A Fond Farewell To Bob Shane And The Original Kingston Trio: Truly The End Of An Era

Sunday, February 16th, 2020



My Dear America:

The name Bob Shane may not mean much to many young people.  But to people of a certain age, like me, Bob Shane was one of the most important and long time members of a very important Musical group called The Kingston Trio.

The Kingston Trio broke onto the musical scene in 1958 and except for a few brief periods of time they have continued to play up to and including the present time.  Bob Shane left the Kingston Trio in 2004 following a heart attack but the group has continued to play in one form or another to sold out crowds to the present day.

Shane was one of the original members of The Kingston Trio, which initially consisted of Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds and Dave Guard.  Due to some conflicts in the group Dave Guard decided to leave The Kingston Trio in 1961 and form his own group, "Dave Guard and the Whiskey Hill Singers."  Following Guard's departure The Kingston Trio drafted someone who had already written songs for the group, John Stewart.  With the addition of Stewart The Kingston Trio continued on until 1967.

I first heard The Kingston Trio singing at a Friday night record hop dance at Central Catholic High School in Allentown, PA.  The DJ put on "Tom Dooley" and everyone looked around at each other trying to figure out how to dance to this number that was impossible to dance to.  

My best Friend in High School, Barron Bregenzer invited me over one day to his house to listen to his new Stereo Record Player.  Along with his new Chuck Berry album and some other great rock and roll albums he also played me "The Kingston Trio" and "From The Hungry I," a live recording of the Trio in concert. I was hooked.

I went to college in the Scranton/Wilkes Barre area in the early 60s and on my first day on Campus at King's College I heard a folk trio singing great harmonies as they sang Kingston Trio songs.  I was lucky enough to see The Kingston Trio with John Stewart in concert in Scranton during the early 60's.  They were awesome in concert. 

I have spent a good deal of my time playing with "The Lehigh Valley Folk Music Society Performing Group for the past 20 or so years playing Folk Music inspired by The Kingston Trio.  Their music has always been important to me and will always be.  

There is a DJ on our local Public Radio Station, WDIY, whose program is called Folk Classics with Steve Aaronson.  I just listened to Steve's interview with Bob Shane that Steve recorded some years back.  It is available as a podcast on WDIY's Website and I would recommend listening to it for anyone interested in some of the backstory of The Kingston Trio.

Bob Shane will be missed.  In the world of Donald Trump it seems as though Trump takes up all of the news oxygen.  I would recommend to anyone tired of the weirdness of Trump World to take a moment and listen to Steve's interview with an American treasure who is now gone and has taken The Original Kingston Trio with him.

Yet, with the miracle of streaming and modern recording we will always have The Kingston Trio's music to enjoy over and over again.

Thank You Bob Shane for all you and your heavenly comrades have done to enhance American Music.  You and The Kingston Trio may be gone but you will never be forgotten by me and by the legions of other folksingers you have inspired and unleashed upon the world.


Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher