The Kingston Trio - The Wreck Of The John B.

[sirronald69]

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[adamwentzell1982]

Don't like this version Jimmie Rogers version blows this one out of the water

[sandinmyears1]

Did Jimmie Rodgers do this song first or was it The Kingston Trio?

[oldiesrnow]

@sandinmyears1 Kingston Trio did it in 1958, Jimmie Rogers in 1960.

[sandinmyears1]

@oldiesrnow - Thanks. One thing I knew for sure was that it wasn't the Beach Boys who sand it first, even though most people think it was a BB song.

[musicbox193]

@sandinmyears1 neither were the original artist, this song is traditional

[Destiny4511]

@musicbox193 The Weavers recorded it in 1951, and Blind Blake Higgs did it shortly before that.

It was on KT's first album in 1958, when Brian Wilson was 16 years old. and The Beach Boys DID get it directly from the KT version, along with the wide-striped shirts.

It was first published in 1917 & KT got it from a 1927 Karl Sandburg songbook. Check "songfacts-dot-com", search titles under "S". for more on it.

[CliffMortensen1]

Bob Shane, drinking all night- no way!

[AlexinaThakrar58860]

You can get the audio-mp3 of this video at grabaudios doht cohm.

[Alphabex8]

great version. very smooth. i like these guys.

[jonleestone]

My name is Jon Stone - so I think 1.20 is awesome.

[theJaydog]

originally a traditional West Indies folk song, "The John B. Sails", taken from a collection by Carl Sandburg (1927). Alan Lomax made a field recording of the song in Nassau, 1935, under the title "Histe Up the John B. Sail". The song was adapted by Weavers member Lee Hays, and that group recorded it as "The Wreck of the John B." The Kingston Trio's recording of the song, also under the title "The Wreck of the John B.", was the direct influence on the Beach Boys' version.

[Jubal918]

@theJaydog While living in Houston, Mr. Lomax allowed me to listen to the original of this song. Somewhat different from what we know now. His father, John, was also on the scene of the recording.

[suprsnips]

Jimmie Rodgers did it in the fifties.

[AmayaYuukuno]

A friend has bought a rather big collection. In total there is roughly one thousand songs in that collection, all recorded by Kingston Trio.

I think it's rather safe to say that many songs that have been made (more) famous by other groups may have originated from these lovely men.

[heelez]

I never knew the Beach Boys' version was a cover!

totally sounds better, the beach boys version, that is...

[Geekernator21]

this is a cover too lol.

[schusterlehrling]

@heelez

Actually the song is a folk song from the Bahamas.

The wreck of the John (8ethel) actually lies in Gouvernor's Harbour, Eleuthea, Bahamas.

[CadillacL]

I first heard of KT in 80-81 from seeing a KT reunion special on PBS. I've been a fan since. Didn't realize, though, that KT

did this b-4 Beach Boys till recently;;;shrugs;;;

[MrToadFace]

nice cover of a Beach Boys song...

[oldiesrnow]

Actually, the other way around. The Kingston Trio version was released eight years before the Beach Boys' "cover".

[CompVid101]

And as most BB fans know, Al Jardine was and remains a huge Kingston Trio fan. He persuaded a less-than-willing Brian Wilson (not a folk or KT fan) to do that brilliant but very different BB arrangement, which is much more similar to the Weavers' version, the ultimate source for the KT.

[Bartelseddy]

Kingston Trio did it long before the Beach Boys!

[999duhast]

@Bartelseddy yeh not disputing that, but i think the VAST majority would agree the beach boys cover is far superior, everything from vocals to the harmony! petsounds rocks!

[fanchbrezoneg]

@999duhast the Beach Boys version is not superior, only different.

[999duhast]

@fanchbrezoneg okay but im sure others would beg to differ! sloop john b was 1 of the main attractions to pet sounds, which is known as 1 of the best albums ever.... dont see kingston trio in the top 100, probs not in the top 200. have i proved my point?? i think so..

[thebluekey]

@999duhast Except Kingston Trio topped charts all the time in their day...their hit song Tom Dooley was number 1 for quite a while, and earned a few grammys. They've had 5 number 1 albums, one of which charted for 46 weeks, 14 top ten albums, and 4 consecutive number 1.

Research before you blast one of this country's most beloved Folk bands.

[fanchbrezoneg]

@Bartelseddy 4 or 5 years before Beach Boys version. On the first KT LP lyrics by Lee Hays & Carl Sandburg; this is a Capitol mono master # 18391, summer 1958

[behttlo]

i love this song

[herbatix]

amazing ;] ... drinking all night ...

[SirBasildeBrush]

This is a nice version of a true classic.

[liloldnightingale]

Like this version best.

[oldiesrnow]

Yeah, me too. Probably 'cause this is the version that I listened to growing up.