R.I.P., Bob Shane, founding member of The Kingston Trio.*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Folknik, Jan 27, 2020.

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  1. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Someone may have already scooped me on this but I haven't seen it yet. Bob Shane, the last surviving original member of the Kingston Trio, passed away yesterday at age 85. There were other folk groups before them and they were profoundly influenced by the Weavers, but it was the Kingston Trio who majorly set the wheels in motion for the full scale folk revival which had its first rumblings in the late '50s and exploded full force in the early '60s. Had it not been for the Kingston Trio, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan would still have happened but they wouldn't have achieved such massive fame as soon as they did if the KT hadn't paved the way. There are many folk purists and other hard core folkies who have nothing good to say about the Trio, but they were at one time the world's #1 singing group. Bob Dylan said more than once that he always liked the Kingston Trio and acknowledged them as an influence. After the Trio disbanded in 1967, Bob Shane was the first to record Bobby Russell's classic tearjerker "Honey", but it wasn't promoted well and it sank without a trace. Later, Bobby Goldsboro had a big hit with it. Thinking his solo career wasn't going anywhere, Bob Shane assembled a new Kingston Trio and carried on with different configurations of the group until his retirement several years ago. Another legend gone.
     
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  2. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Can a moderator please fix the thread title? Add The Kingston Trio. Get more than 6 people clicking on the thread that way. Thanks.

     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2020
  3. Coppertop Tester

    Coppertop Tester Forum Resident

    The two Bear Family box sets covering the KT’s original two lineups are among my favorites of all all the great sets that label has released. It’s kind of a bummer that the group currently touring under the Kingston Trio name has nothing to do with that musical legacy other than being able to presumably license the name from Bob Shane. I wonder if his passing changes anything with that?
     
  4. majorlance

    majorlance Forum Resident

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  5. Artur Torres

    Artur Torres New Improved Full Dimensional Stereo

    Location:
    Brazil
  6. Scope J

    Scope J Senior Member

    Location:
    Michigan
  7. Scope J

    Scope J Senior Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    [​IMG]

    Spring 1957, Bob centre
     
  8. The Slug Man

    The Slug Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    RIP. My Dad is a HUGE Kingston Trio fan. He took me to see them in 1990.
     
  9. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    I practically grew up on the KT. The home I grew up in had mono copies of The Kingston Trio At Large, Here We Go Again, Make Way, Close-Up, Time To Think and Back In Town. In the years since, I accumulated their 45's of "Tom Dooley" and "Reverend Mr. Black"; and the LP's The Longest Night Of The Year (in both mono and stereo), Sold Out (stereo, Scranton and L.A. pressings) and String Along.

    As we go on, I'll present some of my favorite Trio tracks. Here, from At Large, "Early Mornin' ":
     
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  10. frightwigwam

    frightwigwam Talented Amateur

    Location:
    Oregon
    The Kingston Trio had a distinctive vocal sound, they recorded a lot of good songs, and they're often a lot of fun. That's about all you really need.

    Rest easy, Mr. Shane.
     
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  11. KeninDC

    KeninDC Hazy Cosmic Jive

    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    My dad's favorite band. He saw them at the original "hungry i" in San Francisco. Dad took me to see Bob Shane and his Trio in the late 70s at a local high school.
     
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  12. chacha

    chacha Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    mill valley CA USA
    Sorry to hear. I got to meet Bob a couple of times when his later Trio band was booked on events with my band. I was a Trio fan when I was a kid and would chat with him about tunes I loved from the early days. He seemed tired unfortunately and burnt out on the Trio gig to me.
     
  13. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    What a shame, such an important group
     
  14. Paul J

    Paul J Forum Resident

    Location:
    Baltimore
    The Trio was my first musical obsession.

    1962, 7th grade, a friend played String Along for me.

    The deal was done, got Goin’ Places, and then String Along, and then, boy did they have a lot of product!

    They were the base for what 1965 was to bring, Byrds, Spoonful, Simon & Garfunkel, Mamas & Papas, etc.

    Didn’t know it at the time, but they got me into record collecting, folk music history, and sanity until The Beatles.

    Thanks Bob...
     
  15. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dixie
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  16. on7green

    on7green Senior Patron

    Location:
    NY & TN
    RIP Bob. The Kingston Trio was the reason I first picked up a guitar back in the day.
     
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  17. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    R.I.P. great band...
     
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  18. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    85? that's life...he was lucky to be there. ; )
     
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  19. Two Sheds

    Two Sheds Sha La La La Lee

    My mother loved the Kingston Trio. She took me to see them in 1984.

    RIP Bob Shane.

     
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  20. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dixie
  21. zen

    zen Senior Member

    ...Thank you kindly, Bob Shane! ...and say hello to, "Desert Pete." :targettiphat:

     
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  22. boe

    boe Forum Resident

    Location:
    western New York
    The Kingston Trio rank #8 on the list of artists with the most Top Ten albums. Dominated the charts between Elvis and the Beatles. A huge influence on a lot of musicians (including McGuinn and Lindsey Buckingham off the top of my head). The hardcore NYC folk establishment didn’t dig them (even though the trio never saw themselves as strictly a folk group) but Dylan had nice words for them in Chronicles. And their popularity on college campuses was a huge factor in establishing the college tour circuit that was essential for the development of rock through the late 70s. Crazy that they’re never even in the discussion for the RRHOF.
     
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  23. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    I added them to the Revisited ballots we did on here.
     
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  24. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    Not many people know this but "Tom Dooley" won the very first Country and Western Grammy in 1958.
     
  25. The Slug Man

    The Slug Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    This is what my Dad had to say: "That's sad news for me. He would not let the KT die. Must have reformed the members half a dozen times. Last interview I saw he was on heavy oxygen. I think he was a lifelong smoker. Had a great voice. Frank Sinatra claimed he was the best baritone he had ever heard. Scotch and Soda was his signature song."
     
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