfaction with the way their publishing earnings were handled, caused Guard to leave the band, to be replaced by the highly capable singer-songwriter John Stewart. "That's when our career took off," Reynolds said. While he awaited trial, Laura Fosters body was discovered in a shallow grave, which caused a sensation and inspired local poet Thomas Land to compose The Murder of Laura Foster, a long ballad, to mark the occasion. Around that time, Reynolds said, he and Shane were attending Menlo College in Palo Alto, and they used to get together to sing for fun. She is survived by her fourth husband, Ethan Robbins; two daughters, Erika Marshall of Naples, Fla., and Alicia Travers of Greenwich, Conn.; a sister, Ann Gordon of Oakland, Calif.; and two grandchildren. Here, Dave rocks-out in a cute song to those folks living on the fringes--including, perhaps, some of For the next few years, the Kingston Trio toured relentlessly, playing on college campuses and in nightclubs across the country. thought he was. Thomas Dula, as his name was originally spelled, was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1844. It was fresh and quirky and fun. He graduated from Stanford with a degree in economics in 1956.[3]. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The group continued to perform for six years as the Kingston Trio before disbanding in 1967, with John Stewart taking Guard's place. I was very excited to have the opportunity to talk to him. A dramatic example of Calypso influences on the nascent A A. The next year, their first hit, a rendition of the At the time, calypso music was extremely popular, and the group played songs like Jamaica Farwell and Come Back, Liza that Harry Belafonte, the reigning king of calypso, hade made popular. From the recording made at the festival, its clear that audience loved the Trios performances, but backstage, a lot of the musicians were incensed. (No more country music awards for them! After their run at the Purple Onion ended in December 1957, the group prepared to record their first LP. be participants again.". Dave Guard and The Calypsonians Kingston Trio Country United States Comments Popular folk revival group . Location: Walhalla, SC, United States. The Trio only scratched the surface when it came to tapping his songwriting talent. Get four issues of the keepsake Fretboard Journal for just $60. Reynolds and Stewart,. They were ready! Under contract with Capitol Records, the Trio became a huge commercial and influential success.[1]. The Kingston Trio may have debuted on the folk music scene in the 1950s, but an iteration of the band is still touring and a dispute over who exactly should be in that group has sparked a. Product Description. Warner recorded his version in 1952; it was later covered by the Folksay Trio and the Tarriers. Incidentally, a couple of previously unreleased 1957 demos by Guard 's pre- Kingston Trio group, Dave Guard & the Calypsonians, appear on the Kingston Trio box set The Capitol Years, which also has one song by Dave Guard & the Whiskeyhill Singers. ), In the early 1960s, Frank Warner and Alan Lomax sued the Kingston Trio for copyright infringement. Translate; Trending; Random; Home Singer Dave Guard. He was survived by his mother Marjorie, former wife Gretchen, and their three children (Sally, Catherine, and Tom). Im very upset, said Nick Reynolds, a member of the trio since its founding in 1957. The Kingston Trios Tom Dooley is very similar to Warners version, but they took it at a much slower tempo and added a spoken intro that states the song is about the Eternal Triangle and the story of Tom Dooley, Mr. Grayson and an unnamed beautiful woman. Family (1) Spouse The original Kingston Trio: from left, Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane. them with counterpoint and chord and vocal phrasing. Werber's offer, however, was contingent upon replacing Gannon and Bogue, and shortly thereafter both left the group. Will The Circle Be Unbroken? It looked like the Black Death was coming at you. "I remembered it from reading it as a boy while I had the chicken pox and On February 5, 1958, they headed into the studio in the Capitol Tower in Hollywood, where over the next three days they recorded their self-titled debut record. 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