The Kingston Trio (album)

History

Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds, and Bob Shane formed the Kingston Trio in Palo Alto, California in June 1957. By 1958 they had a recording contract with Capitol Records and were in the studio by February. From their first recording sessions, the single "Tom Dooley" was released and became a number one hit in the US. The single's success helped propel their debut album to the number one spot of the Billboard Pop chart. "Tom Dooley" was the Trio's second single—the first was "Scarlet Ribbons" b/w "Three Jolly Coachmen" —and it would remain on the charts for five months and earned the group their only gold single.

The members were quoted in various articles, even the liner notes of the first album, separating themselves from more traditional folk artists. Reynolds stated ""We don't collect old songs in the sense that the academic cats do. Each one of us has his ears open constantly to new material or old stuff that's good." Guard is quoted "We are not students of folk music; the basic thing for us is honest and worthwhile songs, that people can pick up and become involved in... When the performance is over the piece is not significant anymore."

"Scotch and Soda" was discovered by the Trio through Tom Seaver's parents, who had first heard it when on their honeymoon. One member of the trio was dating Seaver's older sister at that time, and heard the song on a visit to the Seaver home. Although it is credited to Dave Guard, the trio never did discover the real songwriter's name, though they searched for years.

During these same sessions, the trio recorded "Dodi Li" which was left off the album. It later appeared on ...from the Hungry i as "Dorie".

Reception

The album entered the Billboard album charts in late October 1958 and stayed there for nearly four years. It spent one week at #1 in early 1959. It was awarded an RIAA gold album on January 19, 1961.

In his Allmusic review, critic Bruce Eder called the Kingston Trio's debut album less polished than other current folk music groups, but noted their debut release made up for it "with youthful spring, exuberance, freshness, and a number of song choices that spoke of a new generation of folk singing." He also notes "one also gets a sense of just how strong the trio was musically right out of the starting gate—The Kingston Trio was essentially an idealized version of the group's stage show of the era, recorded over three days in the studio, and a fine, bracing body of music."

Reissues

Side one

1. "Three Jolly Coachmen" (Traditional)
2. "Bay of Mexico" (Traditional)
3. "Banua" (Traditional)
4. "Tom Dooley" (Alan Lomax, Frank Warner)
5. "Fast Freight" (Terry Gilkyson)
6. "Hard, Ain't It Hard" (Woody Guthrie)

Side two

1. "Saro Jane" (Traditional)
2. "(The Wreck of The) 'John B' " (Traditional)
3. "Santy Anno" (Traditional)
4. "Scotch and Soda" (Dave Guard)
5. "Coplas" (Guard, Traditional)
6. "Little Maggie" (Guard)

Personnel

Production notes: