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The Brothers Four

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Brothers Four is an American folk group from Seattle, founded in 1957 by four students of the University of Washington: Bob Flick, John Paine, Mike Kirkland and Dick Foley. They belonged to the same fraternity, which explains the name. Their first performances arose from a prank by a rival fraternity, which had them phoned with an invitation to audition at the Colony Club. They were allowed to sing there anyway and were hired, for pay that consisted mainly of beer. In 1959 they moved to San Francisco and, through Mort Lewis, Dave Brubeck's manager, got a contract with Columbia.

Music and breakthrough

Their second single, Greenfields (January 1960), reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold more than a million copies. The first album The Brothers Four reached the top 20 that year. They sang The Green Leaves of Summer from the film The Alamo at the Oscar ceremony of 1961, recorded the title song of Five Weeks in a Balloon in 1962 and Hootenanny Saturday Night in 1963. The British Invasion and newer folk-rock musicians such as Bob Dylan put an end to their best period. They kept performing, particularly successfully in Japan and in American hotels. The group still exists, with a changing line-up.

Influence

The music is smooth, polished folk with four-part vocals, acoustic guitars and banjo, intended for a broad audience. The group stands for the commercial folk wave of the early 1960s, just before Dylan and folk rock set the tone.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Greenfields and notice the four voices that sing the melody almost as one voice, with acoustic guitar as the only clear accompaniment.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists