Biography
In 1957 the Tarriers placed "Tom Dooley" on their first album, twelve months before the Kingston Trio turned the number into a blockbuster. Ahead of Harry Belafonte’s interpretation that ignited the calypso wave, the group also issued "The Banana Boat Song" and earned a modest chart placing with it. Although Erik Darling, Alan Arkin, and Bob Carey displayed clear ability, the Tarriers never won acknowledgment for their fresh ideas and never secured a foothold during the folk surge that gathered force in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Darling assembled several ensembles from the early to middle 1950s in an effort to mirror the Weavers’ achievement. One such unit, the Tunetellers, included Bob Carey, Carl Carlton, Al Wood, and Ray Yavneh, yet an unsuccessful engagement at the Circle in the Square Theatre ended the collaboration abruptly. Darling, Carey, and Carlton then regrouped with Alan Arkin and adopted the name of the Irish folk song "Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill." Pete Kameron, formerly the Weavers’ manager, attempted to secure a recording deal for the band, but the major labels expressed no initial interest. The members parted ways and later reunited without Carlton before refining their stage presentation in New York’s Catskill Mountains.
During the autumn of 1956 the Tarriers cut their earliest sides for Glory Records inside a Manhattan studio. Among the results was "The Banana Boat Song," a calypso-flavored number Darling had first encountered through Bob Gibson in Washington Square. Although the track climbed to number four on Billboard, RCA quickly licensed it for Belafonte’s forthcoming album. The group returned to the studio in 1957 to complete tracks for its self-titled debut and offered "Those Brown Eyes," "Pretty Boy," and "Quinto" as subsequent singles. When none of these releases registered on the charts, Glory permitted the one-year agreement to expire.
The Tarriers began a European tour in 1957 that featured multiple appearances at the Olympia Theater in Paris and yielded a live recording on a French imprint. Despite this activity, Arkin chose to exit the lineup and pursue an acting career, with Clarence Cooper stepping in as his replacement. On United Artists the band recorded a second studio album, Hard Travelin’, in 1959, yet the release attracted little attention. Fred Hellerman nevertheless recognized Darling’s skill and invited him to join the Weavers’ upcoming rehearsals. Throughout 1959 Darling divided his time between the two groups until scheduling conflicts forced him to leave the Tarriers.
After Eric Weissberg joined the Tarriers, the group cut Tell the World About This for Atlantic Records. Internal difficulties soon surfaced; Carey grew increasingly unreliable, prompting the addition of Marshall Brickman as a standby performer. In 1963 Carey was dismissed from the ensemble. When Weissberg left for National Guard service in the spring of 1964, the band temporarily ceased operations. Upon his return the members reassembled, bringing in Al Dana to replace Brickman, and in 1965 they accompanied Judy Collins on a tour of Poland and Russia. Following that tour the Tarriers disbanded. Brickman later achieved recognition as a playwright and screenwriter, sharing an Oscar for the Annie Hall script he co-wrote with Woody Allen.
The Tarriers produced several noteworthy folk recordings, yet in multiple respects they anticipated trends that others would later exploit. Subsequent ensembles adopted the group’s song selections and arrangements to greater commercial effect. The participation of Carey and, later, Cooper also introduced a racial diversity uncommon during the revival’s early phase. In 2001 Folk Era reissued the band’s debut album together with additional live material.
Darling assembled several ensembles from the early to middle 1950s in an effort to mirror the Weavers’ achievement. One such unit, the Tunetellers, included Bob Carey, Carl Carlton, Al Wood, and Ray Yavneh, yet an unsuccessful engagement at the Circle in the Square Theatre ended the collaboration abruptly. Darling, Carey, and Carlton then regrouped with Alan Arkin and adopted the name of the Irish folk song "Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill." Pete Kameron, formerly the Weavers’ manager, attempted to secure a recording deal for the band, but the major labels expressed no initial interest. The members parted ways and later reunited without Carlton before refining their stage presentation in New York’s Catskill Mountains.
During the autumn of 1956 the Tarriers cut their earliest sides for Glory Records inside a Manhattan studio. Among the results was "The Banana Boat Song," a calypso-flavored number Darling had first encountered through Bob Gibson in Washington Square. Although the track climbed to number four on Billboard, RCA quickly licensed it for Belafonte’s forthcoming album. The group returned to the studio in 1957 to complete tracks for its self-titled debut and offered "Those Brown Eyes," "Pretty Boy," and "Quinto" as subsequent singles. When none of these releases registered on the charts, Glory permitted the one-year agreement to expire.
The Tarriers began a European tour in 1957 that featured multiple appearances at the Olympia Theater in Paris and yielded a live recording on a French imprint. Despite this activity, Arkin chose to exit the lineup and pursue an acting career, with Clarence Cooper stepping in as his replacement. On United Artists the band recorded a second studio album, Hard Travelin’, in 1959, yet the release attracted little attention. Fred Hellerman nevertheless recognized Darling’s skill and invited him to join the Weavers’ upcoming rehearsals. Throughout 1959 Darling divided his time between the two groups until scheduling conflicts forced him to leave the Tarriers.
After Eric Weissberg joined the Tarriers, the group cut Tell the World About This for Atlantic Records. Internal difficulties soon surfaced; Carey grew increasingly unreliable, prompting the addition of Marshall Brickman as a standby performer. In 1963 Carey was dismissed from the ensemble. When Weissberg left for National Guard service in the spring of 1964, the band temporarily ceased operations. Upon his return the members reassembled, bringing in Al Dana to replace Brickman, and in 1965 they accompanied Judy Collins on a tour of Poland and Russia. Following that tour the Tarriers disbanded. Brickman later achieved recognition as a playwright and screenwriter, sharing an Oscar for the Annie Hall script he co-wrote with Woody Allen.
The Tarriers produced several noteworthy folk recordings, yet in multiple respects they anticipated trends that others would later exploit. Subsequent ensembles adopted the group’s song selections and arrangements to greater commercial effect. The participation of Carey and, later, Cooper also introduced a racial diversity uncommon during the revival’s early phase. In 2001 Folk Era reissued the band’s debut album together with additional live material.
Albums