String Along
Encyclopedia
String Along is an album by The Kingston Trio
, released in 1960 (see 1960 in music
). It was their fifth studio album in a row to reach number one on the Billboard charts
and remained there for ten weeks. String Along received an RIAA gold certification in 1962, a year after Dave Guard
had left the group. It was the last LP
of the Trio to reach the number one spot. Two singles, "Bad Man Blunder" b/w "The Escape of Old John Webb" and "Everglades" b/w "This Mornin', This Evenin', So Soon", were released. Both were the last singles of the "Guard years" Trio to chart, "Bad Man Blunder" the last to reach the Top 40.
"The Escape of Old John Webb" is an old English folk song and was deliberately recorded in an attempt to increase the Trio's popularity in Great Britain.
Dave Guard played Gibson
's first 12-string guitar on this album.
' "Leave My Woman Alone".
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...
, released in 1960 (see 1960 in music
1960 in music
-Events:*January 14 – Elvis Presley is promoted to Sergeant in the U.S. Army*February 6 – Songwriter Jesse Belvin dies in an automobile accident in Los Angeles...
). It was their fifth studio album in a row to reach number one on the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
and remained there for ten weeks. String Along received an RIAA gold certification in 1962, a year after 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....
had left the group. It was the last LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
of the Trio to reach the number one spot. Two singles, "Bad Man Blunder" b/w "The Escape of Old John Webb" and "Everglades" b/w "This Mornin', This Evenin', So Soon", were released. Both were the last singles of the "Guard years" Trio to chart, "Bad Man Blunder" the last to reach the Top 40.
"The Escape of Old John Webb" is an old English folk song and was deliberately recorded in an attempt to increase the Trio's popularity in Great Britain.
Dave Guard played Gibson
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
's first 12-string guitar on this album.
Reception
In his Allmusic review, critic Bruce Eder noted that the album had the most unusual sound compared to previous albums, essentially making it a "quieter album". Eder noted the album "has other highlights and oddities" and singled out Ray CharlesRay Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
' "Leave My Woman Alone".
Reissues
- String Along was reissued in 1992 on CD by Capitol with Sold Out.
- In 1997, all of the tracks from String Along were included in The Guard YearsThe Kingston Trio: The Guard YearsThe Kingston Trio: The Guard Years is a compilation of The Kingston Trio's recordings when Dave Guard was a member of the Trio along with Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds....
10-CD box set issued by Bear Family RecordsBear Family RecordsBear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label that specializes in reissues of archival material ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks.-History:...
. - String Along was reissued in 2001 by Collectors' Choice MusicCollectors' Choice MusicCollectors' Choice Music is a company primarily in two businesses. They are best known for re-issuing albums originally recorded in LP record form as compact discs...
with Sold Out. This reissue has four bonus tracks: alternate versions of "The Tattooed Lady" and "The Hunter" and previously unreleased songs "Home From the Hill" and "Green Grasses".
Side one
- "Bad Man Blunder" (Lee Hays, Cisco HoustonCisco HoustonGilbert Vandine 'Cisco' Houston was an American folk singer and songwriter who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of recording together....
) - "The Escape of Old John Webb" (Tom Drake)
- "When I Was Young" (Jane BowersJane BowersJane Bowers was a Texas folk singer and songwriter best known for her composition "Remember the Alamo". Many of her songs were primarily recorded by The Kingston Trio.-Selected songs:...
, Dave GuardDave GuardDonald 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....
) - "Leave My Woman Alone" (Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
) - "This Mornin', This Evenin', So Soon" (Carl SandburgCarl SandburgCarl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
) - "Everglades" (Harlan HowardHarlan HowardHarlan Perry Howard was a prolific American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote a large number of popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists...
)
Side two
- "Buddy Better Get on Down the Line" (Bowers, Guard)
- "South Wind" (Travis Edmonson)
- "Who's Gonna Hold Her Hand" (Tom Drake, Bob ShaneBob ShaneBob 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...
) - "To Morrow" (Bob GibsonBob Gibson (musician)Samuel Robert Gibson was a folk singer who led a folk music revival in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was known for playing both the banjo and the 12-string guitar. He introduced a then largely unknown Joan Baez at the Newport Folk Festival of 1959. He produced a number of LPs in the decade...
) - "Colorado Trail" (Lee Hays, Carl Sandburg)
- "The Tattooed Lady" (Traditional, Guard, Reynolds, Shane)
Personnel
- Dave GuardDave GuardDonald 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....
– vocals, banjo, guitar - Bob ShaneBob ShaneBob 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...
– vocals, guitar - Nick ReynoldsNick ReynoldsNick 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.- Early life :Growing up in Coronado, California, his...
– vocals, tenor guitar, bongos - David "Buck" Wheat – bass
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Billboard Pop Albums | 1 |