Review of We Never Knew Just What it Was ... the Story of the Chad Mitchell Trio

[Katherine Jeans]

[Following is a volunteer review of "We Never Knew Just What it Was ... the Story of the Chad Mitchell Trio" by Mike Murphey.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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In the mid-1960s, at the height of the folk music era, the Chad Mitchell Trio emerged. We Never Knew Just What It Was. . . the story of the Chad Mitchell Trio is a history of that group's birth and progression. The three men were noted for their ability to meld their voices and create rich harmonies, as well as their use of comedy in their concerts.

Although the trio made beautiful music together, they never achieved the recognition that some of the others of their genre did, such as The Weavers, Pete Seegar, and Peter, Paul and Mary, at least in part because of personality conflicts and poor managers, who inserted themselves into the life of the group and caused disruption. Chad Mitchell is quoted as saying that three is the worst number for a group because it's always two against one, and the various managers of the group used this disadvantage to its utmost.

Except for his love of the music they played and his dedication to perfection, Mitchell had little in common with the other two members of the trio, Mike Kobluk and Joe Frazier. He enjoyed having time alone and resented having to spend so much time with Kobluk and Frazier as they rehearsed for concerts and traveled from city to city.

This book is a well researched and well documented history of an important segment of folk music in its heyday. It should be of interest to folk music enthusiasts, and possibly to other music historians as well. The book is well written and engaging, with the exception that it needs editing. The frequency of incorrectly spelled words and improper use of italics and quotation marks is distracting, to say the least.

The author's description of the personality conflicts between the trio's members is well done and adds richness to the story.

I am rating this book 3 out of 4 stars , because of the poor editing.

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We Never Knew Just What it Was ... the Story of the Chad Mitchell Trio
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