New Christy Minstrels: Folk Group a Good-Time Band

Happy.
There’s more to The New Christy Minstrels, but that one shiny word attaches to them as fittingly as blue in the sky. They radiate. On the phone, on stage, on record – the New Christy Minstrels epitomize the simple though powerful smile.
Beam along with the longtime folk band on Oct. 22 at Niswonger Performing Arts Center in nearby Greeneville, Tenn.
Formed in part and led by Randy Sparks, The New Christy Minstrels formed in 1961. Think about that. They predate the Rolling Stones. Elvis Presley was not yet 30. John F. Kennedy was president.
“Nowadays, we’re a bunch of old-timers who are having more fun than the people in the audience,” Sparks said by phone from California. “You can’t watch us without having a good time.”
Stamp the good time act as survivors.
First came their breakthrough. Thanks to a slot on the hit television program “The Andy Williams Show” in 1962 and 1963, The New Christy Minstrels launched into living rooms and subsequent national prominence.
“It was 100 percent the springboard,” Sparks said. “Andy Williams made the difference. People would watch the show and see we were having a good time, and people want to come see acts that are having a good time. We are a happy act.”
Grand exposure led to their first album, “Presenting The New Christy Minstrels,” for mighty Columbia Records. Courtesy Andy Williams, The New Christy Minstrels morphed quickly into a brand name, which spurred record sales and awards.
The album earned them their first and to date only Grammy Award.
“It’s one of the best moments in our lives,” Sparks said.
Their hit singles of the era included “Green, Green” and “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine.”  Most notably, “Chim Chim Cher-ee” won 1964’s Academy Award for Best Song.
Then came the turbulence of the mid-to-late 1960s. Fellow folkies recorded mounds of protest songs amid the Vietnam War. Into those ranks filed Peter, Paul, & Mary, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and so on. But not The New Christy Minstrels.
“I would not allow us to become a protest act,” Sparks said. “We are not into politics at all. We have to remain neutral.”
Meanwhile, as the world turned on a seemingly vicious axis, The Minstrels mined new talent. Into their fold came and went soon-to-be stars from Kenny Rogers to Kim Carnes to the Byrds’ future member Gene Clark.
“Kenny always had it,” Sparks said. “Success in the music business is 90 percent drive and 10 percent talent. Kenny always had the drive, and he was determined to do it. He was driven.”
Driven describes The Minstrels. However, just as they would not record protest songs, they also would not waver much regarding the band’s folk sound.
That means they feature no drums. They do not play pop or rock or country music. In their 48 years, numerous trends in music have come and gone while more than one veteran act caved, but The Minstreals would not.
“We don’t try to navigate the tide of tastes in music,” Sparks said. “We are there for people who loved us way back then and for their grandchildren. We walk out on stage every night and it’s a love fest.”

IF YOU GO
Who: The New Christy Minstrels
When: Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Niswonger Performing Arts Center, 212 Tusculum Blvd., Greeneville, Tenn.
Admission: $27.50 for adults, $23.25 group rate, $10 for students
Info: (423) 638-1679
Web: http://www.thenewchristyminstrels.com

TOM NETHELAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .