Bob Shane
Robert Castle Schoen (February 1, 1934 – January 26, 2020), known professionally as Bob Shane, was an American singer and guitarist who was a founding member of The Kingston Trio. In that capacity, Shane became a seminal figure in the revival of folk and other acoustic music as a popular art form in the United States in the late 1950s through the mid-1960s.
Bob Shane
Robert Castle Schoen
February 1, 1934
Hilo, Territory of Hawaii, U.S.
January 26, 2020 (aged 85)
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
1957–2004
Capitol Records, Decca Records, other
The success of the Kingston Trio in its heyday had repercussions far beyond its voluminous album sales (including four albums simultaneously in the Top 10 in 1959), its host of imitators, and the relatively short-lived pop-folk boom it created. For the Kingston Trio's success took acoustic folk-based music out of the niche market it had occupied prior to the Trio's arrival and moved it into the mainstream of American popular music, opening the door for major record labels to record and market both more traditional folk musicians and singer-songwriters as well.[1]
Early life[edit]
Shane was born on February 1, 1934, in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, the son of Margaret (Schaufelberger) and Arthur Castle Schoen, a wholesale distributor of toys and sporting goods. His mother was from Salt Lake City, and his father was a Hawaiian of German descent.[2][3][4] Shane was in his own words "a fourth-generation islander". He attended local schools, including the prestigious Punahou School for his junior high and high school years. Punahou's curriculum emphasized native Hawaiian culture,[5] complementing Shane's already developing interest in music in general and Hawaiian music in particular.
During these years, Shane (the phonetic spelling he began using in 1957) taught himself to play first ukulele and then guitar, influenced especially by Hawaiian slack key guitarists like Gabby Pahinui. It was also during these years that Shane met Punahou classmate Dave Guard and began performing with him at parties and school variety shows.
Solo efforts and The New Kingston Trio, 1969–1976[edit]
Shane had not been in favor of the break-up of the Kingston Trio, both because he felt that the Trio could adapt to changing musical tastes and because he had by then become a thoroughly accomplished entertainer and a canny marketer. Deciding to stay in the entertainment business, Shane experimented both with solo work (he recorded several singles, including the original version of the song "Honey" that later became a million-seller for Bobby Goldsboro)[23] and with different configurations with other folk-oriented performers.
In 1969, he asked permission of Reynolds and Werber, still his partners, to lease the group's name. They assented with the provisos that Shane assemble a group of comparable musical quality to the two original configurations and that "New" be appended to the name. Shane organized two troupes under the name of "The New Kingston Trio". The first consisted of guitarist Pat Horine and banjoist Jim Connor in addition to Shane and lasted from 1969 to 1973, the second including guitarist Roger Gambill and banjoist Bill Zorn from 1973 until 1976. Shane tried to create a repertoire for these groups that included both expected Kingston Trio standards like "Tom Dooley" and "M.T.A." but also more contemporary songs, including country and novelty tunes. The attempt did not meet with any significant success. Though both of these groups made a limited number of recordings and television appearances, neither generated very much interest from fans or the public at large.[24]
Personal life[edit]
Shane was married for 23 years to the former Louise Brandon; they had 5 children and 8 grandchildren.[4][7] The marriage ended in divorce and he remarried in 2000 to Bobbi Childress.[7]
He died on January 26, 2020, at a hospice facility in Phoenix, Arizona.[4][7][27] He was six days short of his 86th birthday.