
DATE: Sunday, June 1, 1997                  TAG: 9705300295

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 07   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOHN HARPER, CORRESPONDENT 
DATELINE: MANTEO                            LENGTH:   74 lines

KINGSTON TRIO TAKES CENTER STAGE IN MANTEO THIS WEEK

The Kingston Trio continues to defy the odds.

After all, what other rock 'n' roll act from the 1950s is intact and still musically vital?

Known for their folk hits ``Tom Dooley,'' ``Where Have All The Flowers Gone?'' and ``Reverend Mr. Black,'' the Trio sweeps into downtown Manteo this week for a free Dare Day concert.

The still-popular group will headline the day-long festival on the town waterfront.

Nick Reynolds, Dave Guard and Bob Shane formed The Kingston Trio in 1957. At the time, Guard was a graduate student at Stanford University and Reynolds and Shane were classmates at Menlo College.

Using only acoustic guitars and banjoes, three-part harmony singing and simple melodies, The Trio played traditional folk songs in coffeehouses and basement clubs around San Francisco.

While performing at the Purple Onion in San Francisco, Shane, Reynolds and Guard were heard by publicist Frank Werber. He signed them on the spot to a contract written on a table napkin.

With the 1958 release of a reworked 1866 folk song called ``Tom Dooley,'' The Kingston Trio reawakened America to its own rich folk music heritage - which had been dormant after Pete Seeger and The Weavers were blacklisted in the early '50s.

Updates of traditional folk songs as well as original material by contemporary songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger comprised The Trio's repertoire.

Next to the other rock 'n' roll hits of the day - ``Purple People Eater,'' ``Witch Doctor,'' and ``Yakety Yak'' - Trio records like ``The Tijuana Jail,'' ``M.T.A.'' and ``A Worried Man'' sounded downright revolutionary.

Most music historians credit The Trio with single-handedly starting a folk music revival that set the stage for Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary and the entire protest music movement of the '60s.

Five of the group's first six albums enjoyed extended stays atop the charts. From 1958 to 1963, The Kingston Trio was the top-selling vocal group in the world.

But then along came The Beatles, The British Invasion, Motown and the acid rock sound of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Trio quietly disbanded in 1967.

``Pop music tastes were changing again,'' Shane says. ``The rock revolution took a lot of our audience. But folk is timeless - and I knew it would come around again.''

Shane reformed the group in 1985 with original member Nick Reynolds. The other original member, Dave Guard, died in 1991. Newcomer George Grove rounded out the new trio.

The Kingston Trio's trademark three-part harmony and clean, crisp sound keeps them touring 35 weeks a year. Grove has arranged and scored their music for the symphony, enabling them to play 20 symphony concerts a year.

And who knows, maybe another folk revival is on the way.

``There is a tremendous demand for our type of acoustic music,'' Shane says.

``All the people want is for us to sing a song, tell a story and make it good.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

The still-popular Kingston Trio, will headline the day-long

festival.

Graphic

HOW TO HEAR 'EM

Who: The Kingston Trio

What: Folk music trio that began in the 1950s

Where: In front of the Dare County Courthouse on the Manteo

waterfront.

When: Saturday, June 7 at 4 p.m.