New Christy Minstrels
Encyclopedia
The New Christy Minstrels are an American
folk music
group founded by Randy Sparks
in 1961. They recorded over 20 albums and had several hits, including "Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Today", "Denver", and "This Land is Your Land". Their 1962 debut album, Presenting The New Christy Minstrels
won a Grammy Award and sat in the Billboard charts
for two years.
The group sold "millions of records" and were in demand at concerts and on television shows. They also launched the musical careers of several musicians, including Kenny Rogers
, Gene Clark
, Kim Carnes
, and Barry McGuire
.
in 1961. Sparks had been a solo musician in the late 1950s, mixing folk music with Broadway
. In 1960 he formed the Randy Sparks Trio with his wife, Jackie Miller, and Nick Woods, but soon realized he wanted a larger group. At the time folk music was very popular and choral groups like the Norman Luboff Choir
and Les Baxter's Balladeers
began incorporating it in their repertoires. Sparks created a 14 voice ensemble, The New Christy Minstrels, by combining his trio with another trio, The Inn Group (John Forsha, Karol Dugan and Jerry Yester
), a quartet, The Fairmount Singers, and banjo player Billy Cudmore, folk-blues singer Terry Cudmore, folk singer Dolan Ellis
and singer/guitarist Art Podell. Large commercial folk groups did not exist in those days, and The New Christy Minstrels burst onto the folk scene with "a barrage of color-coordinated blazers, starched petticoats, choreographed grins, and stage makeup."
In April 1962 the group, reduced to ten members after the early departure of The Fairmount Singers, recorded their debut album, Presenting The New Christy Minstrels
for Columbia Records
(CL1872/CS8672). It won a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus
and sat in the Billboard 200
charts for two years, peaking at number 19. The album included a cover
of Woody Guthrie
's "This Land Is Your Land
", which entered the pop singles charts in December 1962.
The success of Presenting resulted in the group being booked on The Andy Williams Show
, a television variety show
, for its 1962–63 season. During this time several members left the group and were replaced by others. Forsha, Dugan and Yester left to pursue their own careers, with Yester later joining the Modern Folk Quartet
. Singer/guitarists Barry McGuire
and Barry Kane of Barry & Barry, vocalist Peggy Connelly
, singer/banjoist Larry Ramos, and Clarence Treat on upright bass joined the group. Connelly was soon replaced by another vocalist, Gayle Caldwell. Sparks remained at the helm of the group as both director and arranger. The new lineup began playing regularly at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in mid-1962, and their style of performance was similar to those by the 1930s big band
s and the 1950s English traditional-jazz
ensembles. Some songs were performed by the full group and others by duos and trios within the group.
With this new lineup they released their second album, The New Christy Minstrels In Person in February 1963 (CL2141/CS8741), which had been recorded live at The Troubadour in September 1962. In January 1963 the new lineup made their first studio album, The New Christy Minstrels Tell Tall Tales! (Legends and Nonsense). By now the group's fame had grown considerably after their appearances on The Andy Williams Show, and they received "a raft of enthusiastic reviews". In April 1963 the group recorded another studio album called Ramblin (CL2055/CS8855) which featured "Green, Green", a McGuire/Sparks composition that became the group's first hit single, peaking at number three on the Adult Contemporary Charts. "Green, Green" sold over one million copies in 1963, and was awarded a gold disc
.
In May 1963, Sparks stopped touring with the group to focus on a club he had established in Los Angeles called Ledbetters, and a new group he had formed, The Back Porch Majority
. He passed the role of director and arranger of The New Christy Minstrels's live performances onto McGuire, who had become the "star" of the group after singing on their hit, "Green, Green". Sparks still continued to run The New Christy Minstrels along with the group's managers, George Greif and Sid Garris. Soon after McGuire's promotion, Ellis left and was replaced by Gene Clark
, who featured prominently on the group's next few records. But in early 1964 Clark left to join Jim McGuinn
and David Crosby
in the Jet Set, and later The Byrds
. Clark was replaced by Paul Potash. The group's two female singers, Sparks's wife, Miller, and Caldwell also left and were replaced by Karen Gunderson and Ann White.
In early 1964 Sparks was contracted to create a film score
for a comedy, Advance to the Rear
, featuring Glenn Ford
and Stella Stevens
. The corresponding soundtrack by The New Christy Minstrels was released in May 1964 as Today (CL2159/CS8959). It was the first complete soundtrack ever made in the folk music style. The score is notable for the hit standard "Today", which was written by Sparks. "Today" reached number four on the Adult Contemporary Charts and 17 on the Billboard Hot 100
.
By the mid-1960s The New Christy Minstrels were finding themselves increasingly at odds with the folk music community. While folk music had become more morally and politically reflective, Sparks insisted that his group should entertain and produce music that made people "forget about problems". The group's ensemble singing of folk music was becoming less relevant to the newer, "activist" folk music. In late 1964, Sparks sold his share of the group to Greif and Garris for $2.5 million to devote all his attention to Ledbetters and The Back Porch Majority.
After the group toured Europe in early 1965, McGuire left to embark on a solo career, and this spelt the end of the original New Christy Minstrels. Now under the direction of Greif and Garris the group moved towards a variety act
, doing "novelty and pop tunes" and a little comedy, making them closer to the 19th century Christy's Minstrels
from whom the group's name was derived. Reflecting this shift, they had a Billboard Top 100 hit later in 1965 with a cover of "Chim Chim Cher-ee
" from the Disney
film Mary Poppins
.
Regular group membership changes continued, often with each new tour. In 1965 Kane was replaced by Bill Teague, and Treat was replaced by Skiles and Henderson
, a comedy duo that broadened The New Christy Minstrels's stage act. Later that year Woods was replaced by Rusty Evans, and in early 1966 Larry Ramos left to join The Association
and was replaced by Mike Settle
of the Back Porch Majority. Towards the end of 1966 Podell, Gunderson and White were replaced by Kenny Rogers
, Kim Carnes
and Karen Black
. Settle and Rogers later left to form The First Edition
.
The New Christy Minstrels continued under the management of Greif and Garris until 1991, making several more records, including a folk-pop album of Motown hits, On Tour Through Motortown. In 1976 the group reconstituted itself for a short while as a pop group to make a new album, The Great Soap Opera Themes, and then in 1978 they began performing at resort hotels.
Randy Sparks, who had spent more than thirty years as Burl Ives
' writer and opening act in concert, found himself with time on his hands after Ives' death in 1995, and he sought to rebuild the group he had founded. He leased the entity from Greif and Garris to begin the experimentation, then eventually bought it back. His long-time friend Fats Johnson had quietly trademarked the world-famous name, and when 'the big man' was dying of complications from diabetes, a deal was struck, and The NCM was once again 'Under The Direction (and ownership) of Randy Sparks.'
Website
, a blackface
group formed by Philadelphia-born showman Edwin Pearce Christy
in 1842. Using largely white performers in blackface, Christy's Minstrels sang Negro spirituals and contemporary songs, and popularized the concept of the minstrel show
.
Famous alumni of the group include:
The last three were original founders of The First Edition
, along with Kenny Rogers. In the early 1970s, the group's roster included future Broadway
stars
Christine Andreas
and Linda Hart
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
group founded by Randy Sparks
Randy Sparks
Randy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
in 1961. They recorded over 20 albums and had several hits, including "Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Today", "Denver", and "This Land is Your Land". Their 1962 debut album, Presenting The New Christy Minstrels
Presenting The New Christy Minstrels
Presenting The New Christy Minstrels, also known as Exciting New Folk Chorus, is a studio album by the acoustic American folk music group The New Christy Minstrels. It was their debut album and was recorded in mid-April 1962...
won a Grammy Award and sat in the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
for two years.
The group sold "millions of records" and were in demand at concerts and on television shows. They also launched the musical careers of several musicians, including Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Gene Clark
Gene Clark
Gene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
, Kim Carnes
Kim Carnes
Kim Carnes is an American singer-songwriter. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner noted for her distinctive raspy vocal style. Some people have called her "The Female Rod Stewart" due to her raspy voice....
, and Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:...
.
History
The New Christy Minstrels were formed by singer/guitarist Randy SparksRandy Sparks
Randy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
in 1961. Sparks had been a solo musician in the late 1950s, mixing folk music with Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. In 1960 he formed the Randy Sparks Trio with his wife, Jackie Miller, and Nick Woods, but soon realized he wanted a larger group. At the time folk music was very popular and choral groups like the Norman Luboff Choir
Norman Luboff
Norman Luboff was an American music arranger, music publisher, and choir director.-Early years:Norman Luboff was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1917. He studied piano as a child and participated in his high school chorus. Luboff studied at the University of Chicago and Central College in Chicago...
and Les Baxter's Balladeers
Les Baxter
Les Baxter was an American musician and composer.Baxter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory before moving to Los Angeles for further studies at Pepperdine College. Abandoning a concert career as a pianist, he turned to popular music as a singer...
began incorporating it in their repertoires. Sparks created a 14 voice ensemble, The New Christy Minstrels, by combining his trio with another trio, The Inn Group (John Forsha, Karol Dugan and Jerry Yester
Jerry Yester
Jerry Yester is an American folk rock musician, record producer, and arranger.Growing up in Burbank, California, Yester formed a duo with brother Jim Yester, the Yester Brothers, and starting playing folk clubs in Los Angeles in 1960...
), a quartet, The Fairmount Singers, and banjo player Billy Cudmore, folk-blues singer Terry Cudmore, folk singer Dolan Ellis
Dolan Ellis
Francis Dolan Ellis has been Arizona's Official State Balladeer since 1966, as appointed by ten consecutive governors. Governor Sam Goddard made the first appointment. Since then, official balladeers have been appointed in other states.In his role as Balladeer, Dolan has written more than 300...
and singer/guitarist Art Podell. Large commercial folk groups did not exist in those days, and The New Christy Minstrels burst onto the folk scene with "a barrage of color-coordinated blazers, starched petticoats, choreographed grins, and stage makeup."
In April 1962 the group, reduced to ten members after the early departure of The Fairmount Singers, recorded their debut album, Presenting The New Christy Minstrels
Presenting The New Christy Minstrels
Presenting The New Christy Minstrels, also known as Exciting New Folk Chorus, is a studio album by the acoustic American folk music group The New Christy Minstrels. It was their debut album and was recorded in mid-April 1962...
for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
(CL1872/CS8672). It won a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus
Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus
The Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus was awarded from 1961 to 1968. In its first year, the award specified that a "chorus" contains seven or more artists. This award was presented alongside the award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group...
and sat in the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
charts for two years, peaking at number 19. The album included a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
's "This Land Is Your Land
This Land Is Your Land
"This Land Is Your Land" is one of the United States' most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 based on an existing melody, in response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America", which Guthrie considered unrealistic and complacent. Tired of hearing Kate Smith sing it on...
", which entered the pop singles charts in December 1962.
The success of Presenting resulted in the group being booked on The Andy Williams Show
The Andy Williams Show
The Andy Williams Show is a television variety show which ran from 1959 to 1971 , and a short-lived run in syndication, beginning in the fall of 1976...
, a television variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
, for its 1962–63 season. During this time several members left the group and were replaced by others. Forsha, Dugan and Yester left to pursue their own careers, with Yester later joining the Modern Folk Quartet
Modern Folk Quartet
The Modern Folk Quartet recorded two albums of folk revival music in the early 1960s, with an emphasis on group harmonies, and have subsequently re-formed more than once and made further recordings....
. Singer/guitarists Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:...
and Barry Kane of Barry & Barry, vocalist Peggy Connelly
Peggy Connelly
Peggy Connelly was a singer and actress, former wife of Dick Martin , with whom she had a son, Cary Martin.Peggy Lou Connelly was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and reared in Fort Worth, Texas...
, singer/banjoist Larry Ramos, and Clarence Treat on upright bass joined the group. Connelly was soon replaced by another vocalist, Gayle Caldwell. Sparks remained at the helm of the group as both director and arranger. The new lineup began playing regularly at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in mid-1962, and their style of performance was similar to those by the 1930s big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
s and the 1950s English traditional-jazz
Trad jazz
Trad jazz - short for "traditional jazz" - refers to the Dixieland and Ragtime jazz styles of the early 20th century in contrast to any more modern style....
ensembles. Some songs were performed by the full group and others by duos and trios within the group.
With this new lineup they released their second album, The New Christy Minstrels In Person in February 1963 (CL2141/CS8741), which had been recorded live at The Troubadour in September 1962. In January 1963 the new lineup made their first studio album, The New Christy Minstrels Tell Tall Tales! (Legends and Nonsense). By now the group's fame had grown considerably after their appearances on The Andy Williams Show, and they received "a raft of enthusiastic reviews". In April 1963 the group recorded another studio album called Ramblin (CL2055/CS8855) which featured "Green, Green", a McGuire/Sparks composition that became the group's first hit single, peaking at number three on the Adult Contemporary Charts. "Green, Green" sold over one million copies in 1963, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
In May 1963, Sparks stopped touring with the group to focus on a club he had established in Los Angeles called Ledbetters, and a new group he had formed, The Back Porch Majority
The Back Porch Majority
The Back Porch Majority was an American folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1963. It was intended to be a rehearsal space for The New Christy Minstrels, another group Sparks had established in 1961, but it ended up becoming successful on its own...
. He passed the role of director and arranger of The New Christy Minstrels's live performances onto McGuire, who had become the "star" of the group after singing on their hit, "Green, Green". Sparks still continued to run The New Christy Minstrels along with the group's managers, George Greif and Sid Garris. Soon after McGuire's promotion, Ellis left and was replaced by Gene Clark
Gene Clark
Gene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
, who featured prominently on the group's next few records. But in early 1964 Clark left to join Jim McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
and David Crosby
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
in the Jet Set, and later The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
. Clark was replaced by Paul Potash. The group's two female singers, Sparks's wife, Miller, and Caldwell also left and were replaced by Karen Gunderson and Ann White.
In early 1964 Sparks was contracted to create a film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
for a comedy, Advance to the Rear
Advance to the Rear
Advance to the Rear is a light-hearted 1964 western comedy film set in the American Civil War. It stars Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens and Melvyn Douglas and is directed by George Marshall. The film is based on the 1957 novel Company of Cowards by Jack Schaefer, with the film having that title in...
, featuring Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
and Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born October 1, 1938 is an American film, television and stage actress, who began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and The...
. The corresponding soundtrack by The New Christy Minstrels was released in May 1964 as Today (CL2159/CS8959). It was the first complete soundtrack ever made in the folk music style. The score is notable for the hit standard "Today", which was written by Sparks. "Today" reached number four on the Adult Contemporary Charts and 17 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
By the mid-1960s The New Christy Minstrels were finding themselves increasingly at odds with the folk music community. While folk music had become more morally and politically reflective, Sparks insisted that his group should entertain and produce music that made people "forget about problems". The group's ensemble singing of folk music was becoming less relevant to the newer, "activist" folk music. In late 1964, Sparks sold his share of the group to Greif and Garris for $2.5 million to devote all his attention to Ledbetters and The Back Porch Majority.
After the group toured Europe in early 1965, McGuire left to embark on a solo career, and this spelt the end of the original New Christy Minstrels. Now under the direction of Greif and Garris the group moved towards a variety act
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
, doing "novelty and pop tunes" and a little comedy, making them closer to the 19th century Christy's Minstrels
Christy's Minstrels
Christy's Minstrels, sometimes referred to as the Christy Minstrels, were a blackface group formed by Edwin Pearce Christy, a well-known ballad singer, in 1843, in Buffalo, New York. They were instrumental in the solidification of the minstrel show into a fixed three-act form...
from whom the group's name was derived. Reflecting this shift, they had a Billboard Top 100 hit later in 1965 with a cover of "Chim Chim Cher-ee
Chim Chim Cher-ee
"Chim Chim Cher-ee" is a song from Mary Poppins, the 1964 musical motion picture. It was originally sung by Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews. "Chim Chim Cher-ee" is also featured prominently in the award winning Cameron Mackintosh/Disney stage musical of the same name which premiered in London at...
" from the Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
film Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (film)
Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
.
Regular group membership changes continued, often with each new tour. In 1965 Kane was replaced by Bill Teague, and Treat was replaced by Skiles and Henderson
Skiles and Henderson
Skiles and Henderson were the comedy team of Bill Skiles and Pete Henderson.-History:William Al Skiles and Pete Henderson met in 1953. Bill, born in San Antonio, Texas, had just been released from the Air Force while Pete was a sophomore in high school...
, a comedy duo that broadened The New Christy Minstrels's stage act. Later that year Woods was replaced by Rusty Evans, and in early 1966 Larry Ramos left to join The Association
The Association
The Association is a pop music band from California in the folk rock or soft rock genre. During the 1960s, they had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts and were the lead-off band at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival...
and was replaced by Mike Settle
Mike Settle
Mike Settle, is an American songwriter, journalist, broadcaster and singer. He is most famous for being a member of the Rock band Kenny Rogers & The First Edition between 1967 and 1970...
of the Back Porch Majority. Towards the end of 1966 Podell, Gunderson and White were replaced by Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Kim Carnes
Kim Carnes
Kim Carnes is an American singer-songwriter. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner noted for her distinctive raspy vocal style. Some people have called her "The Female Rod Stewart" due to her raspy voice....
and Karen Black
Karen Black
Karen Black is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot...
. Settle and Rogers later left to form The First Edition
The First Edition
The First Edition was a country music/rock band. Its stalwart members being Kenny Rogers , Mickey Jones and Terry Williams...
.
The New Christy Minstrels continued under the management of Greif and Garris until 1991, making several more records, including a folk-pop album of Motown hits, On Tour Through Motortown. In 1976 the group reconstituted itself for a short while as a pop group to make a new album, The Great Soap Opera Themes, and then in 1978 they began performing at resort hotels.
Randy Sparks, who had spent more than thirty years as Burl Ives
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
' writer and opening act in concert, found himself with time on his hands after Ives' death in 1995, and he sought to rebuild the group he had founded. He leased the entity from Greif and Garris to begin the experimentation, then eventually bought it back. His long-time friend Fats Johnson had quietly trademarked the world-famous name, and when 'the big man' was dying of complications from diabetes, a deal was struck, and The NCM was once again 'Under The Direction (and ownership) of Randy Sparks.'
2010 and Forward
Always seen by Sparks as a work in progress, the trial and error procedure of selecting the right personnel to recreate the excitement of old finally succeeded in May 2010, and the ultimate shake-down cruise, 33 major concerts in 54 days, took place in October and November. The enterprise would seem to once again occupy the fast lane. Recent accomplishments include The City Of Palm Springs' award of The NCM's own star on the P.S. Walk Of Stars.The New Christy Minstrels Foundation
The New Christy Minstrels is now owned and operated by The New Christy Minstrels Foundation, a bona fide charity, its purpose being to conserve the body of NCM music, and to share with young people the wisdom that real music is more than just something that vibrates your car.Website
Name
The New Christy Minstrels' peculiar name has to do with Stephen Foster. It was in Foster's biography that Randy Sparks found hope. More than a hundred years earlier, this pioneer of songwriters had a pile of good compositions that nobody wanted, and he'd solved his problem by leaning on the most popular group of his day, Christy's Minstrels.Note
Christy's MinstrelsChristy's Minstrels
Christy's Minstrels, sometimes referred to as the Christy Minstrels, were a blackface group formed by Edwin Pearce Christy, a well-known ballad singer, in 1843, in Buffalo, New York. They were instrumental in the solidification of the minstrel show into a fixed three-act form...
, a blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
group formed by Philadelphia-born showman Edwin Pearce Christy
Edwin Pearce Christy
Edwin Pearce Christy was an American composer, singer, actor and stage producer. He is more commonly known as E. P. Christy, and was the founder of the blackface minstrel group Christy's Minstrels.-Background:...
in 1842. Using largely white performers in blackface, Christy's Minstrels sang Negro spirituals and contemporary songs, and popularized the concept of the minstrel show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
.
Past members
Nearly 300 people have been members of the New Christy Minstrels.Famous alumni of the group include:
- David G. Moyer
- Kenny RogersKenny RogersKenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
- The ByrdsThe ByrdsThe Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
' Gene ClarkGene ClarkGene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
(d. 1991) - Kim CarnesKim CarnesKim Carnes is an American singer-songwriter. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner noted for her distinctive raspy vocal style. Some people have called her "The Female Rod Stewart" due to her raspy voice....
- The AssociationThe AssociationThe Association is a pop music band from California in the folk rock or soft rock genre. During the 1960s, they had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts and were the lead-off band at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival...
's Larry Ramos - Baxter TaylorBaxter TaylorBaxter Taylor is an American folk singer and teacher.-Timeline:*August 28, 1940, Born Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and raised in Dallas, Texas.*1959- Original member: The Nightlighters, Oklahoma City, OK...
(ex-The Wayfarers Trio) - Barry McGuireBarry McGuireBarry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:...
of "Eve Of Destruction" fame - Peggy ConnellyPeggy ConnellyPeggy Connelly was a singer and actress, former wife of Dick Martin , with whom she had a son, Cary Martin.Peggy Lou Connelly was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and reared in Fort Worth, Texas...
(d. 2007) - Karol Dugan
- Gayle Caldwell (d. 2009)
- Larry Gallagher
- Karen Gunderson
- Debbie Rindy
- Ann White
- Gareth Fishbaugh
- Tom RyanTom RyanThomas M. Ryan is the current President and Chief Executive Officer of CVS/Caremark Corporation. Ryan began working for CVS in 1978 and holds a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island...
(presently with Cubensis) - Michael Umphrey
- Nick Woods (d. 1971)
- Barry Kane
- Karen BlackKaren BlackKaren Black is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot...
- Keith BarbourKeith BarbourKeith Barbour is an American singer-songwriter. He was a member of the Jabberwocks, Brown University's oldest male a cappella group, while in college. He was a member of The New Christy Minstrels before signing to Epic Records as a solo artist in 1969...
- Terry Anne MeeuwsenTerry Anne MeeuwsenTerry Anne Meeuwsen Friedrich is an American television personality, co-host of the Christian Broadcasting Network 's 700 Club, author and singer....
, former Miss America - Jerry YesterJerry YesterJerry Yester is an American folk rock musician, record producer, and arranger.Growing up in Burbank, California, Yester formed a duo with brother Jim Yester, the Yester Brothers, and starting playing folk clubs in Los Angeles in 1960...
brother of The AssociationThe AssociationThe Association is a pop music band from California in the folk rock or soft rock genre. During the 1960s, they had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts and were the lead-off band at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival...
's Jim Yester - Susan Palmer Marshall
- Rex Kramer (longest touring member) and played the Command Performance for the Queen of England
- Thelma Camacho
- Mike SettleMike SettleMike Settle, is an American songwriter, journalist, broadcaster and singer. He is most famous for being a member of the Rock band Kenny Rogers & The First Edition between 1967 and 1970...
- Terry WilliamsTerry WilliamsTerry Williams may refer to:*Terry Williams , English former professional footballer*Terry Williams , former American football defensive back*Terry Williams , Welsh rock drummer...
The last three were original founders of The First Edition
The First Edition
The First Edition was a country music/rock band. Its stalwart members being Kenny Rogers , Mickey Jones and Terry Williams...
, along with Kenny Rogers. In the early 1970s, the group's roster included future Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stars
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
Christine Andreas
Christine Andreas
-Biography:BroadwayAndreas was born in Camden, New Jersey. She made her Broadway debut in a 1975 revival of Angel Street. The following year she was cast as Eliza Doolittle in the 20th Anniversary production of My Fair Lady, for which she received the Theatre World Award...
and Linda Hart
Linda Hart
Linda Hart is an American singer, musician, and actress, mainly appearing in musical theatre.- Biography :As a child, Hart sang in her church choir; at age seven, she joined her father and the rest of the family in The Harts, a weekly gospel television series. Hart attended Los Angeles City...
.
Partial discography
- Presenting The New Christy MinstrelsPresenting The New Christy MinstrelsPresenting The New Christy Minstrels, also known as Exciting New Folk Chorus, is a studio album by the acoustic American folk music group The New Christy Minstrels. It was their debut album and was recorded in mid-April 1962...
(aka Exciting New Folk Chorus) (1962) - The New Christy Minstrels In Person (1963)
- The New Christy Minstrels Tell Tall Tales! (Legends and Nonsense) (1963)
- Ramblin (1963)
- Merry Christmas! (1963)
- Today and Other Songs from 'Advance to the Rear (1964)
- Land of Giants (1964)
- Quiet Sides of the New Christy Minstrels (1965)
- The New Christy Minstrels Sing and Play Cowboys and Indians (1965)
- Chim Chim Cher-ee and Other Happy Songs (1965)
- The Wandering Minstrels (1965)
- In Italy...In Italian (1966)
- New Kick! (1966)
- Christmas with the Christies (1966)
- On Tour Through Motortown (1968)
- Big Hits from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (with Arthur TreacherArthur TreacherArthur Veary Treacher was an English actor born in Brighton, East Sussex, England.Treacher was a veteran of World War I. After the war, he established a stage career and in 1928, he went to America as part of a musical-comedy revue called Great Temptations...
) (1968) - You Need Someone to Love (1970)
- The Great Soap Opera Themes (1977)
- Live from Ledbetter's (1999)
- Merry Christmas, Volume II: 42 Years Later (2005)
- The Kick (2008)
- Recycled: What's Old Is New (2009)