Left to right: Bob Shane, Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds
June 1, 1958: The Kingston Trio release their self-titled debut album, sparking a revival in folk music. This was embraced by millions of adults who were looking for an alternative to rock and roll, but also by many teenagers, who found the music as authentic as the teen-oriented songs they were listening to.
Folk music had suffered from the blacklisting of left-leaning performers like The Weavers, including their lead singer, Pete Seeger. In late 1956, Harry Belafonte had a hit with "Jamaica Farewell," which led to the rise of the Caribbean form of folk music, known as "calypso," but he was the only singer who got much mileage out of it. "Grownup" singers like Frank Sinatra and Patti Page were not going to take it up.
Nicholas Wells Reynolds was born on July 27, 1933 in San Diego, and grew up in nearby Coronado, California. He went to Menlo College, outside San Francisco. Robert Castle Schoen was born on February 1, 1934 in Hilo, Hawaii, and grew up in Honolulu, where he anglicized his name to Bob Shane. Donald David "Davey" Guard was born on October 19, 1934 in San Francisco. He grew up in Honolulu, where he met Shane. Shane also went to Menlo, where he met Reynolds. Guard went to nearby Stanford University, and Shane introduced him to Reynolds.
They all loved calypso music, and in honor of Jamaica's capital, they named themselves The Kingston Trio. In June 1957, they were hired at San Francisco's Purple Onion club, and became local stars. Bob Hope saw them, and this led to them to being signed by Capitol Records.
They recorded their self-titled debut album at Capitol Studio in Los Angeles, and it was released on June 1, 1958. It included mostly established songs, including "(The Wreck of The) 'John B,'" which would be turned into a hit by The Beach Boys, as "Sloop John B." Guard wrote 2 songs for the album, "Scotch and Soda" and "Little Maggie." But most were traditional songs.
One was "Tom Dooley," which was based on the murder of Laura Foster on May 25, 1866 in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Tom Dula, her boyfriend, was hanged for his murder on February 1, 1868. Most likely, he didn't kill her: It is now believed to have been a rival for Tom's affections, Anne Melton. There was a Colonel James Grayson, who employed Dula across the State Line in Tennessee. But the song that developed totally got that part wrong, making it sound like Grayson was the rival for the woman's affections, and that he ratted Tom out, and that Tom never made it to Tennessee.
Nevertheless, the song got passed down through oral tradition, and was recorded by the Colonel's nephew, G.B. Grayson, in 1929. Frank Profitt recorded it in 1940. Frank Warner knew the Profitt version, and recorded the song in 1952. The Kingston Trio's version was, essentially, a copy of that version, and hit Number 1 in America on November 17, 1958.
It sparked a revival of folk music in 1958 that would last until the arrival of The Beatles in America in 1964. It enabled the rise of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel, and "folk-rock" acts like The Byrds and The Lovin' Spoonful.
The Trio packed auditoriums all over the country over the next few years. It's not clear if they had enough support to fill sports arenas like The Beatles did starting in 1964, but their style was more intimate, anyway, so those 3,000-seat theaters were more up their alley.
They recorded the 1948 Boston political song "M.T.A." in 1959, and between the 4th and 5th verses, Shane can be heard saying, "Pick it, Davey!" Davey Guard then played his banjo so fast that he could be heard saying, "Kinda hurts my fingers!" In 1961, Guard left the group, and John Stewart was hired as his replacement. Stewart is better known as the writer of "Daydream Believer," a Number 1 hit for The Monkees in 1967.
Guard died of cancer in 1991, only 56 years old. Stewart and Reynolds continued to perform with Shane as The Kingston Trio. Stewart and Reynolds lived until 2008, ages 68 and 75, respectively. Shane was the last survivor, dying on January 26, 2020, just short of his 86th birthday.
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June 1, 1958 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Bob Turley went the distance for the win, striking out 10. He went on to become the 1st Yankee to win the Cy Young Award, preceding Whitey Ford by 3 years.
3rd baseman Andy Carey had a career day, going 5-for-5 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Elston Howard went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Bill "Moose" Skowron went 1-for-5 with 3 RBIs, including 1 on a groundout. Mickey Mantle went 2-for-4 with a walk. Yogi Berra went 1-for-5.
For the Red Sox, Ted Williams went 0-for-2 with 2 walks and an RBI on a groundout; while Jackie Jensen, a former Yankee, went 1-for-4 with 3 RBIs, on his way to being named the American League's Most Valuable Player, an award that should have gone to Mantle for the 3rd straight season, or perhaps to Turley.
* The Cincinnati Redlegs, in their last of 6 seasons under that stupid McCarthyism-inspired name before going back to "Reds," beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 at Connie Mack Stadium. Frank Robinson went 0-for-5. It was the opener of a doubleheader.
The nightcap got underway, but, because a vestige of Pennsylvania's old Sunday "blue law" was still in effect, the game was suspended in the top of the 9th, with the score tied, 11-11. It was completed on August 11, and the Reds won it, 12-11, when an error by Phils pitcher Turk Farrell, mishandling a Johnny Temple bunt, allowed Robinson to score.
Robinson had entered the game as a pinch-runner, played left field and center field, and went 1-for-2. Temple went 5-for-11 with a home run and 6 RBIs on the day, while Steve Bilko went 3-for-5 in the nightcap.
* The Washington Senators beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 at Memorial Stadium in Washington. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-4. Harmon Killebrew, with the Senators at the time, did not play.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Braves, 5-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Hank Aaron went 1-for-3. Eddie Mathews went 0-for-1 with 2 walks.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 1-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Stan Williams pitched a 2-hit shutout, outpitching Dick Drott. The only run came in the 4th, when Don Zimmer singled Carl Furillo home. Ernie Banks went 0-for-3.
* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Roger Maris had an RBI on a sacrifice fly as a pinch-hitter for the Indians, and reached base when the KC right fielder, Bill Tuttle, dropped the ball. Two weeks later, the A's acquired Maris in a trade, settling their right field problem -- for a year and a half, until the Yankees made them an offer they couldn't refuse.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2 at the 1st Busch Stadium, formerly the last Sportsman's Park, in St. Louis. Willie Mays went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Stan Musial did not play.
* And the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers were rained out at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. (It was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961.) The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 10. The White Sox won the 1st game, 5-2. Jim Rivera went 2-for-3 with a home run and 4 RBIs. The Tigers won the 2nd game, 4-3, when Reno Bertoia bunt-singled Frank Bolling home in the bottom of the 12th inning. Rivera got the game off. Over the 2 games, Al Kaline went a miserable 0-for-9.
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