The Kingston Trio was formed in 1957 when three college students/musicians in Palo Alto,
California--Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane--joined together to perform folk music
at fraternity parties and college nightclubs. At one such college club, the Cracked Pot in 1956, they were discovered by Frank Werber, who
that same night became their manager. In the four years following, with top hits like "Tom
Dooley," "Tijuana Jail," "Scotch and Soda," "MTA," and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone,"
the trio was one of the top musical acts in America. During this period, the trio recorded
ten albums, toured almost non-stop, made several television appearances, including
television commercials for 7-UP and dramatic roles in the Playhouse 90 movie Rumors of Evening in 1958. They also earned their first of several
gold records, their first of two Grammy awards, and the Cash Box awards for Most Promising
Pop Vocal Group in 1958 and Most Programmed Song (for "Tom Dooley") in 1959. More
significant than this commercial success was the fact that the Kingston Trio had become a
major influential force in the American music scene by bringing folk music to the forefront
of popular music.
By 1961, Dave Guard, the creative force of the group, had grown unhappy with several
aspects of with the group and felt stagnated by the direction the band had taken. He left
the Kingston Trio that year and formed Dave Guard and the Whiskey Hill Singers, with whom he
toured and recorded several songs. Five of their songs were featured in the soundtrack for
the film How the West was Won, which won an Academy Award for
Best Music Score. In 1962, Guard moved to Australia where he stayed active musically and
from 1963 to 1965, hosted a musical variety show in Australia called Dave's Place. In 1968, he created a unique guitar instruction method called
Colour Guitar, which he marketed with little success. He
returned to America in 1969 and became an author of several children's books, as well as
musical instruction books throughout the 1970s. He continued to work in music into the
1980s, including the Kingston Trio Reunion Show on PBS in
1981. He also continued to make recordings, one of which was Dave Guard, Up & In in 1988, a critically acclaimed eclectic work of folk,
rock and country music. Unfortunately, it was to be one of his last. In 1991, Dave Guard
died of lymphoma.
After Dave Guard left the group, the Kingston Trio enlisted John Stewart, a long-time folk
singer, songwriter and friend of the group as a replacement. They continued to tour and
record with this line up releasing several records and performing on television on a regular
basis. In 1962, the trio filmed an unsuccessful pilot for a television series called Young Men in a Hurry. They continued to record and tour until
1967, when the popularity of folk music had given way to rock and roll and the appeal of the
trio had become mostly nostalgic. It was then that they decided to disband.
In the early 1970s, original member Bob Shane reintroduced the Kingston Trio with Pat
Horine and Jim Conner as The New Kingston Trio. Later, Roger Gambill joined the lineup with
various other members, until in 1977, current trio member George Grove signed on. In 1985,
Gambill passed away and was replaced by Bob Hayworth. In 1988, original member Nick Reynolds
replaced Hayworth and was a member until he retired in 1999, when Hayworth rejoined the
group. The current lineup includes Bob Shane, George Grove, and Bob Hayworth. They continue
to schedule shows at smaller venues throughout the country.
A bright spot for music fans in the post folk era came in 1981, when the Kingston Trio
came back together to perform a reunion show for PBS. The show, which featured both the
original and then current members of the group, was hosted by comedian and folk musician Tom
Smothers and featured Mary Travers of Peter, Paul & Mary.
The only audio recording in the collection is an audio reel copy of the 1965 LP Something Else, which also includes an audio cassette tape
copy.
Members of the Kingston Trio
| 1956-1961 |
Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds, Bob Shane
|
| 1961-1967 |
Nick Reynolds, Bob Shane, John Stewart
|
| 1972-1977 |
Bob Shane, Jim Conner, Pat Horine
|
| 1977-1985 |
Bob Shane, Roger Gambill, George Grove
|
| 1985-1988 |
Bob Shane, George Grove, Bob Hayworth
|
| 1988-1999 |
Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds, George Grove
|
| 2000- |
Bob Shane, George Grove, Bob Hayworth
|
For additional information on the Kingston Trio, visit the Kingston Trio official Web site
at: www.kingstontrio.com.
