My friend John Stewart died this morning in San Diego, California ... in the
hospital he was born in on September 5th, 1939 ... 68 years ago.

John suffered a massive stroke or brain aneurysm early Friday morning in San
Diego. Doctors had determined that any difficult surgical remedies that might have
been employed to save his life-- even if successful -- would had left John immobile and unable to speak. It wasn't generally known, but doctors had told John in recent years that he had apparently experienced various minor strokes, likely in his sleep.

In the early 1970s, Stewart wrote "Cooler Water, Higher Ground," one of his many highly personalized songs, in which he sang "I was born in the heat of September, and I died in the cool of the fall ... borning and dying we do all the time, it don't mean much of nothing at all." But his passing will mean so much, to so many, around the world.

John's all-time companion and wife Buffy, and his children -- Mikael, Jeremy, Amy, and Luke -- were at his side when he passed peacefully around 7:30 a.m. Pacific time. John never regained consciousness after collapsing in his hotel room late Thursday/early Friday, and was not in pain during his time at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego.

John Stewart leaves a compilation of musical excellence unparalleled in his time. He recorded over 45 solo albums following his seven years in the Kingston Trio, 1961-67. He worked all the way up to the time of his death, having recently completed his latest as-yet untitled album. It is estimated that he wrote more than 600 unique and highly personal songs, many of them constituting a modern musical history of his beloved America.

He leaves behind a wide-ranging group of fans who have felt a passion for him and his music that bordered on fanaticism. Chief among them are the Bloodliners, a hard-core legion of supporters who communicated via computer everyday in discussing John and his career.

It can now be said that John was told last summer, shortly before Trio Fantasy Camp 8, that he was suffering from the initial stages of Alzheimer's disease. That news was kept from the public in the hope that his condition would stabilize and allow him to work in the following years until the disease took its eventual toll. Indeed he had stabilized in the time since Camp, and was able to bravely perform several concert shows and do the studio work on his new album.

If there is a blessing in his passing, it is that he will now be spared the true ravages of that awful disease. He will not suffer the gradual personal mental reductions caused by Alzheimer's, though he had already lost his ability to drive, owing to California law. In fact, one of the new songs on the upcoming album is "I Can't Drive Anymore," a typically honest and emotional personal reaction to his situation.

Speaking personally, losing John creates a hole in my soul. I had agonized for months over the Alzheimer's prognosis. But after talking with many of his friends and family yesterday, I can see that -- facing a debilitating future -- it was -- and this is so hard to say --the right time for him to go. This is what he would have wanted, in light of what he ultimately faced.

Johnny always drew a crowd, and there was a gathering of friends at the hospital in San Diego over the past two days. Starting with Nick Reynolds from John's Trio days and his wife Leslie, John's entire family had been joined at his bedside by longtime sidekick Dave "Dave" Batti, John Hoke, Chuck McDermott, Greg Jorgenson, John's boyhood best friend George Yanok, who flew in from Nashville upon hearing the news, and other family, friends, and acquaintances. A kind of "Irish wake" was held throughout Friday and into early Saturday, with the friends and old bandmates sharing many of the limitless John Stewart stories.

No plans have been announced yet for any memorial observations. I'll let you
know as soon as Buffy decides.

I'm so sorry to have to write this, to have to tell you this. Outside my closest family members, John was the brightest light of my life. This creates an emptiness that can never be filled. If you are tempted to mourn to great lengths today, as so many of us surely are, we have to remind ourselves of what a gift he was for all of us. And how lucky we all were to have had the opportunity to have shared in his amazing music and stage artistry. We might, each of us, have missed him, you know. But--lucky for us--we didn't.

He hated moping around, and looked for the bright side, and laughter, in everything. He wouldn't even allow me to be 'down' about having cancer. He even berated me at one point about it. He had amazing drive, and a creative force within him that was stunning in its intensity and breadth. And some day his amazing personal songs will be discovered by a mass audience, and the world at large, and he will receive the wide-ranging accolades he was denied in his time.

Trust me. Think about him today, listen to that incredible body of his work, think about the electric personality we experienced in EVERY show he did .. in the literally thousands and thousands of performances in which he gave us everything he had, stretching from venues big and small, from coast to coast, from 1957 to 2007.

You will smile when you do; and eventually laugh when recalling the magic of his art and personality. We will not see his like again, but we have been so lucky to have shared him across the decades -- and found each other through him, because of him. It does not feel like it, but we are the lucky ones today. That will become evident in the time to come.

Because, like you ... I loved him too.

Tom DeLisle

We are sad to announce that Enrico Banducci, 85, died October 9th, 2007. Enrico was the founder of the famous Hungry i nightclub in San Francisco and was a pioneer in live show business.

He gave many people their first boost in the business, including Mort Sahl, Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, Professor Irwin Corey, TheGateway Singers, Bud & Travis, Woody Allen and of course The Kingston Trio.

He was a great man, a wonderful character and an inspiration to us all.

Mike Solner, a Superior Court Judge in Los Angeles, has written a screen play on the Hungry i Nightclub, and we really hope it becomes a movie. The world should be aware of Enrico's contributions to live entertainment.

One of the Kingston Trio ’s classic (and most requested) albums, the 1966 double LP Once Upon a Time, recorded live at the Sahara Tahoe in Lake Tahoe, Nevada!

Originally intended as the Trio’s parting shot for their 1967 farewell tour, it remained unreleased until it appeared in the summer of 1969 on the tiny Tetragrammaton label, where it had the distinction of being the group’s final chart climber.

The memorable center spread collage, photos, and liner notes are faithfully reproduced. Nick, Bob, and John used this concert setting to introduce some new favorites, including Dylan’s One Too Many Mornings and their tribute to the Weavers, Goodnight Irene, as well as their classic hits Tom Dooley, M.T.A., Scotch and Soda, and Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

The Trio also dusted off some studio gems for live treatment, such as Getaway John, The Tijuana Jail, and I’m Going Home. All 20 songs from the original double album are included here on one great-sounding CD.

Also included are all 4 of John Stewart’s original comedy segments (move over, Jon Stewart!), including the infamous Silicone Bust. Don’t be fooled by inferior bootleg imitations: this is the first officially licensed compact disc reissue of this timeless performance, the legendary Kingston Trio’s Once Upon a Time!

But wait, there’s more!!! Also on sale now - Twice Upon a Time, an 18-song CD culled from the same 1966 series of live performances that produced the group’s legendary 1969 double album Once Upon a Time.

Return with Nick Reynolds, Bob Shane, and John Stewart to the Sahara Tahoe for some memorable songs and very funny patter that wouldn’t fit on the original release, including outstanding renditions of They Call the Wind Maria, Little Maggie, The Merry Minuet, Reuben James, Hanna Lee, Tom Paxton’s Where I’m Bound, and Stewart’s own The Spinnin’ of the World and Hit and Run.

After some hilarious false starts (including an exit by John), the Kingston Trio turns in a fine version of Eric Andersen’s Thirsty Boots, as well as some first-rate alternate live takes of Hard Travelin’, Goodnight Irene, and When the Saints Go Marching In, as well as Trio staples M.T.A., Tom Dooley, and a giggle-free Greenback Dollar.

This CD also includes a dynamic bonus video of the Trio performing Bob Dylan’s Tomorrow Is a Long Time. The Kingston Trio’s Twice Upon a Time stands as a more-than-fitting companion disc to Once Upon a Time, and helps us remember why this group so greatly influenced a generation of musicians, as well as a life-long legion of fans.

Both CDs are faithfully reproduced with audio restoration magic and brilliant stereo effects by Grammy-nominated producer Ron Furmanek.

These CDs available for purchase at The Kingston Trio Store!

This CD features the last known recordings by the Dave Guard-Nick Reynolds-Bob Shane line-up, a concert recorded just three weeks before the folk supergroup
announced they were breaking up!

Captured live at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California on April 21, 1961,
the group performs eight songs previously unheard on any of their live recordings,
plus, as an added treat, Pat Boone joins them for "You're Gonna Miss Me!"

And the group joins Pat for that very same song on a very special video from his April 1961 TV special, which this enhanced CD presents for the first time since it aired some 46 years ago.

Song List: Run Molly Run, Bad Man's Blunder, Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies, Bonnie Hielan' Laddie, Zombie Jamboree, Colorado Trail, You're Gonna Miss Me (with special guest Pat Boone), Merry Minuet, Go Where I Send Thee, Coplas, Guardo El Lobo, You Don't Knock, Maria, and When The Saints Go Marching In. Available now at The Kingston Trio Store

Purchase The Kingston Trio's guitar straps at The Kingston Trio Store

The Kingston Trio...The First 50 Years

Bill McCune, owner of McCune Television, is producing a Travis Edmonson documentary, scheduled for release sometime in 2007. Bill is asking fans all over the world to send any souvenirs they have, to add to the “texture” of the documentary.

If you have ticket stubs, playbills, photographs (Travis, Bud & Travis, Travis w/ other celebrities, Travis with fans), ads, reviews, anything, Bill would love to get a copy. He’ll accept originals, but they can't be returned, so the best bet is to scan the items.

Send the scanned items to Bonnie Brock:info@arizonafolk.net You can also use this email address to ask Bonnie any questions. If you have film clips, please tell us about those as well. It’s possible they could be incorporated into the documentary. Thanks! Bonnie