This collection consists primarily of records related to the promotional and business
aspects of the Kingston Trio from their inception in 1956 to their latest line up as of
1986.
The bulk of the collection is comprised of promotional materials which include news
articles from newspapers and various other publications including Look and Life magazines, advertisements and
announcements for performances and record releases and assorted ephemera. Along with these
items are a set of photographs, which record the various lineups of the group from 1957 to
circa 1974. Also included are correspondence records with business correspondence of the
group's management, personal letters of group members and fan mail.
The parts of the collection attributed to Dave Guard include three of his personal
scrapbooks, which contain news articles, performance and record advertisements, as well as
record sales rankings charts from Billboard, Variety and other music trade magazines. Also included is some of
his original sheet music and various ephemera. One of the more interesting elements of
Guard's contribution to this collection is the Colour Guitar
system, an innovative method of musical instruction he developed for guitar, as well as
other instruments, which utilized a color coding system to identify which notes would work
together in chordal patterns.
A significant element of this collection is a set of interviews by Richard W. Johnston, a
Milwaukee scholar who conducted research on the Kingston Trio during the early to mid 1970s.
These include interviews with the three original members of the group, as well as later
members, business associates, friends, and musical associates of the group, including such
notable artists as Jane Bower, Pete Seeger and Mary Travers. Also a part of Johnston's
research is a chronology of the group to 1967, a discography and a chronological listing of
television show appearances.
The balance of the collection is comprised of miscellaneous business and promotional
materials. These include business contracts and financial statements, group itineraries,
television show scripts, show announcements and tickets, newsletters, postcards, promotional
booklets and other ephemera. Also included are two Cash Awards Plaques from 1958 and 1959, a
16 mm film of a 1962 television pilot, Young Men in a Hurry,
featuring the then current members of the group, and a 16 mm film of four 7-UP commercials
done by the original members of the group.
