The influence of The Kingston Trio on American music is well documented. In the “All Music Guide,” music critic Bruce Eder states,

“In the history of popular music, there are a relative handful of performers who have redefined the content of the music at critical points in history—people whose music left the landscape, and definition of popular music, altered completely. The Kingston Trio were one such group, transforming folk music into a hot commodity and creating a demand where none had existed before…from 1957 until 1963, the Kingston Trio were the most vital and popular folk group in the world…”

As founding Kingston Trio member Bob Shane, told “Original American Country” from his home in Phoenix, “we did four albums a year and toured 280 days a year…nobody’s ever heard of that since then …we didn’t call ourselves folk singers. We were just guys having a good time chasing chicks, you know (laughs). They didn’t have a folk-singing category the first year of the Grammy’s…they wanted to give us a Grammy for ‘Tom Dooley’…so they used us to help Country Music out. We won the first Grammy ever given for best country and western presentation that year.”

Shane recently came off the road after nearly a half century of performing with The Kingston Trio. Yet the legendary American music treasure he founded over fifty years ago continues touring nationwide.

Bob Shane leads The Kingston Trio onstage at the historic Community Arts Center during the band’s most recent performance in Williamsport, PA, 14 March 2003.


The Kingston Trio featuring George Grove and original founding members Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds perform at The Kirby Center, Scranton, PA. Reynolds passed away in 2008.


Fifty years ago with the release of their fourth album, “Here We Go Again,” in October 1959, The Kingston Trio took command of Billboard’s Album Charts by placing four albums in their Top Ten – a feat never achieved before or since – even by The Beatles.


The Front Porch Country Band released their fourth album, containing 15 original new recordings, “Here We Go Again,” in October 2009, their first full-length studio album since returning from a world tour of China. The album is titled as a tribute to The Kingston Trio’s release fifty years earlier.

Following Williams’ untimely death just after midnight on New Year’s Day 1953 – he was only 29 – “Your Cheatin’ Heart” shot to Number One on the country music charts. Although cut down early in life by his struggles with alcohol, Williams’ legend has only grown since then. His influence on country music continues to be so far-reaching that this song received a Grammy 30 years later, and today his story has grown to mythic status among his millions of country fans.

Campbell’s recording of another of his many Jimmy Webb-penned monster hits was a definitive moment for this celebrated country singer and television & movie entertainer. In 1968, the song won Academy of Country Music Awards Song of The Year and made Campbell CMA Entertainer of The Year. The song has since lent its beautiful melody and moving lyrics to over 50 recordings by country, pop and R&B artists such as Ray Charles.

The band that is known mostly for backing famous singing cowboy and actor Roy Rogers produced this country-western tune which crossed over and delighted C&W fans and non-fans alike. Songwriter and band member Bob Nolan was born in Canada, but spent his teen years in Arizona, inspiring this classically western tune, written in 1934.

The haunting ballad from the legendary musical act usually credited with launching America’s folk music revival. This chart-topping 1958 release sold over 3 million records to earn the very first Grammy ever awarded for Country Western, helping to rekindle America’s interest in country music during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.

Faith Hill’s first Platinum hit, this Chapman-Lerner-Roboff song broke her out of the pack, establishing her as a cross-over powerhouse adored for her music, personality, and beauty by country and pop fans alike. The striking video (Steven Goldmann) only reinforced her popularity, and earned Video of the Year at the 1998 CMA Awards.

This blockbuster rocketed Rogers to worldwide fame while also igniting one of Nashville’s hottest song writing careers. The song won the 1978 Grammy for Song of The Year and became Rogers’ theme for years to come, even inspiring a string of popular made-for-network-television movies of the same name also starring Rogers. Songwriter Don Schlitz went on to become one of the most successful songwriters of his generation.

It seems as though one of our featured artists The Front Porch Country Band have gotten the attention of some editors of the site NewTeeVee.com. The editors give a funny “simulcast” review of the video which is quite insightful and overall positive. They raise a good question:

Sometimes, it takes a pair of trained online video watchers to figure out what’s happening in a new viral short. And Jill Weinberger and Liz Shannon Miller are occasionally up to the task. In today’s Station Conversation, they tackle the Front Porch Band’s I Believe Campaign, a music video about politics… But whose politics, exactly? – NewTeeVee.com

Let them know what you think, just follow the link below.
http://station.newteevee.com/show/ibelievecampaign/

It seemed radios never stopped playing this huge cross-over hit during the summer of 1979. Co-written by Daniels, his electrifying fiddle solos and the song’s intrinsic story line captivated music fans and audiences of every music style. The landmark single went on down the road to Gold as the album went triple Platinum.