Nick Reynolds
Encyclopedia
Nick Reynolds was an American folk musician and recording artist. Reynolds was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio
, whose largely folk-based material captured international attention during the late fifties and early sixties.
, California, his passions as a boy growing up were tennis, skin-diving and singing with his family. His father, a Navy captain, was an avid guitar player who brought back songs from his travels around the world. He taught Nick the guitar and ukulele, and the family spent many nights singing and harmonizing for pure enjoyment. Nick enrolled in Menlo College in 1954 as a business major, and met Bob Shane
in an accounting class. They soon started hanging out, drinking, and chasing women together, and this, in turn, led to playing music, initially as a way of being popular at parties — Shane's guitar and Reynolds' bongos
became a fixture at local frat gatherings, and after a few weeks of this, Shane introduced Reynolds to Dave Guard
.
, but carried the concept of a folk-group, especially one featuring a guitar/banjo combination, further into the mainstream of mid-to-late 50's popular music. In turn, the Trio became an early inspiration to countless groups, including The Beach Boys
— whose striped shirts, on their first album cover, intentionally emulated what the Kingston Trio wore — and Peter, Paul and Mary
— who owe their fundamental concept as a mainstream, folk/pop group, to its originators, The Kingston Trio and The Weavers.
Shane returned to Hawaii for a time to work for his father's sporting goods company. Guard and Reynolds began playing with Joe Gannon on bass and singer Barbara Bogue, and became Dave Guard
& the Calypsonians. Reynolds then left for a time following his graduation and was replaced by Don McArthur in a group that was known as the Kingston Quartet, and in a resulting shuffle, Reynolds and Shane (back all the way from Hawaii) returned to the group, now rechristened the Kingston Trio. Their initial approach to music was determined by the skills that each member brought to the trio — Nick Reynolds sang a third above the melody and played tenor guitar
, as well as bongos and a conga drum
. Reynolds provided the group with an ebullient vocal style, superb harmonizing, and an ability to convey tender lyrics with a touching intimacy.
The trio disbanded in 1967 but was revived in 1969 as "The New Kingston Trio" under the direction of original member Bob Shane
. It continues to the present under its original name, although Shane retired from performing in 2004. When the Trio disbanded, Reynolds moved to Oregon where he spent twenty years ranching and raising 4 children.
When the group disbanded, Reynolds returned to motor racing, which he had first tried as a novice in the early 1950s. He helped finance Nade Bourgeault operation in Mill Valley, California and raced the Bourgeault Formula C car in the Northern Pacific Division of the SCCA in 1967, finishing second in the divisional championship. He moved up to Formula B in 1968 with a Brabham BT21 and was again second in the Divisional title.
In 1981 the Trio reunited, featuring Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds, Dave Guard, John Stewart, George Grove, Roger Gambill. A PBS Reunion Special DVD was recorded, hosted by Tommy Smothers and featuring special guest Mary Travers
. In 1983, Nick Reynolds (known within the group as "Budgie") collaborated with John Stewart and Lindsey Buckingham
on a new album/CD Revenge of the Budgie
with seven new recordings.
In the mid-eighties Reynolds moved back to California and rejoined the Trio from 1988 through 1999. He retired for the second time in December, 1999. Folk Music Archives interviewed the Trio in San Antonio and New York City when Nick Reynolds performed in his last show with the group during a concert with the San Antonio Symphony.
Reynolds lived the last years of his life comfortably in Coronado, California
with his wife Leslie. For eight years, he joined John Stewart to do a “Trio” fantasy camp in Scottsdale, Arizona
. In addition to sharing a dinner with a question-and-answer session, campers joined Reynolds and Stewart on stage to perform a song, becoming for that one moment a member of a fantasy "Kingston Trio."
Nick Reynolds died on October 1, 2008, in San Diego, California from acute
respiratory disease
.
The Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio is 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 an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
, whose largely folk-based material captured international attention during the late fifties and early sixties.
Early life
Growing up in CoronadoCoronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
, California, his passions as a boy growing up were tennis, skin-diving and singing with his family. His father, a Navy captain, was an avid guitar player who brought back songs from his travels around the world. He taught Nick the guitar and ukulele, and the family spent many nights singing and harmonizing for pure enjoyment. Nick enrolled in Menlo College in 1954 as a business major, and met Bob Shane
Bob Shane
Bob Shane is an American singer and guitarist and, with Nick Reynolds' passing in October 2008, the only surviving founding member of The Kingston Trio. In that capacity, Shane became a seminal figure in the revival of folk and other acoustic music as a popular art form in the U.S...
in an accounting class. They soon started hanging out, drinking, and chasing women together, and this, in turn, led to playing music, initially as a way of being popular at parties — Shane's guitar and Reynolds' bongos
Bongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
became a fixture at local frat gatherings, and after a few weeks of this, Shane introduced Reynolds to Dave Guard
Dave Guard
Donald David "Dave" Guard was an American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio.Guard was educated in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Punahou School in what was then the pre-statehood U.S....
.
Career
"The Kingston Trio" was certainly largely inspired by The WeaversThe Weavers
The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. They sang traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as blues, gospel music, children's songs, labor songs, and American ballads, and selling millions of records at the height of their...
, but carried the concept of a folk-group, especially one featuring a guitar/banjo combination, further into the mainstream of mid-to-late 50's popular music. In turn, the Trio became an early inspiration to countless groups, including The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
— whose striped shirts, on their first album cover, intentionally emulated what the Kingston Trio wore — and Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
— who owe their fundamental concept as a mainstream, folk/pop group, to its originators, The Kingston Trio and The Weavers.
Shane returned to Hawaii for a time to work for his father's sporting goods company. Guard and Reynolds began playing with Joe Gannon on bass and singer Barbara Bogue, and became Dave Guard
Dave Guard
Donald David "Dave" Guard was an American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio.Guard was educated in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Punahou School in what was then the pre-statehood U.S....
& the Calypsonians. Reynolds then left for a time following his graduation and was replaced by Don McArthur in a group that was known as the Kingston Quartet, and in a resulting shuffle, Reynolds and Shane (back all the way from Hawaii) returned to the group, now rechristened the Kingston Trio. Their initial approach to music was determined by the skills that each member brought to the trio — Nick Reynolds sang a third above the melody and played tenor guitar
Tenor guitar
1932 Martin 0-18 T Sunburst Tenor Guitar|thumb|rightThe tenor guitar or four-string guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string relative of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. The instrument was developed so that players of the four-string tenor banjo could double on the guitar...
, as well as bongos and a conga drum
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
. Reynolds provided the group with an ebullient vocal style, superb harmonizing, and an ability to convey tender lyrics with a touching intimacy.
The trio disbanded in 1967 but was revived in 1969 as "The New Kingston Trio" under the direction of original member Bob Shane
Bob Shane
Bob Shane is an American singer and guitarist and, with Nick Reynolds' passing in October 2008, the only surviving founding member of The Kingston Trio. In that capacity, Shane became a seminal figure in the revival of folk and other acoustic music as a popular art form in the U.S...
. It continues to the present under its original name, although Shane retired from performing in 2004. When the Trio disbanded, Reynolds moved to Oregon where he spent twenty years ranching and raising 4 children.
When the group disbanded, Reynolds returned to motor racing, which he had first tried as a novice in the early 1950s. He helped finance Nade Bourgeault operation in Mill Valley, California and raced the Bourgeault Formula C car in the Northern Pacific Division of the SCCA in 1967, finishing second in the divisional championship. He moved up to Formula B in 1968 with a Brabham BT21 and was again second in the Divisional title.
In 1981 the Trio reunited, featuring Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds, Dave Guard, John Stewart, George Grove, Roger Gambill. A PBS Reunion Special DVD was recorded, hosted by Tommy Smothers and featuring special guest Mary Travers
Mary Travers (singer)
Mary Allin Travers was an American singer-songwriter and member of the folk music group Peter, Paul and Mary, along with Peter Yarrow and Noel Stookey...
. In 1983, Nick Reynolds (known within the group as "Budgie") collaborated with John Stewart and Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Adams Buckingham is an American guitarist, singer, composer and producer, most notable for being the guitarist and male lead singer of the musical group Fleetwood Mac. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released six solo albums and a live album...
on a new album/CD Revenge of the Budgie
Revenge of the Budgie
Revenge of The Budgie is an album released in 1983 by Nick Reynolds and John Stewart, both former members of the Kingston Trio.This album was later made available as songs 11 through 17, combined with the Trio Years cassette in 1993 on a CD by Folk Era, called Chilly Winds.-Track listing:All...
with seven new recordings.
In the mid-eighties Reynolds moved back to California and rejoined the Trio from 1988 through 1999. He retired for the second time in December, 1999. Folk Music Archives interviewed the Trio in San Antonio and New York City when Nick Reynolds performed in his last show with the group during a concert with the San Antonio Symphony.
Reynolds lived the last years of his life comfortably in Coronado, California
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
with his wife Leslie. For eight years, he joined John Stewart to do a “Trio” fantasy camp in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
. In addition to sharing a dinner with a question-and-answer session, campers joined Reynolds and Stewart on stage to perform a song, becoming for that one moment a member of a fantasy "Kingston Trio."
Nick Reynolds died on October 1, 2008, in San Diego, California from acute
Acute (medicine)
In medicine, an acute disease is a disease with either or both of:# a rapid onset, as in acute infection# a short course ....
respiratory disease
Respiratory disease
Respiratory disease is a medical term that encompasses pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange possible in higher organisms, and includes conditions of the upper respiratory tract, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleura and pleural cavity, and the...
.
