Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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MITCHELL, Chad, Trio

The Chad Mitchell Trio was a folk/pop vocal group of the early 1960s. Mitchell, Mike Kobluk and Joe Frazier were all born in 1939; they met at Gonzaga U. in Spokane WA (Bing Crosby's alma mater). They had hits on Kapp with novelties and comedy including ‘Lizzie Borden'. Six chart LPs '62-4 included Mighty Day On Campus (recorded at Brooklyn College) and Live At The Bitter End '62, both with future Byrd Roger McGuinn on guitar. They switched to Mercury; Chad left and the group renamed the Mitchell Trio replaced him with young unknown John Denver, who was a better singer. The Mitchell Trio had two more chart LPs including The Mitchell Trio Alive '67 on Reprise. By then Frazier had been replaced by David Boise, who was a very good singer, but apparently never recorded again. Kobluk left, replaced by Mike Johnson; they toured as the Mitchell Trio briefly, changed their name to Denver, Boise and Johnson, and then Denver went on to bigger things. Alive was highly regarded and became a cult item, reissued many years later on Collector's Choice.