The Final Concert

Founded in 1957, the Kingston Trio brought an accessible and commercial face to the emerging folk revival, and while the group was frequently criticized for their complete lack of authenticity in the face of real traditional music, there is no denying that without their frequent presence on the pop charts into the early '60s, the folk revival would have never have gotten off the vine and become a viable popular (and commercial) force. The fact remains that the trio (the original incarnation consisted of Dave Guard, Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds; John Stewart replaced Guard in 1961) knew a good song when they heard one, and their versions of Hoyt Axton's "Greenback Dollar," Pete Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Tom Dooley," the old Appalachian murder ballad that first broke the trio onto pop radio, were all deserving hits and still retain appeal all these decades later. The Kingston Trio officially called it quits in 1967, and this set is the group's actual final concert, taped at the end of a three shows a day, two week run at San Francisco's Hungry i on June 17, 1967. Needless to say, the trio — Shane, Reynolds and Stewart, with Dean Reilly on bass — were well rehearsed and sharp at this last show, delivering all their hits and newer selections like Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain" with verve and energy. Curiously, they left the stage without doing their standard set ender, "When the Saints Go Marching In," almost if they were saying to the audience, we'll be right back. There have been various versions of the Kingston Trio touring since (most recently George Grove, Bill Zorn and Rick Dougherty have done shows under that name) and a couple of official reunion concerts, but the two editions (Guard's and Stewart's) of the Kingston Trio that racked up all those pop successes didn't make it out of the '60s, the eventful era they helped shape and define with their fresh approach to some wonderful old songs.