Last Tuesday night, Phyllis and I went to see the latest version of the Kingston Trio who gave a performance at a local community college. Though this touring company consisted of singers all who played one time or another with the original trio, there were none of the original members at the show. Fortunately, I have seen various combinations of the group over the years, and did see a reunion of sorts with two of the three original performers together a few years back. Still, the three singers who were on stage on Tuesday were all wonderfully skilled musicians and singers and the show was a joy from start to finish. While they played a number of Xmas songs, they also included a number of Kingston Trio classics in the mix with spirited versions of MTA, Tom Dooley, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Tiajuna Jail, and Worried Man among others. My favorite piece of the evening was Woody Guthrie's "Reuben James." While done by many performers over the years, the Kingston Trio version of the song remains my favorite. It was a thrill to hear it live.

In Lois' blong (Lois Gresh, my friend and co-author) she mentions going to the Metropolitan Opera in NYC last week. Sounds exciting, but I must admit I'm not an opera fan. Give me folk music anytime. I developed a taste for folk music back when I was in grade school and Peter, Paul, and Mary were the new kids on the block. Living in New Jersey during the 1960's. I was lucky enough to see numerous folk singers of that era perform. I saw Pete Seegar twice, the Chad Mitchell trio, the Byrds, Tim Hardin, Judy Collins, and many others including the Kingston trio several times. The one folk singer I never saw was my favorite female musician, Joan Baez. I finally was lucky enough to see her a few years ago. She was as good as I expected.

Folk music is the true music of America. If I had my way, we'd stop using The Star Spangled Banner as our national anthem and instead adopt Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land." It's a lot easier for people to sing, and the words make much more sense.

bob

Tags: folk music, joan baez, the kingston trio, woody guthrie
Current Location: home
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: This Land is Your Land