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The Kingston Trio

The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds. It rose to international popularity fueled by unprecedented sales of LP records and helped alter the direction of popular music in the U.S.

The Kingston Trio was one of the most prominent groups of the era's folk-pop boom, which they kick-started in 1958 with the release of the Trio's eponymous first album and its hit recording of "Tom Dooley", which became a number one hit and sold over three million copies as a single. The Trio released nineteen albums that made Billboard's Top 100, fourteen of which ranked in the top 10, and five of which hit the number 1 spot. Four of the group's LPs charted among the 10 top-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 lists of many of Billboard's cumulative charts, including those for most weeks with a number 1 album, most total weeks charting an album, most number 1 albums, most consecutive number 1 albums, and most top ten albums.

In 1961, the Trio was described as "the most envied, the most imitated, and the most successful singing group, folk or otherwise, in all show business" and "the undisputed kings of the folksinging rage by every yardstick". The Trio's massive record sales in its early days made acoustic folk music commercially viable, paving the way for singer-songwriter, folk rock, and Americana artists who followed in their wake.

The Kingston Trio continues to tour as of 2023 with musicians who licensed the name and trademark in 2017.

Birth and Death Data: Born Founded 1957, Died Ceased 1967

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1964 - 1966

Roles Represented in DAHR: Musical group

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 51-56 of 56 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca L 14031 3/25/1966 Lock all the windows The Kingston Trio Musical group  
Decca L 14032 3/25/1966 Less of me The Kingston Trio Musical group  
Decca L 14033 3/25/1966 Corne gather the time The Kingston Trio Musical group  
Decca L 14034 3/25/1966 The spinnin' of the world The Kingston Trio Musical group  
Decca L 14210 9/27/1966 Texas across the river The Kingston Trio Musical group  
Decca L 14211 9/27/1966 Babe, you've been on my mind The Kingston Trio Musical group  
(Results 51-56 of 56 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Kingston Trio, The," accessed April 26, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/325350.

Kingston Trio, The. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 26, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/325350.

"Kingston Trio, The." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 26 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/325350

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