The New Christy Minstrels

**The New Christy Minstrels** (officially known as **The New Christy Minstrels, Still Under the Direction of Randy Sparks**) is an American large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961. From their beginnings as prominent figures in the early-1960s U.S. folk revival, the group recorded over twenty albums and had several hits, including "Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Today", "Denver", and "This Land Is Your Land". Their 1962 debut album, *Presenting The New Christy Minstrels* won a Grammy Award and sat in the *Billboard* charts for two years.

The group sold millions of records and were in demand at concerts and on television shows. They also launched the musical careers of several musicians, including Kenny Rogers, Gene Clark, Kim Carnes, and Barry McGuire.

## History

The New Christy Minstrels were formed by singer/guitarist Randy Sparks in 1961. Sparks had been a solo musician in the late 1950s, mixing folk music with Broadway. In 1960 he formed the Randy Sparks Trio with his wife, Jackie Miller, and Nick Woods, but soon realized he wanted a larger group. At the time folk music was very popular and choral groups like the Norman Luboff Choir and Les Baxter's Balladeers began incorporating it in their repertoires. Sparks created a fourteen-voice ensemble by combining his trio with another trio, The Inn Group (John Forsha, Karol Dugan and Jerry Yester), The Fairmount Singers quartet, and banjo player Billy Cudmore, folk-blues singer Terry Cudmore, folk singer Dolan Ellis and singer/guitarist Art Podell. Large commercial folk groups did not exist in those days, and The New Christy Minstrels burst onto the folk scene with "a barrage of color-coordinated blazers, starched petticoats, choreographed grins, and stage makeup." The group's name was derived from Christy's Minstrels, a blackface group formed by Philadelphia-born showman Edwin Pearce Christy in 1842. Sparks modeled his relationship to his band after legendary composer Stephen Foster, who had given many of his compositions to the original Minstrels to help popularize them.

In April 1962 the group, reduced to ten members after the early departure of The Fairmount Singers, recorded their debut album, *Presenting The New Christy Minstrels* for Columbia Records (CL1872/CS8672). It won a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus and sat in the *Billboard* 200 charts for two years, peaking at number 19. The album included Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", which entered the pop singles charts in December 1962.

The success of *Presenting* resulted in the group being booked on *The Andy Williams Show*, a television variety show, for its 1962–63 season. During this time several members left the group and were replaced by others. Forsha, Dugan and Yester left to pursue their own careers, with Yester later joining the Modern Folk Quartet. Singer/guitarists Barry McGuire and Barry Kane of Barry & Barry, vocalist Peggy Connelly, singer/banjoist Larry Ramos, and Clarence Treat on upright bass joined the group. Connelly was soon replaced by another vocalist, Gayle Caldwell. Sparks remained at the helm of the group as both director and arranger. The new lineup began playing regularly at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in mid-1962, and their style of performance was similar to those by the 1930s big bands and the 1950s English traditional-jazz ensembles. Some songs were performed by the full group and others by duos and trios within the group.

With this new lineup they released their second album, *The New Christy Minstrels In Person* in February 1963 (CL2141/CS8741), which had been recorded live at The Troubadour in September 1962. In January 1963 the new lineup made their first studio album, *The New Christy Minstrels Tell Tall Tales! (Legends and Nonsense)*. By now the group's fame had grown considerably after their appearances on *The Andy Williams Show*, and they received "a raft of enthusiastic reviews". In April 1963 the group recorded another studio album called *Ramblin'* (CL2055/CS8855) which featured "Green, Green", a McGuire/Sparks composition that became the group's first hit single, peaking at number three on the Adult Contemporary Charts. "Green, Green" sold over one million copies in 1963, and was awarded a gold disc. Later that same year, Trini Lopez recorded that same hit song of the Minstrels for his second album at P.J's for Reprise records (R6103/RS6103).

In May 1963, Sparks stopped touring with the group to focus on a club he had established in Los Angeles called Ledbetters, and a new group he had formed, The Back Porch Majority. He passed the role of director and arranger of The New Christy Minstrels's live performances onto McGuire, who had become the "star" of the group after singing on their hit "Green, Green". Soon after McGuire's promotion, Ellis left and was replaced by Gene Clark, who featured prominently on the group's next few records. But in early 1964 Clark left to join Jim McGuinn and David Crosby in the Jet Set, and later The Byrds. Clark was replaced by Paul Potash. The group's two female singers, Miller, and Caldwell also left and were replaced by Karen Gunderson and Ann White.

In early 1964 Sparks was contracted to create a film score for a comedy, *Advance to the Rear*, featuring Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens. The corresponding soundtrack performed by The New Christy Minstrels was released in May 1964 as *Today* (CL2159/CS8959). It was the first complete soundtrack ever made in the folk music style. The score is notable for the hit standard "Today", which was written by Sparks. "Today" reached number four on the Adult Contemporary Charts and 17 on the *Billboard* Hot 100.

In the summer of 1964, The New Christy Minstrels were featured in the television series *Ford Presents the New Christy Minstrels*, a weekly musical variety show sponsored by the Ford Motor Company and broadcast as a summer replacement for *Hazel*. Each episode had an outdoor setting, with two filmed at the 1964 New York World's Fair and three at various locations in Los Angeles, California. A guest comedian appeared with the group in each episode. *Ford Presents the New Christy Minstrels* ran for five weeks, from 6 August to 10 September 1964, on NBC from 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday throughout its run.

After the group toured Europe in early 1965, McGuire left to embark on a solo career, and this spelled the end of the original New Christy Minstrels. Now under the direction of Greif and Garris the group moved towards a variety act, doing "novelty and pop tunes" and a little comedy, making them closer to the 19th century Christy's Minstrels from whom the group's name was derived. Reflecting this shift, they had a *Billboard* Top 100 hit later in 1965 with a cover of "Chim, Chim, Cheree" from the Disney film *Mary Poppins*.

Regular group membership changes continued, often with each new tour. In 1965 Kane was replaced by Bill Teague, and Treat was replaced by Skiles and Henderson, a comedy duo that broadened The New Christy Minstrels's stage act. Later that year Woods was replaced by Rusty Evans, and in early 1966 Larry Ramos left to join The Association and was replaced by Mike Settle. Towards the end of 1966 Podell, Gunderson and White were replaced by Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes and Karen Black. Settle and Rogers later left to form The First Edition.

They performed during Super Bowl IV at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans in 1970. They were introduced as "young Americans who demonstrate – with guitars."

The New Christy Minstrels continued under the management of Greif and Garris until 1991, making several more records (except between 1971 and 1975 when they were inactive), including a folk-pop album of Motown hits, *On Tour Through Motortown* (1968). In 1976 the group reconstituted itself for a short while as a pop group to make a new album, *The Great Soap Opera Themes*, and then in 1978 they began performing at resort hotels.

### Today

In May 2010, the group reconstituted and toured, performing 33 concerts over 54 days in October and November of that year. The new lineup was given a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.

In 2009, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to Randy Sparks and The New Christy Minstrels.

The New Christy Minstrels is currently run and owned by The New Christy Minstrels Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to preserving the group's music.

## Members

Just over 300 people have been members of The New Christy Minstrels.

Founder Randy Sparks has the most time spent in The New Christy Minstrels; second place in that category is Becky Jo Benson, who has been an active member non stop since 1997. The current (as of 2015) line up in live concerts and on recent recordings consists of seven members: the inventor and founder of The New Christy Minstrels, Randy Sparks; Becky Jo Benson; Sue Harris; Greg O'Haver; 'Uncle' Dave Deutschendorf (John Denver's Uncle); 'Cousin' Dave Rainwater (Brenda Lee's Cousin); and Tholow Chan.

Alumni of the group include:

1. Randy Sparks (Founder) 1961
2. Jackie Miller 1961
3. Dave Ellingson 1961 (Fairmount Singers)
4. Terry Tillman 1961 (Fairmount Singers)
5. Robbie Mills 1961 (Fairmount Singers)
6. Hal Ayotte 1961 (Fairmount Singers)
7. Charlie Oyama 1961
8. Peter Apo 1961
9. Dick Shirley 1961
10. Nick Woods 1961 (deceased)
11. Billy Cudmore 1961 (deceased)
12. Jerry Yester 1961, later with The Modern Folk Quartet and The Lovin' Spoonful
13. Karol Dugin 1961
14. John Forsha 1961 (deceased)
15. Terry Wadsworth 1962 (deceased)
16. Dolan Ellis 1962, again in 2006, retired from the group in 2015
17. Art Podell 1962
18. Baxter Taylor 1962 formerly of The Wayfarers Trio with Mason Williams
19. Barry McGuire 1962, later performer of hit song "Eve of Destruction"
20. Barry Kane 1962, later in a duo, Barry & Barry, with McGuire (d. 2013)
21. Tracy Newman 1962
22. Peggy Connelly 1962 (deceased)
23. Larry Ramos 1962, later with The Association at their peak (d. 2014)
24. Clarence Treat 1962
25. Jim McGuinn (later known as Roger McGuinn)
26. Gayle Caldwell 1962 (deceased), wrote the song "Cycles" (d. 2009)
27. Doug Brookins 1963
28. Gene Clark 1963, later with The Byrds (d. 1991)
29. Ann White 1963, later with The Love Generation
30. Susannah Sofaer 1963
31. Mike Crowley 1963 (deceased)
32. Paul Potash 1963
33. Karen Gunderson 1964
34. Mike Whalen 1965
35. Bob Buchanan 1965
36. Connie Holiday 1965
37. Will Teague 1965
38. Bill Skiles 1965 (deceased)
39. Pete Henderson 1965, of Skiles and Henderson, again in 2010, retired 2015
40. Rusty Evans 1965
41. Dennis Cosh 1965
42. Mike Settle 1966, later a cofounder of The First Edition
43. Ede Mae Kellogg 1966
44. Michael Mc Ginnis 1966
45. Peter Morse 1966
46. Kiyoko Ito 1966
47. Kim Carnes 1966, later a solo artist
48. Kenny Rogers 1966, later cofounder of The First Edition, and solo artist
49. Terry Williams 1966, later cofounder of The First Edition
50. Mark Holly 1966 (deceased)
51. Monica Kirby 1966
52. Sue Pack 1966
53. Joan Johnson 1967
54. Dik Hitt 1967
55. Gail DaCorsi 1967 (deceased)
56. David Jackson 1967
57. Keith Barbour 1967, later a solo artist with the hit "Echo Park"
58. Buddy Bohn 1967
59. Gil Reigers 1967
60. Karen Black 1967, actress (d. 2013)
61. Sue Austin 1967
62. Jerry McCaskill 1967
63. Thelma Lou Camacho 1967, later cofounder of The First Edition
64. Marlene Silvers 1967
65. Joe Travis 1967
66. Mark Springer 1967
67. Ron Wells 1968
68. Steven Edwards 1968
69. Gary Boggs 1968 (deceased)
70. Larry Gallagher 1968
71. Fats Johnson 1968 (deceased)
72. Rick Hansen 1968
73. Ellen Whalen 1968
74. Bill Heard 1968
75. Randy Tallman 1968 (deceased)
76. Bruce Bermudez 1968, later formed the group Catahoula
77. Andy Michlin 1968
78. Anne Booth 1968
79. John Tymon 1968
80. Carol "Kim" Carmichael 1968
81. Carol Kimzey 1968
82. Rex Kramer 1968, longest touring member, played a Command Performance for the Queen in Great Britain
83. Joe Frank Carollo 1968
84. Mayf Nutter 1968
85. Denny Johnston 1969
86. Al Perkins 1969 (deceased)
87. Gary Evans 1969
88. Ramona Toney 1969
89. Brian Cutler 1969
90. Bryon Walls 1969
91. Gary Fishbaugh 1969
92. Pamela Bennett 1969
93. Bill Reynolds 1969
94. Gail Randall 1969
95. Steve Sloan 1969
96. Myles Williams 1969
97. Sandy Hoyles 1969 (deceased)
98. Dean Rutledge 1969
99. Bill Zorn 1969
100. Pete Zorn 1969
101. Susan Bender 1970
102. Daniel "Igor" Glenn 1970
103. Terry Meeuwsen 1970, later Miss America and *The 700 Club* host
104. Tom Bahler 1970
105. John Bahler 1970
106. Steve Corcran 1970
107. Jere Palmer 1970
108. Terry Tiz 1970
109. Jack Otterness 1970
110. Michael Umphrey 1971
111. Steve Grimm 1971 (deceased)
112. Linda Hart 1971, later Broadway performer
113. John Hylton 1971
114. Gaylan Taylor 1971, later with The Limeliters
115. Mike "Smiley" Timms 1971
116. John Anthony 1971, later band singer for Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians
117. Christine Andreas 1971, later Broadway performer
118. Keith Baker 1971
119. John Lamont Pulsipher 1972
120. Peggy Thomas-Moyer-DeMars 1972
121. Jim Ferguson 1972
122. Roy Culbertson 1972
123. Tara Leigh 1972
124. Jan Alford 1972 (deceased)
125. Judy Thompson 1972
126. Jane Dunham 1973
127. Leslie Herweg 1973
128. Wendy Jacobs 1973
129. Drew Daniels 1973
130. Jim Flemming 1973
131. Jonathon Johnson 1973
132. Christopher Park 1973
133. Minako Kobayashi 1973
134. Vivian Wesson 1973
135. Valorie Haggins 1973
136. Mike Irwin 1973
137. Joy Lober 1972
138. Rod Philips 1973
139. Mae Beth Cormany 1973
140. Jim Juracic 1973
141. Gerry David Bevan 1973
142. Shirley Brown 1973
143. Jim Andron 1973
144. Robin Roth 1973
145. Spike Jones Jr. 1973
146. Nancy (?)1973
147. B. Paul Moore 1973
148. Zee Williams 1973
149. Debbie Shapiro 1973
150. Lee Floyd 1973
151. Mary Easterling-Heitzinger 1974
152. Ron Walz 1974
153. Tom Clift 1974
154. Loretta Glickman 1974 (deceased)
155. Mike Alley 1974
156. Leigh Reynolds 1974
157. Scott Newell 1974
158. Ike Egan 1974
159. Karen Sparka 1975
160. Lolita Afifi 1975
161. Tony Irvine 1975
162. Michael Ball 1975
163. Rick Araiza 1975
164. Jan Jamieson 1975
165. Clive Hughes 1975
166. Tom Wall 1975
167. Bill Klausman 1975
168. Larry Bridges 1975
169. Ed Suski 1976
170. Carolyn Porter (Porter Hansen) 1976
171. Kirk Jackson 1976
172. Dennis Scott 1976
173. Amy Castro Payuyo-Stinstrom 1976, later with Belarussian group Pesnyary
174. Jerry Begen 1976
175. Glenn Koehr 1976
176. Mary Ann Grayson 1976
177. Paula Desmond 1976
178. Nanette Florian 1977, first female bass player for the group
179. Linda Little 1977
180. William Florian 1977, later touring his show 'Those Were the Days'
181. Mike Fuller 1977
182. Roger McKay 1977
183. Michael Manley Miller 1977 (deceased)
184. Mark Elliot 1977
185. Henry Iglesias 1977 (deceased)
186. Ed Rathbun 1977
187. John Brust 1977
188. Patti Cohenour 1977
189. Debbie Rindy Sumerlin 1978
190. Ron Morris 1978
191. Alan Paul Lee 1978
192. Marc Clement 1978 (deceased)
193. Darlene Cease-McGrady 1978
194. Tom Becker 1978
195. Rebecca Hutten 1978
196. Leslie Baldwin 1978
197. Don Holst 1978
198. Jenny Mullen 1979
199. Melody Liston 1979
200. Denny Ferris 1979
201. David Rankin 1979
202. David Moyer 1980
203. Sonny Franks 1980
204. Katrina Brown 1980
205. Bruce Rathbun 1980 (deceased)
206. Rob Wright 1980
207. Dee Melvin 1981
208. Amy Carol Webb 1981
209. Michael Andrews 1981
210. Susan Palmer 1981
211. Kathy Downey 1981
212. David "Pope" Firman 1982
213. Susan Mitchell 1982
214. John Wierick 1983
215. Valorie Sullivan 1983
216. Curtis Coleman 1983
217. Melody Clark 1982
218. Sally Davis 1983
219. Billy Patrick 1983
220. Tim Russ 1983
221. Jerry Anderson 1983
222. Yvonne Yanaganuma 1983
223. Stephanie Bennett 1984
224. Paul Stierle 1982
225. Joe Scott 1985
226. Tina Leisner 1985
227. Kerry Clark 1985
228. Chris Foote 1985
229. Katie Leonard 1985
230. Jon Michaels 1985
231. Don Kreiger 1985
232. David Zink 1986
233. Matt 1986
234. Wayne Green 1986
235. Jacque Dawn Tingey 1986
236. Debra Linn Tingey 1986
237. Cheryl Llewyn (Arianna Storm) 1986
238. Joseph Julian Gonzalez 1986
239. Dion Pride 1986
240. Joe Ramirez 1986
241. Terry Temple 1986
242. Gabriella Deleuze Ducasa 1986 (Miss Panama 1987)
243. Linda Lawrence Paul 1986
244. David Duncan 1986
245. Jeffrey Charles 1986
246. Kelly Miller 1986
247. Chris Ward 1986
248. Tom Ryan 1986
249. Hollis Payseur 1986
250. Steve Goodyear 1986
251. David Brock 1986
252. Martin Beardeux 1982
253. Lisa Coble 1986
254. Putnam Lee 1986
255. Anne Allgood 1986
256. Steve Gotteman 1986
257. Leigh Russell 1986
258. Joel Thompson 1986
259. David Sheridan 1986
260. Alicia Irving 1987
261. Jeanne Carr 1987
262. Kristen Jepperson 1987
263. Nick Simms 1987
264. Daniel Leanse 1988
265. Bob Snow 1989
266. Oliver C. Brown 1989
267. Ralph MacFarland 1989
268. Martha Sandefer 1989
269. Kelly Spellman 1989
270. Michelle Laybourne 1990
271. Elyssa Morris 1990
272. David Salazar 1992
273. Terry Talbot 1992
274. Russ Giguerre 1994
275. Becky Jo Benson 1997
276. Ed Rienhardt 1997
277. David Rainwater 1997
278. Lowell Daniels 1997
279. Jackie Miller 1997 (deceased) (NOT #2)
280. Eddie Boggs 1998 (deceased)
281. Lori Brandon 1998, singer, guitarist, and spoons, washboard, and bodhrán player, married fellow group member David Rainwater (d. 2012)
282. Chris Miller 1998
283. Kris Osward 1998
284. Jeff Jacobs 2002
285. Darryl Effinger 2002
286. Ron Wilburne 2003
287. Fred Jonhansen 2003
288. Ted Williamson 2003
289. Chuck Cole 2004
290. Art Morgan 2004
291. Todd Hallawell 2004
292. John Doan 2004
293. Jennifer Lind 2004
294. Bill Boycott 2005
295. Rick Hill 2008, guitar, harmonica, banjo, and fiddle
296. David Deutschendorf 2009
297. Greg O'Haver 2010
298. Karen Nickles 2010
299. Tholow Chan 2015
300. Bunny Sings Wolf 2015
301. Ed Stockton 2015
302. Sue Harris 2016
303. Julie Theroux 2017
304. Chip Cope 2019

## Partial Discography

### Albums

* *Presenting The New Christy Minstrels* (aka *Exciting New Folk Chorus*) (1962)
* *The New Christy Minstrels In Person* (1963) (recorded live at The Troubadour, Los Angeles)
* *The New Christy Minstrels Tell Tall Tales! (Legends and Nonsense)* (1963)
* "Three Wheels on My Wagon" (1962) single release
* *Ramblin'* (1963)
* *Merry Christmas!* (1963)
* *Today and Other Songs from 'Advance to the Rear'* (1964)
* *Land of Giants* (1964)
* *The Quiet Sides of The New Christy Minstrels* (1965)
* *The New Christy Minstrels Sing and Play Cowboys and Indians* (1965) (recorded in 1964)
* *Chim Chim Cher-ee and Other Happy Songs* (1965)
* *The Wandering Minstrels* (1965)
* *In Italy...In Italian* (1966)
* *New Kick!* (1966)
* *Christmas with the Christies* (1966)
* *Greatest Hits* (1966)
* *On Tour Through Motortown* (1968)
* *Big Hits from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang* (with Arthur Treacher) (1968)
* *You Need Someone to Love* (1970)
* *A Sanremo* (1970)
* *Keep Japan Beautiful* {1975)
* *The Great Soap Opera Themes* (1976)
* *Live from Ledbetter's* (1999) (recorded in 1964)
* *Merry Christmas, Volume II: 42 Years Later* (2005)
* *Recycled: What's Old Is New* (2009)

## In Popular Culture

The group was gently parodied in the film *A Mighty Wind* as the "neuftet", The New Main Street Singers.

## References

1. ↑ allmusic.com
2. ↑ Allmusic
3. ↑ Allmusic
4. ↑ McNeil, Alex, *Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present*, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 595.
5. ↑ Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, *The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition*, New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, ISBN 0-345-39736-3, p. 736.
6. ↑ "New Christy Minstrels to Start First European Trek in January", *Billboard*, 8 August 1964
7. ↑ Sponsors at the Super Bowl eclipse big game with glitz *Baltimore Sun* 29 January 1995
8. ↑ Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated
9. ↑ Newchristyminstrelsfoundation.org
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Thenewchristyminstrels.com