New Christy Minstrels

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The New Christy Minstrels were a 1960s a popular folk group reknown for a rousing and clean-cut sound.

Formed by Randy Sparks in 1962, the group had several Top 40 folk music hits, including "Green, Green", "Today" and "Ramblin'". Some of the group's most famous alumni include, John Denver, Barry McGuire, Kenny Rogers, the Byrds' Gene Clark, Kim Carnes and The Association's Larry Ramos, as well as Terry Williams, Mike Settle and Thelma Camacho (the original founders of The First Edition along with Kenny Rogers.).

The name deliberately evoked Christy's Minstrels, an enormously popular 19th century blackface minstrel group founded by Edwin Pearce Christy.

The New Christy Minstrels' film score for the 1964 comedy Advance to the Rear, featuring Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens, was the only complete soundtrack ever made in the folk music style. The score is notable for the hit standard "Today" and several others, including "This Old Riverboat" and "Company of Cowards" (the original title). The soundtrack album has been re-released on CD as Today.

In the mockumentary A Mighty Wind, the fictional singing group, "New Main Street Singers", are widely believed to have been based on The New Christy Minstrels.