This Group Best Represents the Urban Folk Music of the Early 1950s
This Group Best Represents the Urban Folk Music of the Early 1950s
The early 1950s saw the rise of a new kind of music: urban folk. This music was a blend of traditional folk music and the new sounds of the city, and it quickly became popular among young people.
The Weavers were one of the most successful urban folk groups of the time, and their music is still popular today. If you’re a fan of the early urban folk sound, this
The Weavers
The Weavers were an American folk music singing group founded in 1948. They are known for popularizing many traditional folk songs, such as “On Top of Old Smokey” and “Kisses Sweeter than Wine”. The Weavers were influential in the development of the urban folk music scene of the early 1950s.
Formed in 1948
The Weavers were an urban folk music group formed in 1948 in New York City. They were one of the most commercially successful and influential folk groups of the 1950s. The group’s repertoire included folk, blues, gospel, and children’s songs. Their biggest hit was their recording of Lead Belly’s “Goodnight, Irene”, which sold over two million copies and was a #1 hit for 13 weeks in 1950.
Members included Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet founded in 1948 by Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. They were one of the most commercially successful and influential folk groups of the 1950s. The group’s repertoire included traditional folk songs, gospel music, blues, and labor songs, as well as modern pop tunes.
The Weavers’ rise to prominence came quickly, fueled by their hit recording of Lead Belly’s “Goodnight, Irene”, which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. The group was blacklisted during the Red Scare of the early 1950s, but still managed to have several hit records during that time. Despite their success, the group was forced to disband in 1952 when Hays and Seeger were convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions from the House Un-American Activities Committee.
The Weavers reformed in 1955 and continued to record and perform until they disbanded again in 1964. Although they never regained their earlier commercial success, they remained an influential force in the folk music scene and inspired a new generation of folk musicians with their traditional repertoire and left-wing political views.
Had a top ten hit with their cover of Lead Belly’s “Goodnight, Irene”
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. They founded the folk music revival movement and were its primary representatives in the early 1950s. The group’s repertoire consisted mostly of traditional folk songs and material written by member Pete Seeger, though their most successful and best-known hit was their 1950 recording of Lead Belly’s “Goodnight, Irene”, which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. The Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era.
The Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio was a folk group from San Francisco, California, United States that helped launch the folk music revivals of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The group’s name came from a restaurant called the Kingston Cafe, which was located near where they used to rehearse in San Francisco. The Trio’s first album was released in 1957 and included the song “Tom Dooley”, which became a #1 hit in 1958.
Formed in 1957
The Kingston Trio was an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with a lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds. It rose to national prominence while still working as an evenings-and-weekends club act when it became one of the first musical groups signed to John Hammond’s newly formed Compass Records label in 1957. The Kingston Trio’s first release on the new label, Tom Dooley, became a number-one hit in 1958 and was certified gold in 2008.
Members included Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds
The Kingston Trio was an American folk and popular music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with a lineup of Guard, Shane, and Reynolds. They recorded their first album, The Kingston Trio, in 1957.
The Trio was not particularly interested in writing their own material, and apart from a handful of originals penned by Shane, they focused on interpretations of traditional folk songs and contemporary hits. Nevertheless, the Kingston Trio’s recordings were among the most popular of the late 1950s pop music boom—nine of their LPs reached the Billboard magazine Top Ten between 1958 and 1961. At the time, they rivaled such artists as Perry Como, Benny Goodman, and Frank Sinatra in record sales.
The group’s success continued into 1963; however creative tensions within the trio led to Guard’s departure in early 1964 to form a new group called Whiskeyhill Singers. He was replaced by John Stewart, who wrote many of the band’s most successful singles including “Greenback Dollar”. The Kingston Trio continued as a successful touring act until Reynolds’ retirement in 1967; Shane and Stewart carried on until 1969 when they finally disbanded.
Had a number one hit with their cover of “Tom Dooley”
The Kingston Trio was an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to early 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with a lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds. It rose to national prominence after signing with Capitol Records in 1957. The trio was formed in Palo Alto, California, in June 1957 by Bob Shane, Dave Guard, and Nick Reynolds. All three attended Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California; they met while singing together in a high school graduation sing-along on June 14 of that year.
The Limeliters
In the early 1950’s, a new type of music was beginning to take shape. This music was a blend of folk, jazz, and blues, and it would come to be known as urban folk music. The Limeliters were a group that best represented this new genre of music.
Formed in 1959
The Limeliters formed in 1959 with founding members Alex Hassilev, Glenn Yarbrough, and Lou Gottlieb. The group was created out of a shared love of harmony singing. All three members had experience singing in vocal groups (Hassilev and Gottlieb having sung together in the folk group the Hootenanny Singers and Yarbrough having been a member of the folk-pop group the Highwaymen), and they were all accomplished musicians (Hassilev playing banjo and guitar, Gottlieb playing double bass, and Yarbrough playing guitar).
Members included Lou Gottlieb, Glenn Yarbrough, and Alex Hassilev
In the early 1950s, several young musicians in the San Francisco area became interested in reviving the music of rural America from the early 20th century. This music had been mostly forgotten in the years since World War II. The musicians – who would come to be known as The Limeliters – began to perform songs that had been popular in the 1910s, ‘20s, and ‘30s. They sang these songs in a style that was similar to the way they had been originally performed, but with a few modern twists.
The Limeliters were made up of three members: Lou Gottlieb, Glenn Yarbrough, and Alex Hassilev. Gottlieb was a classically trained musician who had played upright bass with various jazz and folk groups. Yarbrough was a self-taught singer and guitar player who had been performing folk music since he was a teenager. Hassilev was a folksinger who had learned many of his songs from his mother, who was originally from Eastern Europe.
The group’s harmonies were tight and their voices blended together beautifully. They quickly gained popularity with audiences around the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1961, they released their first album, The Limeliters, which featured some of their most popular songs, including “Down by the Riverside” and “This Train.”
The Limeliters continued to perform and record together for more than two decades. They were one of the most popular folk groups of their time and helped to inspire a new generation of folk singers, including Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.
Had a top ten hit with their cover of “Auld Lang Syne”
The Limeliters are an American folk music group who reached the height of their popularity in the early 1960s. The group was formed in 1959 by Lou Gottlieb, Glenn Yarbrough, and Alex Hassilev. All three members were accomplished folk singers with experience in singing and performing a cappella music. Gottlieb and Hassilev had been members of the Highwaymen, another successful folk group of the 1950s.
