The Brothers Four is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

folk singing group, founded in 1957 in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, Washington, and known for their 1960 hit song "Greenfields."

History

Bob Flick, John Paine, Mike Kirkland, and Dick Foley met at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

, where they were members of the

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Washington & Jefferson College, Jefferson C ...

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternit ...

in 1956 (hence the "Brothers" appellation). Their first professional performances were the result of a prank played on them in 1958 by a rival fraternity, who had arranged for someone to call them, pretend to be from Seattle's Colony Club, and invite them to come down to audition for a gig. Even though they were not expected at the club, they were allowed to sing a few songs and were subsequently hired. Flick recalls them being paid "mostly in beer". They left for

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

in 1959, where they met Mort Lewis,

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

's manager. Lewis became their manager and later that year secured them a contract with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

. Their second single, "Greenfields", released in January 1960, hit No. 2 on the pop chart, sold over one million copies and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. Their first album, ''Brothers Four'', released toward the end of the year, made the top 20. Other highlights of their early career included singing their fourth single, "

The Green Leaves of Summer "The Green Leaves of Summer" is a song by Paul Francis Webster, with music by Dimitri Tiomkin, written for the 1960 film '' The Alamo''. It was performed in the film's score by the vocal group The Brothers Four. In 1961, the song was nominated for ...

", from the

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...

movie ''

The Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Ant ...

'', at the 1961

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, and having their third album, ''BMOC/Best Music On/Off Campus'', go top 10. They also recorded the title song for the Hollywood film ''

Five Weeks in a Balloon ''Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, A Journey of Discovery by Three Englishmen in Africa'' (french: Cinq semaines en ballon) is an adventure novel by Jules Verne, published in 1863. It is the first novel in which he perfected the "ingredients" of hi ...

'' in 1962 and the theme song for the ABC television series ''

Hootenanny A hootenanny is a party involving music in the United States. It is particularly associated with folk music. Etymology Placeholder Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in the early twentieth century U.S. as a placeholder nam ...

'', "Hootenanny Saturday Night", in 1963. They also gave "

Sloop John B "Sloop John B" (originally published as "The John B. Sails") is a Bahamian folk song from Nassau. A transcription by Richard Le Gallienne was published in 1916, and a version was included in Carl Sandburg's ''The American Songbag'' in 1927. Since ...

" a try, released as "The John B Sails". The

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" o ...

and the ascendance of edgier

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

musicians such as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

put an end to the Brothers Four's early period of success, but they kept performing and making records, doing particularly well in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

and on the American hotel circuit. The group, with Jerry Dennon, built a radio station in

Seaside, Oregon Seaside is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The name Seaside is derived from ''Seaside House'', a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay. The city's population ...

( KSWB) in 1968. The station was subsequently sold in 1972 to a group from Montana, and later to a self-proclaimed minister, and finally merged into a larger conglomerate of radio stations. The group attempted a comeback by recording a highly commercial version of Dylan's " Mr. Tambourine Man", but were unable to release it due to licensing issues, and

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole con ...

eventually stole their thunder by releasing their heralded version. Mike Kirkland left the group in 1969 and was replaced by Mark Pearson, another University of Washington alumnus. In 1971, Pearson left and was replaced by Bob Haworth, who stayed until 1985 and was replaced by a returning Pearson. Dick Foley left the group in 1990 and was replaced by Terry Lauber. Despite all the changes and having spent years in the business, the group is still active. Mike Kirkland died of cancer on August 20, 2020, at age 82.

Selected discography

Albums

*1960 ''The Brothers Four'' –

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

No. 11 *1960 ''Rally 'Round!'' *1961 ''B.M.O.C. (Best Music On/Off Campus)'' – US No. 4 *1961 ''Roamin' with the Brothers IV'' *1961 ''The Brothers Four Song Book'' – US No. 71 *1962 ''The Brothers Four: In Person'' – Columbia 360 Sound CS-8628 - US No. 102 *1962 ''The Brothers Four Greatest Hits'' *1963 ''Cross-Country Concert'' – US No. 81 *1963 ''The Big Folk Hits'' – US No. 56 *1964 ''More Big Folk Hits'' – US No. 134 *1964 ''Sing of Our Times'' *1965 ''The Honey Wind Blows'' – US No. 118 *1965 ''By Special Request'' *1966 ''Try to Remember'' – US No. 76 *1966 ''A Beatles' Songbook (The Brothers Four sing Lennon/McCartney)'' – US No. 97 *1966 ''Merry Christmas'' *1967 ''A New World's Record'' *1969 ''Let's Get Together'' *1970 ''1970'' *1996 ''Greenfields & Other Gold'' – new studio recording *1996 ''The Tokyo Tapes - 35th Anniversary'' – live cd *2010 ''Golden (50th) Anniversary'' – live cd *2014 ''Beautiful World'' – new studio and live cd *2018 ''The Very Best of the Brothers Four: Renewal''

Singles

References

External links