The Kingston Trio

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 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 had become 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.

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 was taking. He left the Kingston Trio that year and formed Dave Guard the Whiskey Hill Singers, with whom he toured and recorded several songs.

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. At this point they decided to disband.

Over the years, various members of the group reformed with varying lineups. They continue to schedule shows at smaller venues throughout the country.

The Kingston Trio and communication:

What are some of the differences between performing in front of a small audience, and having a song on the radio all over the world? How do the levels of communication and understanding change?

In the Archives: 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. 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.