Travelers 3
Encyclopedia
The Travelers 3 were a vocal trio from Eugene, Oregon
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Harmonizing male folk combos, in trios and quartets, were booming in the early 1960s in the wake of the phenomenal success of the Kingston Trio. Elektra Records
, then emerging as one of the most prominent American independent folk-oriented labels, made its first move into the territory with the Limeliters, whose self-titled LP gave the company its first Top Forty album. Although the Limeliters would make most of their early-'60s chart LPs for RCA
, Elektra soon came up with another fold threesome, the Travelers 3. Appropriately enough, the trio recorded three longplayers for the label, starting with The Travelers 3.
The group got together in Eugene, Oregon, where Charlie Oyama (banjo, guitar, ukelele) and Pete Apo (guitar, ukelele, drum) had moved from Hawaii to attend the University of Oregon (though Charlie and Pete had met before they came to the university, though Pete's brother. Teaming up with Dick Shirley (bass, guitar, and plastic toy flute), they went back to Hawaii to do a long residency at the Shell Bar (famous for its use in the 1959-63 TV detective series Hawaiian Eye), in fact becoming the first folk act to work there.
(Source: Richie Unterberger, from CD cover insert)
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
.
Harmonizing male folk combos, in trios and quartets, were booming in the early 1960s in the wake of the phenomenal success of the Kingston Trio. Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
, then emerging as one of the most prominent American independent folk-oriented labels, made its first move into the territory with the Limeliters, whose self-titled LP gave the company its first Top Forty album. Although the Limeliters would make most of their early-'60s chart LPs for RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
, Elektra soon came up with another fold threesome, the Travelers 3. Appropriately enough, the trio recorded three longplayers for the label, starting with The Travelers 3.
The group got together in Eugene, Oregon, where Charlie Oyama (banjo, guitar, ukelele) and Pete Apo (guitar, ukelele, drum) had moved from Hawaii to attend the University of Oregon (though Charlie and Pete had met before they came to the university, though Pete's brother. Teaming up with Dick Shirley (bass, guitar, and plastic toy flute), they went back to Hawaii to do a long residency at the Shell Bar (famous for its use in the 1959-63 TV detective series Hawaiian Eye), in fact becoming the first folk act to work there.
(Source: Richie Unterberger, from CD cover insert)