The Brothers Four

Among ensembles that emerged during the folk revival spanning the close of the 1950s and dawn of the 1960s, the Brothers Four occupy a singular position as one of the most durable, having sustained continuous activity for 43 years by 2001 with two founding members still present—an achievement that may well mark them as history’s longest-running accidental act. Recognition of this longevity remains limited because they belong to a largely overlooked strand within American folk traditions after World War II.

Standard chronicles of the postwar folk surge emphasize the politically charged, topical wing represented by Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan while sidelining the lighter, entertainment-focused wing exemplified by the Kingston Trio, the Chad Mitchell Trio, and the Brothers Four. Although these latter performers achieved strong sales and for years shaped most listeners’ image of “folk music,” they receive scant attention in conventional accounts; the Brothers Four do not even appear in the Guinness Who’s Who of Folk Music.

A widespread but erroneous notion holds that the Brothers Four sought to mirror the Kingston Trio. In reality, Bob Flick (upright bass, baritone, bass), John Paine (guitar, baritone), Mike Kirkland (guitar, banjo, tenor), and Dick Foley (guitar, baritone) first encountered one another as University of Washington undergraduates in 1956 and commenced performing together in 1957—more than a year before the Kingston Trio issued its debut recording. At that time folk music flourished across liberal-arts campuses, each seemingly hosting its own fraternity-sourced trios and quartets. The four men, all Phi Gamma Delta members, initially aimed at medicine, engineering, or diplomacy, yet as amateurs they played capably and pleased campus crowds by harmonizing traditional numbers, novelty pieces, and romantic ballads.

Their entry into professional ranks occurred through sheer happenstance via a fraternity prank. A rival house member prompted a woman to call the singers, posing as the secretary to the manager of Seattle’s Colony Club and summoning them to an audition. Upon arrival they learned no invitation existed, yet the club manager, finding them on site, requested two numbers and promptly booked them. That engagement extended through most of 1958; although compensation sometimes consisted solely of beer, the run proved invaluable, enabling the newly christened Brothers Four to refine their ensemble sound far beyond what sporadic campus appearances would have allowed.

Their timing proved fortuitous. In July 1958 the Kingston Trio’s single “Tom Dooley” began its ascent toward three million copies sold, igniting the broader folk boom. During Easter week of 1959 the Brothers Four relocated to San Francisco in pursuit of stronger engagements and secured a slot at the Hungry I. There Mort Lewis, manager of jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, observed them, urged the submission of a demo tape, and delivered it to Columbia Records. The label responded favorably, granting the quartet both a recording contract and a dedicated manager.

The group reached New York on Independence Day 1959 and devoted subsequent weeks to sharpening material for their first sessions. Their opening single, “Chicka Mucha Hi Di”/“Darlin’ Won’t You Wait,” vanished without impact late in 1959. Success arrived with the follow-up, “Greenfields,” a somber composition written four years earlier by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller of the Easy Riders. The Brothers Four rendition, distinguished by its polished harmonies, appeared early in 1960, entered the charts in February, and climbed to the number-two position across a 20-week Top 40 tenure. Overnight the quartet stood second only to the Kingston Trio and near-contemporaries the Limeliters on the expanding folk scene, securing nationwide concert dates. Their self-titled debut album, released late that winter, also reached the national Top 20.

The third single, “My Tani,” a Hawaiian-inflected folk-pop item issued that spring, attracted modest notice, whereas the fourth, “The Green Leaves of Summer,” markedly expanded their visibility. Although their Columbia-owned soundtrack version from the John Wayne film The Alamo charted only modestly, the group performed the Oscar-nominated song on the 1961 Academy Awards telecast. Their second album, BMOC (Best Music On/Off Campus), issued late in 1961, attained the Top Ten. Those early LPs showcased a broader palette than the singles had yet revealed, balancing somber tracks such as “Greenfields” and “The Green Leaves of Summer” with buoyant selections like “Hard Travellin’” and “I Am a Rovin’ Gambler.”

By then the Brothers Four maintained a rigorous touring calendar of 300 dates annually, extending as far as Japan, while also appearing on variety programs including The Pat Boone Chevy Showcase, Mitch Miller’s Singalong, and the Ed Sullivan Show. The Brothers Four Song Book, released later in 1961, drew upon traditional repertoire, most of it reworked with fresh lyrics by Homer Sunitch or Stuart Gotz. They also charted with “Frogg,” an adaptation of the traditional “Froggy Went a Courtin’” featuring new words by Bob Flick, which reached number 32 in April 1961, and with “Blue Water Line,” which registered in the middle ranks of the Top 100 in early 1962. Two live albums, In Person and Cross-Country Concert, appeared within a single year, documenting the comedic elements woven into their stage shows.

Recognition peaked in 1963 with their recording of “Hootenanny Saturday Night,” the theme for ABC’s Hootenanny series. Though the song itself made limited impact, it supplied weekly national exposure on the principal television outlet for folk music. The program attracted steady viewers from its April 1963 premiere yet endured an 18-month controversy because politically outspoken veterans such as Pete Seeger were barred. That friction foreshadowed deeper divisions soon to fracture both the folk community and the wider society.

Alongside acts such as the Kingston Trio, the Limeliters, the Highwaymen, the Chad Mitchell Trio, and larger ensembles like the New Christy Minstrels and the Serendipity Singers, the Brothers Four continued to draw substantial crowds in 1963. Yet even while Hootenanny aired and bookings remained strong, shifts were underway. Columbia released Freewheelin’, Bob Dylan’s second album, containing original songs addressing civil rights and nuclear peril—an urgent, stripped-down statement that galvanized a more activist audience. Freewheelin’ and its successor, The Times They Are A-Changin’, surfaced precisely as some students began questioning military service obligations and campus recruitment policies.

Dylan’s influence might have prompted incremental evolution within folk circles, yet Peter, Paul & Mary’s summer 1963 hit with his “Blowin’ in the Wind,” coupled with their participation in the March on Washington that culminated in Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, abruptly displaced folk music from its previously apolitical sphere. The New Christy Minstrels largely avoided topical content, but the Serendipity Singers’ 1964 debut incorporated issue-driven material such as “Freedom’s Star” alongside lighter fare like “Mud” and “Boots and Stetsons.”

Dylan’s Guthrie-inflected persona could be viewed as equally stylized as the Brothers Four’s, merely calibrated to different expectations; coexistence might have persisted had the Beatles not arrived in early 1964. The ensuing electric British sound seized airwaves and executive attention, prompting teenagers to favor amplified instruments over acoustic guitars, banjos, and bongos. By year’s end the Brothers Four and similar ensembles were losing younger pop listeners and radio access while facing displacement in folk circles by more politically engaged audiences. Dylan’s 1965 electrification further eroded that shared listenership.

Never having positioned themselves politically, the Brothers Four could not compete in the altered climate. From late 1964 they were consigned to the easy-listening category alongside the Lettermen and Perry Como. Columbia nevertheless continued to value that market, issuing Big Folk Hits and More Big Folk Hits in 1963 and 1964; the group garnered easy-listening airplay with “Try to Remember,” the title track of their subsequent LP. In 1966 they released A Beatles Songbook, acknowledging the British Invasion, which produced the easy-listening hit “If I Fell.” Steady work persisted at domestic hotels and adult-oriented venues, as well as overseas markets less polarized in taste, particularly Japan, where a durable concert and recording following developed.

A New World’s Record, the 1967 Columbia album, marked the final release with the original lineup. Co-founder Mike Kirkland departed in 1969 after his son’s death and was succeeded by Mark Pearson, another University of Washington alumnus whose banjo, 12-string guitar, and piano expanded the instrumental palette. The Columbia association concluded in 1969 with Let’s Get Together; the group moved to Fantasy for a single 1970 LP. Subsequent decades brought further changes: Pearson exited after two years, replaced by Bob Haworth for an 18-year tenure before Pearson returned; Bob Flick took a three-year hiatus in the 1970s filled by Tom Coe on electric bass; Dick Foley retired in 1990 after 31 years and was succeeded by Terry Lauber. Through these transitions and into the twenty-first century the Brothers Four maintained uninterrupted activity. Although domestic record sales dwindled in the 1970s, resort hotels and international engagements sustained full-time employment, much like the reformed Kingston Trio.

In the 1990s the Brothers Four resumed recording for Folk Era, issuing a notable live album from Japan, while Collector's Choice and Collectables Records began reissuing much of their early Columbia catalog on CD.