Once again, as with another former Kingston Trio member, John Stewart, sad news has come to me late. The death of Nick Reynolds at 75 leaves Bob Shane the only surviving member of the Trio from its heyday. (I'll always remember Bob looking out at an audience that included me about ten years ago and saying, "God, but you all look old.")
Here's the original lineup of the Trio doing "MTA", a song that was a big hit when I was in seventh grade. Nick is the short guy in the middle playing the little four-string tenor guitar; Dave Guard is on banjo and Bob Shane on six-string guitar:
This has been a tough year for the folk music generation of the 1950s and '60s, considering also the deaths of Erik Darling (born the same year as Nick), Miriam Makeba, and Odetta.
12/18 update: Sadly, today I learned of an addition to the roster: British acoustic guitar legend Davy Graham.
So sad to see that generation of talented, committed musicians passing. Unlike many of today's performers, the folkies really tried to make a difference in the world, and some of them had a huge impact.
ReplyDeleteBlather From Brooklyn
amen to annulla's comment, and thanks for posting on this with the youtube. such great music
ReplyDeleteMy brother had a live double album by the Kingston Trio that I played over and over when I was in grammar school.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear we lost Nick.