KINGSTON TRIO'S FAME AND MUSIC HAVE ENDURED
By Ed Hannan, Lowell Sun Correspondent
August 26, 2010

The Kingston Trio has amazingly been around for more than a half-century and while its current lineup boasts no original members, that's not to say what you see today is a tribute group.
Far from it, in fact, as George Grove has been part of the Trio since 1976. (The other current members, Bill Zorn and Rick Dougherty, have been with the group since 2004 and 2005, respectively.)

You can check out them out at the Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury tomorrow night.

"When I first started, I had the deer-in-the-headlights look. I was the new kid on the block. I didn't know my place, but I knew how to sing and play songs," Grove said in a recent interview.
"When I was 11 years old, my sister came home with the (1959) Kingston Trio live album from the Hungry i. I was fascinated on steroids. Even though I was 11 years old, I would rather have sat at the piano for four or five hours a day than go out and play ball."

Grove went to college, joined the Army and became a studio musician in Nashville. He says his love of the Kingston Trio endured. "I found out that they needed a banjo player," he said. "I wasn't familiar with what was going on with the Kingston Trio at the time, but the love returned. Within a month, I had auditioned and was accepted into the group."

He was 29 when he met Bob Shane, the founding member and current owner of the Trio."He has one of the most iconic and beautiful voices in American music history," Grove said. "Six years ago, he retired. Now I'm the old guy in the group."

While you may only think of "Tom Dooley" when someone mentions the Kingston Trio, the legendary folk group has had an extensive influence on the music industry since its inception in Palo Alto, Calif., in 1957.

Grove said that Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane, Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles and Jimmy Buffett have all cited the Kingston Trio as influences on their careers.

And with good reason.

They released their first album in 1958. It included the single "Tom Dooley," which sold more than three million copies. The Trio released 19 albums that made Billboard's Top 100, 14 of which ranked in the top 10, and five of which hit number 1. Four of the group's albums reached the Top 10 selling albums for five weeks in November and December 1959, a record unmatched for more than 50 years, and the group still ranks in the all-time top 10 of many of Billboard's charts.

More than just chart position, however, marks the Trio's legacy. Along with groups like The Limeliters, which once featured Zorn and Dougherty among its members, and The Smothers Brothers, they are credited with the late '50s folk revival that led to Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter Paul & Mary, and The Byrds in the protest movement of the 60s.

These days, the band still plays only about 50 dates a year.

"We approach the music with such love, reverence and care. You can rehearse the show, but you can't rehearse love and sincerity," Grove said. "Ninety percent of the audience is the original audience, but they bring their children and grandchildren to the show."

Most of the show comes from the Trio's catalog of more than 400 recorded songs.

"We have an active repertoire of about 80 songs of the 400 we've recorded," Grove said, "but you can only do 20 to 22 songs in a show as there is a lot of interaction and storytelling about the songs."

That said, expect to hear "Tom Dooley," "M.T.A.," "Scotch and Soda," "Tijuana Jail," "Reverend Mr. Black," and "Worried Man," among others, even though Grove has probably sung "Tom Dooley" an estimated 35,000 times.

Open Letter To George Grove
Wisconsin Rapids, WI
March 22nd, 2010

Hi George,
Just taking a moment to share with you all of the wonderful feedback we received as a result of your performance in Wisconsin Rapids.

You truly touched people with your music. I wish there were a way to put into words what experiencing a live performance does for patrons: but you are the reason the arts exist.

On behalf of the Arts Council, I wanted to thank you, Bill, Rick and Paul for the wonderful gift of music that you gave us. Bravo!

Best regards,
Chris Scheller
Wisconsin Arts Council

THE SOUTHPOINTE HOTEL AND CASINO
Las Vegas, Nevada
November 28, 2009

Last night, the Kingston Trio gave a stunning performance to a SOLD OUT crowd in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The show opened with DARLIN COREY, followed by THE TIJUANA JAIL (a crowd favorite) and CHILLY WINDS all done very nicely; but the show really took off with George Grove’s “calypso banjo” and Rick Dougherty’s harmony on JAMAICA FAREWELL and Bill Zorn’s rousing rendition of ZOMBIE JAMBOREE.  Bill really gets into the song and has a great deal of fun doing it.  It’s not an easy song to do but he has the voice inflections and the rhythm down perfectly.

Not many people knew that George was suffering a bad cold but as they say in show business, “no play, no pay and the show must go on” and go on it did.  George sang two lead solos THE LONG BLACK VEIL and 500 MILES. 

The Trio then went on to sing THE NEW FRONTIER, which was a stunner.  It’s hard to imagine, but these guys get better all the time.  With possibly the exception of THE ROAD TO FREEDOM, no other song displays the depth and quality of their voices and their talent better than THE NEW FRONTIER.

There were some surprises.  Rick Dougherty sang GENNY GLENN to fulfill a fan request for a couple who had traveled all the way from Edinburgh, Scotland to see the show.  According to them, there are some lyrics to that song that the Kingston Trio doesn’t sing but are well known in the pubs of Scotland.

What is a Trio performance without the talent of Paul Gabrielson?  Bill Zorn jokingly refers to Paul as the “best bass player the Kingston Trio can afford.”  A twenty-year veteran of the group, Paul is one of the finest jazz bass players around and regularly performs in Greenwich Village, New York when he is not traveling with the Trio.

The Trio managed to sing most of the obligatory favorites such as MTA, WORRIED MAN, and WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE and finished the show with TOM DOOLEY.

The most special part of seeing the Kingston Trio perform in Las Vegas is Bob Shane.  As the founder and only remaining original member of the Kingston Trio, it is always a treat when Bob is along.  For those of you who don’t know, Bob retired nearly six years ago for health reasons but he still makes a few appearances whenever the Trio performs in places that are within a 6-hour drive. He travels about with his portable oxygen tank, which he refers to as “his chick magnet” and still sings SCOTCH and SODA beautifully.  In addition to SCOTCH and SODA, he joined the Trio for the close with TOM DOOLEY and, as usual, came equipped with an array of great jokes. 

The best moment of the evening for me came when Bob sang THE DUTCHMAN a song he hadn’t performed on stage in years.  What he didn’t tell the audience was that he was singing this song for a long time fan that had requested it.  Bob practiced the song with Bill all week and gave a touching performance.  In spite of having to rememorize the words taped to his guitar and breathe for a difficult song, as the gracious person that he is, Bob sang this beautiful song and deeply touched the fan.  I know how much it was appreciated because I am the fan.  Thanks Bob Shane. You’re one of a kind. ~Robert Friedman

BY ALANE CALLANDER
FOR THE STAFFORD COUNTY SUN
Published June 27th, 2008

“I’m going to walk that road that we walked along before many years ago...” The Road to Freedom (John Stewart, 1963)

Once in a while in Fredericksburg we have an opportunity to see a world-class performing act. The Kingston Trio, that famous folk group, performed in April at the University of Mary Washington, and it was such a fabulous performance that two months later my foot is still tapping and I’m still listening to the CD and watching the DVD that I purchased that evening.

With the accompanying UMW-Community Symphony Orchestra providing extra pizzazz, the American folk-singing combo brought a packed Dodd
Auditorium to life with a rousing sing-a-long show coupled with perfectly timed comedy relevant to the 2008 social-political scene. What fun it was, and it was a perfect component of the university’s Centennial celebration.

As soon as the Trio sang their first notes and strummed the first cords on their guitars and banjo, I knew that these were professionals of rare abilities, regardless of whether or not they were members of the original group.

Years ago, while my peers were swooning over the Beatles, I was turned on to folk music. I loved such groups as the The Serendipity Singers.
My sister introduced me to the songs and sounds of Peter, Paul and Mary and Pete Seeger, by providing a new album for every birthday. Their awakening messages about peace and justice provided a values foundation that is still with me, so it was great to hear The Kingston Trio sing such songs from that era as “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”

When I arrived at Dodd Auditorium, I was pleased to see familiar faces from Stafford, including former Rock Hill Supervisor Bob Gibbons and his wife.
Previously from the Boston area, I suspect Gibbons came to hear that famous Kingston Trio ballad, “The MTA Song.” That’s a political commentary that emerged as Boston politicians increased the fare for its Metropolitan Transit Authority passenger train at the time. As the legend goes, a transit rider, Charlie, didn’t have the required nickel to get himself off the train, and so he rode forever and “his fate is still unknown.”

I was particularly struck by how the Trio’s voices blended so perfectly. It was a ways into the program before I noticed the high sounds of the group’s tenor, Rick Dougherty. He was like a crocus peaking up through a winter’s snow. Each time his pure, high voice added an element of surprise to the show, I found myself eagerly awaiting more.

Dougherty, it turns out, had previously taken over Glen Yarbourough’s spot with The Limelighters, when that exceptional talent moved on to other things, so he truly is an accomplished vocalist and is the Trio’s first new face in 20 years.

From the DVD, the professionalism of the accomplished singers-musicians shines through. The phenomenal banjo player and distinctive vocalist, George Grove, has been with the trio for 32 years. He’s a wonderful, expressive interpreter of folk songs. Bill Zorn positions himself in the center of the group, provides a wide vocal range, and looks and acts like the captain of the ship. He previously sang with The Kingston Trio in the 1970s and was formerly with an old favorite group of mine, The New Christy Minstrels.

The UMW-community orchestra seemed to enjoy playing along with all the old songs, including the popular “Tom Dooley,” as well as some bawdy drinking songs traditional to The Kingston Trio.

Through Stafford resident Rita Snyder, the orchestra’s treasurer, I have learned that the Trio was so impressed with the performance of the trumpet section that the orchestra’s director has been invited to conduct other school orchestras on the Kingston Trio tour. What a great honor this is for UMW and for Dr. Kevin P. Bartram, a truly talented conductor.

At a special post-concert reception, Snyder says the Trio earned the reputation for being the friendliest and most sociable entertainers to perform during the university’s William M. Anderson Jr. Celebrity Series.

For a Fourth of July treat, plan to attend ceremonies at Pratt Park where the UMW-Community Symphony Orchestra will provide musical entertainment, fresh from the exhilarating experience of performing with The Kingston Trio.