I’ve often wondered where my left-leaning political inclinations have come from. I was raised in a conservative evangelical missionary family and many of my cousins are ardent supporters of the Orange oaf who currently sits in the White House. Liberal political opinions are not things that you’d expect to come out of this background. But I have never felt sympathy for the conservative argument. I seem to have popped out with a pre- determined political point of view.
My older brothers are ultimately responsible. It is their passionate arguments with my dad about Nixon and the Vietnam War, which I observed as a nine and ten year old, that were my Politics 101. And it was the records of the Chad Mitchell Trio that they introduced into the family that subtly reinforced their strong liberal attitudes.
From the age of 10 to 14 I listened to the Chad Mitchell Trio more than any other singing group. Especially the album All American Boys, which takes ninth place in my list. The Chad Mitchell Trio were one of the better of the many folk groups (the biggest being The Kingston Trio and Peter Paul and Mary) that dominated American college campuses in the early 1960s. They sang beautiful three part harmonies accompanied by acoustic guitar, mandolin and banjo. Unlike the Kingston Trio, CMT were not averse to singing about current events and mocking conservative America. Whether it was poking fun at the extreme world view of Barry Goldwater, mocking the John Birch Society’s paranoia or supporting the civil rights movement, they were always on the left hand side of the political road.
I knew nothing about these people: Barry Goldwater, Jimmy Hoffa or John Birch. But later in life when I did learn more I would often hum the Chad Mitchell Trio song about them that I knew by heart. CMT records were my introduction to American politics but also to folk/acoustic music. Both things have stayed with me ever since. All these years later my collection is full of acoustic feel good music with vague political overtones. Like their song One Man’s Hands . Thanks boys!
njrabe 