THE BRANDYWINE SINGERS

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The early sixties saw a boom in the popularity of folk music in America. The Kingstone Trio had started it in the late fifties and were soon joined by The Highwaymen, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Limeliters and others (see The Glencoves elsewhere on this website). Centred on coffee houses in cities all over America and particularly on the campuses of the nation’s colleges and universities, it was in those places that many of the folk groups and singers were discovered. Such a one was The Brandywine Singers, five guys (Rick and Ron Shaw, Frederick Corbett, Hal Brown and David Craig) who’d formed a folk group called The Tradewinds while at the University of New Hampshire. Signed to Joy Records and assigned Al Ham as producer, ‘Summer’s Come And Gone’ did well in Boston, Chicago and New York thanks to a couple of appearances on the ‘Hootenanny’ TV show. The follow-up was the first known recording of the song ‘Two Little Boys’ (later recorded by Rolf Harris). The group, named after a battle in the Revolutionary War between the United States and Britain at Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvania broke up in the mid-sixties with the brothers Shaw joining The Poco-Seco Singers and then, still under Al Ham’s direction, were members of The Hillside Singers recording of ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)’.