The Brothers Four - Biography
BY J Poet
When the original Brothers Four - Bob Flick, bass, vocals; John Paine, guitar, vocals; Mike Kirkland, guitar, vocals banjo and Dick Foley, guitar, vocals - started singing folk songs at the parties their Phi Gamma Delta fraternity put on, they had no professional goals. But they were in the right place at the right time and an audition at a local Seattle club led to a yearlong residency. They were paid in beer, but the long gigs helped them put togetrehr their distinctyive folk/pop sound – close harmony singing and driving arrangements that emphasized rhythm rather than instrumental prowess. Columbia Records snapped them up and they charted more hit singles than any other folk group with four gold singles – “Greenfields,” “Yellow Bird,” “Try to Remember,” “Across the Wide Missouri.” Their recording of “The Green Leaves of Summer” from The Alamo Soundtrack (1960 Columbia) was nominated for an Academy Award and in 1961 they became the first folk act to perform at the Oscar Ceremonies. As times changed and folk rock exploded, albums sales slipped, but they always found an audience on the folk and later, the nostalgia circuit. They are the only 60s folk group still performing with an original member in the lineup.
The Brothers Four started singing at frat parties, and after their successful residency at The Colony Club, they decided to try their luck in San Francisco. They piled into Bob Flick’s father’s car and auditioned at the hungy i and Purple Onion.
