Greenback Dollar: The Incredible Rise of The Kingston Trio

by William J. Bush

How big an act was the Kingston Trio? Big enough that the their first 19 albums not only reached Billboard's Top 100, but 14 of them entered the top 10, with five albums alone hitting the no. 1 spot! At the height of their popularity, the Kingston Trio was arguably the most popular vocal group in the world, having single-handedly ushered in the folk music boom of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Their meteoric rise quite literally paved the way for Bob Dylan; Joan Baez; Peter, Paul & Mary; and the many acts that followed in their wake. With the release of their version of “Tom Dooley” in fall 1958, the Kingston Trio changed American popular music forever, inspiring legions of young listeners to pick up guitars and banjoes and join together in hootenannies and sing-alongs.

In Greenback The Incredible Rise of The Kingston Trio, the first in-depth biography of America’s first recording super-group, William J. Bush retraces the band members’ personal and professional lives, from their rapid rise to stardom to their early retirement in 1967. Through interviews with Trio members, their families, and associates, Bush paints a detailed portrait of the Trio's formative early years and sudden popular success, their innovations in recording technology, pioneering of the college concert and intensive tour schedule, their impact on and response to the ‘60s protest movement, the first break-up of the Trio with Dave Guard’s departure, and its re-formation with John Stewart.

Lovers of folk music and students and scholars of the history of popular music and the music business, the counterculture movement, and the American folk tradition will find in Greenback Dollar a remarkably detailed view of the musical and cultural legacy that resulted in the Kingston Trio receiving a 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

Genres: Music

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2012

Reviews

[Don Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered John Stewart before I knew he had been a member of the Kingston Trio. This book caught me up nicely on a band that's very interesting in its own right: among the most popular in the world until the Beatles changed everything. Written lovingly, but not blindly.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, simply because there's so little information about this group, and I loved listening to them as a kid (my older brother had their records). No, it isn't totally unbiased. The author is obviously a fan and admits to friendships with some members of the Trio. But he makes a good effort to present both sides of the internal conflicts, including the causes of the split of the original Trio.

Like Don Ruiz, I became a big fan of John Stewart's solo music before I realized that he had been part of the trio, and enjoyed learning more about his biography.

It was also interesting just to learn more about the folk scene of the time, and I was fascinated by the descriptions of some of the recording studios and sessions at the time.

[Robyn Marcs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed gaining invaluable insight from one of my favorite groups, but I found myself quickly losing patience every time the author included one of his long lists. He loves listing things, long lists that are unnecessary and distracting from the content. Like artists who recorded at a certain place or songs on a given album. That made me give it 4 stars instead of 5.
Having said that, I loved learning about The Kingston Trio, and that they weren’t all as innocent as I thought they were!

[Maureen Grigsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent biography of the rise and eventual breakup of that amazing group; The Kingston Trio. The book is extraordinarily detailed, so I would consider it a bit of a dense read. That said, I found it very, very interesting!

[Dan Lalande · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed valentine to The Kingston Trio, three clean-cut, semi-bad boys from San Diego and Hawaii whose inspired harmonies and two-chord catalogue accidentally spawned the folk boom of the '60's. The book thoroughly investigates both versions of the Trio: the 1958-61 juggernaut and the 1962-67 follow-up. As a whole, the Trio has been short-changed historically - thanks to the politicization of their audience, who then turned on them for lack of depth - but as this book rightfully points out, if the Trio didn't give the world the content, it gave them the form. A welcome re-affirmation of this seminal outfit's importance!

[Phair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need some time to digest this book. The KT were such a big part of my teen years (my first big obsession) that I have very mixed feelings after reading this. Hope to edit this review at a later date.

[Ted · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not very good. Couldn't finish it..