The Brothers Four are an American folk group founded in 1957 in Seattle, Washington. They bear a distinction as one of the longest surviving groups of the late 1950s and early 1960s folk revival, and perhaps the longest running 'accidental' music act in history.[2]
[edit] Career
Bob Flick, John Paine, Mike Kirkland and Dick Foley met at the University of Washington, where they were members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity in 1956 (hence the 'Brothers' appellation).[2] Their first professional performances were the result of a prank played on them in 1958 by a rival fraternity, who had arranged for someone to call them, pretend to be from Seattle's Colony Club, and invite them to come down to audition for a concert.[2] Even though they were not expected at the club, they were allowed to sing a few songs and were subsequently hired. Flick recalls them being paid 'mostly in beer.'[2]
They left for San Francisco, California in 1959, where they met Mort Lewis, Dave Brubeck's manager.[2] Lewis became their manager and later that year secured them a recording contract with Columbia Records.[2] The group's first single, "Chicka Mucha Hi Di"/"Darlin' Won't You Wait," disappeared without a trace in late 1959.[2]
Their second single, "Greenfields," released in January 1960, hit #2 on the Billboard U.S. pop singles chart,[3] and their first album, Brothers Four, released toward the end of the year, made the Top 20 in the U.S. albums chart.[2] "Greenfields" was written by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr and Frank Miller in 1956, and the Brothers Four release sold over one million copies,[4] attaining gold disc status.[5]. Other highlights of their early career included singing their fourth single, "The Green Leaves of Summer," from the John Wayne movie The Alamo, at the 1961 Academy Awards, and having their second album, BMOC/Best Music On/Off Campus, go Top 10. They appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and The Brothers Four Song Book, released later in 1961, drew on traditional material.[2]
In 1961 the Brothers Four were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist, losing out to Bob Newhart. They also charted with the single "Frogg," based on the traditional song "Froggy Went a Courtin'," with new lyrics by Flick, which gave the group a chance to lighten their sound on AM radio and got to number 32 with it in April 1961; and "Blue Water Line," which got in the mid reaches of the Hot 100 in early 1962.[3][2] The group's concerts, which mixed a good deal of comedy into the music, proved sufficiently attractive so that two live albums were released in less than a year's time, In Person and Cross-Country Concert.[2]
They also recorded the theme music for the ABC television series Hootenanny, "Hootenanny Saturday Night," in 1963.[2]
The British Invasion and the ascendance of edgier folk rock musicians such as Bob Dylan put an end to the Brothers Four's early period of success, but they kept performing and making records, doing particularly well in Japan and on the American hotel circuit.[2] From late 1964 onward, they were relegated to the easy listening category, alongside The Lettermen and Perry Como. Luckily, Columbia was one of the few record labels that held that market in some esteem, and Big Folk Hits and More Big Folk Hits appeared in 1963 and 1964.[2] The group attempted a comeback by recording a commercial version of Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" but were unable to release it due to licensing issues, and The Byrds eventually stole their thunder by releasing their heralded version.[6]
The group co-built with Jerry Dennon a radio station in Seaside, Oregon (KSWB) in 1968.[7] The station was subsequently sold in 1972 to a group from Montana, and later to a self-proclaimed minister, and finally merged into a larger conglomerate of radio stations.
Kirkland left the group in 1969, and was replaced by Mark Pearson, another University of Washington alumnus.[2] In 1971, Pearson left and was replaced by Bob Haworth, who stayed until 1989 and was replaced by a returning Pearson.[2] Bob Flick left for three years in the 1970s, to be replaced by Tom Coe, who brought with him the sound of the electric bass. Dick Foley left the group in 1990 and was replaced by Terry Lauber.[2] During the 1990s, the Brothers Four resumed recording, this time for the Folk Era Records label.[2] They released a live album from Japan, and saw the beginning of a series of reissues of most of their early Columbia material on CD from Collector's Choice and Collectables Records.[2]
Despite all the changes and having spent over half a century in the music industry, the group is still active.
[edit] Selected discography
[edit] Singles
[3]
[edit] Albums
- 1960 The Brothers Four - U.S. #11
- 1961 B.M.O.C. (Best Music On/Off Campus) - U.S. #4
- 1961 The Brothers Four Song Book - U.S. #71
- 1962 The Brothers Four: In Person - U.S. #102
- 1963 Cross-Country Concert - U.S. #81
- 1963 The Big Folk Hits - U.S. #56
- 1964 More Big Folk Hits - U.S. #134
- 1965 The Honey Wind Blows - U.S. #118
- 1966 Try To Remember - U.S. #76
- 1966 A Beatles' Songbook (The Brothers Four sing Lennon/McCartney) - U.S. #97
[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
