Les Baxter's Balladeers were a 1960s folk group formed by band leader

Les Baxter Leslie Thompson "Les" Baxter (March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was a best-selling American musician and composer. After working as an arranger and composer for swing bands, he developed his own style of easy listening music, known as exotica a ...

. They released an album and a few singles during the early 1960s. Some of the musicians to pass through the group were

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

and his brother Ethan ''Chip'' Crosby, Bob Ingram and Phil Campos.

Background

Les Baxter's Balladeers has the distinction of being the very first act to appear at The Golden Bear in Orange County, California. The group was made up of young folk singers. The role of the group was originally intended to make Baxter's act more "in the now". They would perform in the middle of Baxter's band's set. In 1961, their self titled album ''Les Baxter's Balladeers'' was released on the

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

label. The group at that time on the recording were Joyce James, Terrea Lea, Phil Campos, Ernie Sheldon, Paul Potash,

Jerry Yester Jerome Alan Yester (born January 9, 1943) is an American folk rock musician, record producer, and arranger. Biography Yester was born in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, and grew up in Burbank, California. He formed a duo with brother ...

, Michael Kollander and Paul Hansen. The instrumentalists backing them were Allan Reuss on guitar, Mike Storm on 12-string guitar, Jerry Yester on banjo, Tony Reyes on bass and Chico Guerrero on drums. Around 1962, Bobby Ingram and

joined the group. Crosby’s brother Ethan was also a member. They then did a national folk circuit tour. As of September 1963, the group consisted of Bob Ingram, David Crosby, Mike Clough and Ethan Chip Crosby. Later that month along with the

Count Basie Sextet William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Lisa Kirk Lisa Kirk (born Elsie Kirk, February 25, 1925 – November 11, 1990) was an American actress and singer noted for her comic talents and rich contralto (her voice was called a husky alto). Career Born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, she was raise ...

Allan Sherman Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) (Al ...

and

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My Heart", and ...

, they appeared on ''

The Lively Ones The Lively Ones were an instrumental surf rock band from USA, active in Southern California in the 1960s. They played live mostly in California and Arizona. They recorded for Del-Fi records with production from Bob Keane. They recorded mostly cov ...

'', shown on NBC TV. After being the group for a bit and feeling it was a bit too conservative for him, Crosby left and did the rounds on the LA folk circuit. In April 1963, the lineup included Peggy Taylor, Phil Campos, Jerry Yester, Paul Hansen and Ted Botkin. They were appearing at venues like the Carson Nugget. During their time they released an album and appeared on at least 3 singles.Discogs
Les Baxter's Balladeers – Les Baxter's Balladeers
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Discography

Singles

References

{{Authority control American folk musical groups Reprise Records artists