The Brothers Four

History[edit]

Bob Flick, John Paine, Mike Kirkland, and Dick Foley met at the University of Washington,^[3] where they were members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity in 1956 (hence the "Brothers" appellation). Their first professional performances were the result of a prank played on them in 1958 by a rival fraternity, who had arranged for someone to call them, pretend to be from Seattle's Colony Club, and invite them to come down to audition for a gig. Even though they were not expected at the club, they were allowed to sing a few songs and were subsequently hired. Flick recalls them being paid "mostly in beer".


They left for San Francisco in 1959, where they met Mort Lewis, Dave Brubeck's manager.^[3] Lewis became their manager and later that year secured them a contract with Columbia Records.^[3] Their second single, "Greenfields", released in January 1960, hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[4] sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.^[5] Their first album, The Brothers Four, released toward the end of the year, made the top 20.^[3] Other highlights of their early career included singing their fourth single, "The Green Leaves of Summer", from the John Wayne movie The Alamo, at the 1961 Academy Awards, and having their third album, BMOC: Best Music On/Off Campus, go top 10. They also recorded the title song for the Hollywood film Five Weeks in a Balloon in 1962 and the theme song for the ABC television series Hootenanny, "Hootenanny Saturday Night", in 1963. They also gave "Sloop John B" a try, released as "The John B Sails".^[6]


The British Invasion and the ascendance of edgier folk rock musicians such as Bob Dylan put an end to the Brothers Four's early period of success,^[3] but they kept performing and making records, doing particularly well in Japan and on the American hotel circuit.


The group attempted a comeback by recording a highly commercialized version of Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man", but were unable to release it due to licensing issues; The Byrds eventually licensed an agreement for their own version, with their Billboard No. 1 hit released in April 1965.^[7]


The group, in a business partnership with Jerry Dennon, built a radio station in Seaside, Oregon (KSWB) in 1968.^[8] The station was subsequently sold in 1972 to a group from Montana, and later to a self-proclaimed minister, and finally merged into a larger conglomerate of radio stations.


Mike Kirkland left the group in 1969 and was replaced by Mark Pearson, another University of Washington alumnus. In 1971, Pearson left and was replaced by Bob Haworth, who stayed until 1985 and was replaced by a returning Pearson. Dick Foley left the group in 1990 and was replaced by Terry Lauber. The group is still active after 66 years in the business.


Founding former member Kirkland died of cancer on August 20, 2020, at age 82.^[9]