New Christy Minstrels Biography
Randy Sparks (29 July 1933, Leavenworth, Kansas, USA), formed this commercialized folk group in 1961. Determined to create a unit that was "a compromise between the Norman Luboff Choir and the Kingston Trio', he added a popular Oregon quartet, the Fairmount Singers, to his own Randy Sparks Three. A third unit, the Inn Group, which featured Jerry Yester, was absorbed into the line-up, while other Los Angeles-based performers embellished these core acts. Fourteen singers made up the original New Christy Minstrels but although the ensemble was viewed as supplementary to the participants' other careers, interest in the group's debut Presenting The New Christy Minstrels, led to it becoming a full-time venture. Most of these early recruits, including the entire Inn Group, abandoned Sparks" creation at this point, creating the need for further, wholesale changes. New recruits, including Barry McGuire, Barry Kane and Larry Ramos, joined the Minstrels whose next release, In Person, documented a successful appearance at the famed Troubador club. The following year (1963) the group secured its first hit single with "Green Green", which established the ensemble as a leading popular attraction.
The group, however, remained volatile as members continued to come and go. Gene Clark (b. Harold Eugene Clark, 17 November 1944, Tipton, Missouri, USA, d. 24 May 1991, Sherman Oaks, California, USA) disbanded his Kansas-based trio, the Surf Riders, in order to join the New Christy Minstrels, but left after a matter of months, frustrated at the rather conservative material the ensemble recorded. He went on to co-found the Byrds. Randy Sparks ended his relationship with the group in the summer of 1964. Maligned for creating their MOR image, his departure did not result in the more daring direction several members wished to pursue. McGuire, who was increasingly unhappy with such material as "Three Wheels On My Wagon" and "Chim Chim Cheree", left the group after seeing several British groups perform during the Minstrels European tour that year. His gravelly rasp was soon heard on his solo international protest hit, "Eve Of Destruction". In 1966 Larry Ramos accepted an invitation to join the Association and although several excellent new vocalists, including Kim Carnes and Kenny Rogers (b. Kenneth Donald Rogers, 21 August 1938, Houston, Texas, USA), had been absorbed into the Minstrels, their influential days were over. Long-standing members Mike Settle (b. 20 March 1941, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA) and Terry Williams (b. 6 June 1947, Hollywood, California, USA) left when their new ideas were constantly rejected. They formed the First Edition with the equally ambitious Rogers, and subsequently enjoyed the kind of success the parent group previously experienced. Although the New Christy Minstrels continue to exist in some form, singing early hits, show tunes and standards, their halcyon days ended during the mid-60s.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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