The Chad Mitchell Trio

The Chad Mitchell Trio, later known as The Mitchell Trio, were an American vocal group whose peak years were during the 1960s. They performed traditional folk songs and some of John Denver's early songs. They were particularly notable for performing satirical songs that criticized current events during the time of the Cold War, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War.

As Chad Mitchell Trio (1958–1965)

The original group was formed in 1958 by William Chadbourne "Chad" Mitchell (from Portland, Oregon, born December 5, 1936), Mike Kobluk (from Trail, British Columbia, Canada, born December 10, 1937), and Mike Pugh (from Pasco, Washington) when they were students and glee club members at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, United States. They were encouraged by Spokane Catholic priest Reinard W. Beaver, who invited the three to travel with him to New York City in the summer of 1959 and to try performing in the burgeoning folk-music scene.

The key people who helped the trio were musical arranger Milton Okun and star performer/singer Harry Belafonte. Okun provided a professional polish to their performing skills, which helped them gain both a key booking at New York City's Blue Angel club and radio appearances with Arthur Godfrey and television appearances with Pat Boone. Belafonte featured the group in his May 1960 Carnegie Hall concert and signed them to his Belafonte Enterprises management firm.

In the summer of 1960, Pugh left the group to return to college. to replace Pugh.

After recording mostly conventional folk songs, the trio released a then-daring satire of the John Birch Society, which established their ability to perform more controversial material. Their departure from Belafonte Enterprises in 1962, followed by their move to Mercury Records in 1963, gave them more freedom to add aggressively political songs to their body of folk, love, and world-music songs. They appeared on a variety of American TV shows, including The Bell Telephone Hour and Hootenanny.

Personnel changes and renaming (1965–1969)

Mitchell left the trio in 1965 to embark on a solo singing career. "With God On Our Side", "Mr. Tambourine Man").

The Mitchell Trio also did the first major recording of John Denver's later hit "For Baby (For Bobbi)" and also handled his "Leaving on a Jet Plane". Their final album offered a soft, harmonized version of The Beatles' "She Loves You". Kobluk's solo vocal on Ewan MacColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" pre-dated the Roberta Flack major hit version by several years.

Influence and legacy

Johnny Cash cited their version of "Four Strong Winds" as a stylistic influence and included it on his Artist's Choice album of favorites. The 2003 mockumentary A Mighty Wind featured The Folksmen, a group described "as a more leftish variation on the Chad Mitchell Trio."

Discography

Albums

Chad Mitchell, Mike Kobluk, Mike Pugh:

The Chad Mitchell Trio (Colpix, 1959; reissued 1964 as The Chad Mitchell Trio Arrives!)
In Concert - Everybody's Listening (Colpix, 1964; pre-1960 recordings of the Trio on Side One only, with Side Two featuring "The Gatemen")

Chad Mitchell, Mike Kobluk, Joe Frazier:

Mighty Day on Campus (Kapp, 1961) No. 39
At the Bitter End (Kapp, 1962) No. 81
In Action (Kapp, 1962; re-issued as Blowin' in the Wind) No. 87
The Best Of (Kapp, 1963) No. 63
Singin' Our Mind (Mercury, 1963) No. 39
Reflecting (Mercury, 1964) No. 29
Slightly Irreverent (Mercury, 1964) No. 128
Typical American Boys (Mercury, 1965) No. 130
The George Bush Society (No Label, 2008)

Mike Kobluk, Joe Frazier, John Denver:

That's the Way It's Gonna Be (Mercury, Aug 1965)
Violets of Dawn (Mercury, Dec 1965)
Beginnings (Mercury, 1974) sub-titled, John Denver with the Mitchell Trio

Mike Kobluk, John Denver, David Boise:

Alive! (Reprise, 1967; final album of 'original' career)

Chad Mitchell solo

Chad Mitchell/Himself (Warner Bros., 1966)
Love, A Feeling Of (Warner Bros., 1967)
Chad (Bell, 1969)
Virgo Moon (Silver City, 1991)

Reunion albums:

Mighty Day; The Chad Mitchell Trio Reunion (Folk Era, 1994)
The Chad Mitchell Reunion... Part 2 (Folk Era, 1997)

Singles

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"|Year

! width="400" rowspan="2"| Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated

! colspan="2"|Chart positions

! rowspan="2"|Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! width="40"| US

! width="40"| US AC

|rowspan="2"|1959

|align="left"|"Sally Ann" b/w "Vaya Con Dios" (non-album track)

|align="center"|

|align="left" rowspan="5"|The Chad Mitchell Trio Arrives!

|align="left"|"Up on the Mountain" b/w "Walkin' on Green Grass"

|align="center"|

|rowspan="3"|1960

|align="left"|"I Do Adore Her" b/w "Gallows Tree"

|align="center"|

|align="left"|"Pretty Saro" b/w "The Ballad of Herbie Spear" (non-album track)

|align="center"|

|align="left"|"Paddy West" b/w "The Devil Road" (non-album track)

|align="center"|

|rowspan="3"|1961

|align="left"|"Six Men" B-side by Eugene LaMarr: "I'm Goin' Home"

|align="center"|

|align="left"|Non-album tracks

|align="left"|"Mighty Day" b/w "The Whistling Gypsy"

|align="center"|

|align="left" rowspan="2"|Mighty Day on Campus

|align="left"|"Lizzie Borden" b/w "Super Skier"

|align="center"|44

|align="center"|

|rowspan="2"|1962

|align="left"|"The John Birch Society" b/w "Golden Vanity"

|align="center"|99

|align="center"|

|align="left" rowspan="2"|The Chad Mitchell Trio at the Bitter End

|align="left"|"Hello Susan Brown" b/w "You Can Tell the World"

|align="center"|

|rowspan="3"|1963

|align="left"|"Blowing in the Wind" b/w "Adios Mi Corazon"

|align="center"|

|align="left" rowspan="2"|In Action

|align="left"|"Green Grow the Lilacs" b/w "Leave Me If You Want To"

|align="center"|

|align="left"|"The Marvelous Toy" b/w "The Bonny Streets of Fyve-lo"

|align="center"|43

|align="center"|20

|align="left"|Singin' Our Mind

|rowspan="2"|1964

|align="left"|"Tell Old Bill" b/w "The Tarriers Song"

|align="center"|

|align="left" rowspan="2"|Reflecting

|align="left"|"What Did You Learn in School Today" b/w "Barry's Boys"

|align="center"|

|| 1964

|align="left"|"I Can't Help But Wonder" b/w "Stewball and Griselda"

|align="center"|

|align="left"|The Slightly Irreverent Mitchell Trio

|rowspan="2"|1965

|align="left"| "You Were on My Mind" b/w "My Name Is Morgan"

|align="center"|

|align="left"|Typical American Boys

|align="left"|"Violets of Dawn" b/w "That's the Way It's Gonna Be" (from That's the Way It's Gonna Be)

|align="center"|

|align="left" rowspan="2"|Violets of Dawn

|rowspan="2"|1966

|align="left"|"Your Friendly, Liberal, Neighborhood Ku-Klux-Klan" b/w "Violets of Dawn"

|align="center"|

|align="left"|"Stay with Me" b/w "Dark Shadows and Empty Hallways"

|align="center"|

|align="left"|Non-album tracks

|rowspan="2"|1967

|align="left"|"Leaving on a Jet Plane" b/w "Baby, That's Where It Is" (non-album track)

|align="center"|

|align="left" rowspan="2"|Alive

|align="left"|"She Loves You" b/w "Like to Deal with the Ladies"

|align="center"|

|| 1968

|align="left"|"Take Me to Tomorrow" b/w "The '68 Nixon"

|align="center"|

|align="left"|Non-album tracks (as Denver, Boise and Johnson)

|colspan="5" align="center"|Chad Mitchell solo singles

|| 1966

|align="left"|"Quiet Room" b/w "Violets of Dawn"

|align="center"|

|align="left"|Chad Mitchell/Himself

|| 1967

|align="left"|"Suzanne" b/w "Marieka" (from Chad Mitchell/Himself)

|align="center"|

|align="left"|Love, A Feeling Of

|| 1968

|align="left"|"For What It's Worth" b/w "Follow" (from Chad)

|align="center"|

|align="left"|Non-album track

|| 1969

|align="left"|"What's That Got to Do with Me" b/w "Bus Song"

|align="center"|

|align="left"|Chad

DVDs:

"Mighty Day" The Chad Mitchell Trio Reunion (1987)
The Chad Mitchell Trio - Then & Now (3 disc DVD set)

References

Sources

The Mitchell Trio Song Book (Robert Shelton, editor/writer; Walter Rain, music editor; Quadrangle Books, Chicago, 1964 [Library Of Congress Catalog Card Number 64-24290] )

External links

Official Chad Mitchell Trio Web Site