The Fathers of Folk

In 1957 The Kingston Trio emerged from San Francisco’s North Beach club scene to take the country by storm, bringing the rich tradition of American folk music into the mainstream for the first time. During the late 50s & early 60s, the Trio enjoyed unprecedented record sales and worldwide fame, while influencing the musical tastes of a generation.

How big an act was the Kingston Trio? Until the advent of the Beatles in 1964, The Kingston Trio ruled the pop charts. Big enough that the their first 19 albums not only reached Billboard’s Top 100, but 14 of them entered the top 10, with five albums alone hitting the no. 1 spot! At the height of their popularity, the Kingston Trio was arguably the most popular vocal group in the world, having single-handedly ushered in the folk music boom of the late ’50s and early ’60s.

Through changing times, the Trio has played on, remaining popular for a simple reason… great songs that sound as good today as the first time you heard them. And fifty-five years after Tom Dooley shot to the top of the charts, the Trio is still on the road thirty weeks a year, bringing back all the great memories and making new ones.

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