Reynolds, Nick

▪ 2009

Nicholas Wells Reynolds 

      American musician

born July 27, 1933, San Diego, Calif.

died Oct. 1, 2008, San Diego

with Bob Shane and Dave Guard, was a founding member in 1957 of the Kingston Trio, the group that helped spark the folk music revival of the 1960s. Reynolds played guitar and often contributed bongo and other percussion to the songs. With a repertoire that drew on traditional folk material but eschewed the left-wing sympathies typical of many American folk performers in the first half of the 20th century, the trio conveyed the lighthearted optimism of mainstream Americans at the onset of the 1960s. The trio, with their tight harmonies and clean-cut image, scored a breakthrough hit with the song “Tom Dooley” (1958), which earned them their first Grammy Award for best country and western performance (folk music was not a category). That song was followed by such hit singles as “M.T.A.,” “A Worried Man,” and “The Wanderer” and a series of chart-topping albums—including Kingston Trio at Large (1959; which won a Grammy), Here We Go Again (1959), and String Along (1960); 13 of the trio's albums reached the Top 10. In 1961 Guard left the group and was replaced by singer-songwriter John Stewart (Stewart, John Coburn ) (q.v.). Though the group was debunked by “serious” folk musicians, its commercial success paved the way for record-industry and audience acceptance of folk performers such as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul and Mary. As the social and political landscape changed, the trio's popularity waned; the group disbanded in 1967. Reynolds later made a comeback, performing with Stewart in 1983 and joining with Shane in the 1990s to revive the Kingston Trio.

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