What were some of their 'hits', he asked. When I named the Immortal (to my generation) titles of Tom Dooley, The MTA, and Worried Man, no recognition registered.
I remembered that conversation this afternoon when I was mindlessly scrolling YouTube and came across a video of a reunion concert recorded in 1982. For the next hour or so, I was transported to an earlier time in my life.
I first attended a live concert in Greensboro in the Spring of 1959 when the Trio had become popular. A fraternity brother and I double-dated (do college folks still do that?)to attend their tour stop and UNC-Greensboro. Forty years later, Reynolds and Shane and George Grove, returned to Greensboro. Before the concert, a stage hand brought out a single chair. In a moment, Reynolds came on using a walker (apparently having had surgery). Before sitting , he surveyed the audience and quipped, "Damn, you've gotten old!"
In the intervening years, I attended at least two other concerts. The first occurred in Winston-Salem but the more memorable was their gig in the small North Carolina city of Sanford. My brother and his family and I sat in the second row, perhaps twenty yards from the performers. This performance came thirty + years since their beginning. In those years, one of the group had added girth to his frame. My brother in the colloquial jargon whispered to me, "Shane is totin' a load".
If your generational cohort is similar to mine and you enjoyed the KT or if you are like the aforementioned person who had no acquaintance, many YouTube videos await you and you likely will be able to understand the words. And for us 'old timers', enjoy Bob Shane's version of Try to Remember.
Satchel
Remember it well. I was a huge fan. Have seen them in person. Scotch and soda remains a fav.
ReplyDeleteLovely memories. Thanks.
Don
Ron, when I was a sophomore at Fike High School in Wilson, I joined a folk-singing group called the Brentwood Singers. The group's leader was Andy Preston... then the band director at the high school, and later at AC College. We performed several songs by the Kingston Trio. The ones that I recall are "Charlie of the MTA" and "Three Jolly Coachman." It was a lot of fun. Mike Wenger... Raleigh, NC
ReplyDeleteGreat music during a good time in life.
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ReplyDeleteI love this one, Satchel, and I share your affection for the KT. A couple of personal notes. Tom Doley (real name Tom Dula) was executed in Judi's NC hometown, Statesville. Because of the historical connection (song and execution), the Trio performed once in Statesville and Judi got to meet and greet them. Mine (less impressive): I sang in a duet in my hometown, Oxford, NC, and our signature song was MTA. Although my favorite line, maybe in any song, is the one about his wife's daily trek to "bring him a sandwich," I never figured out why she just didn't just hand him the money for the fare increase.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it was because you could throw a sandwich more easily than coins. ;-) Mike Wenger
ReplyDeleteYep, that's probably it!!!
DeleteA few years back, my daughter was doing a paper on Louis Armstrong. When I mentioned I had seen him in person in a "ballroom" - remember those ... and sat within 10 feet of where he played and bantered, she looked at me amazed and then asked if she could interview me. I became part of her paper!
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