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In the 60's, The Tripjacks brought traditional folk music to life...
Now they're in their 60's, and the old songs seem new again!
THE TRIPJACKS
Forgotten, but not gone...
CLICK HERE FOR THE TRIPJACKS, THE BIG PICTURE.....
ABOUT:
The Tripjacks - Phil Miller, Len Phillips and Harry Mitchell - first sang together in January of 1960 and in that first meeting launched the most famous of all recent decades, "the 60s." Since their initial appearance on the folk music scene, their myriad contemporaries -- The Kingston Trio, The Tarriers, The Chad Mitchell Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Limelighters -- all sold out to fame and fortune, while the modest Tripjacks continued to sing for peanuts.
In 1964, after moonlighting together for three years during their teaching careers, The Tripjacks left the teaching profession and their Masters of Education degrees behind to devote themselves full-time to their music. They brought their music to a large variety of audiences, from the crowds at the dimly-lit, smoke-filled Terrace Room of Boston's Statler Hilton to the huge audiences which turned up at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City; from the largest colleges and universities of New England, the Midwest and the South to the semiprivate rooms of Boston's Children's Hospital. Coffee house, club and concert hall were all home to the Tripjacks. Their first recorded album, on the Squire label, is entitled When I Was One and Twenty.
The Tripjacks stopped performing professionally in 1965. Phil began a career in television production, Len created his own computer business and Harry bought a farm in New Hampshire where he raised, trained and raced horses. But they never left music. For twenty years, they kept their music alive, occasionally reuniting for a family gathering, a time-warp event for former friends and fans, or just for "old times."
Now in their own "60's +" years, Phil, an award-winning television producer/director, Len, a successful businessman/entrepreneur and Harry, owner of Mitchell Farms and Kingston Records, are still singing the songs that first brought them together. Drawing on their varied experiences, their performances today reflect the depth and breadth of travelers who have endured much and survived. Though each has known for a long time exactly what he wants to do when he grows up, Phil, Harry and Len have still not decided whether or not they want to grow up.
The Tripjack's music has steadfastly bucked the fleeting musical trends of four decades. They have stuck with the music of their liking: the music they collected and played for their own enjoyment during their concert/touring years. The combination of folk spirituals, ballads, work songs, children's ditties and more contemporary folk compositions (including their own), still delights and excites them and leaves their audiences with both fond memories and a new appreciation of the music that was enjoyed during the special 60's. Their physical appearances may have changed a little since they first started singing, but the heart of their songs and their love of performing them have remained young and strong.
Wherever you go to hear the Tripjacks - as you sit back, relax, look at them quizzically and listen to their music - there is one thing you realize very quickly... these guys are really living in the past… and loving every minute of it.
CONTACT:
hmbanjo@adelphia.net
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