“All music is folk music. I never heard a horse sing.” – Louis Armstrong

From “The Human Condition: A User’s Manual,” by Arnold Kunst

18 January:

Back in the 60’s I was in a Kingston-Trio type folk trio – we called ourselves “The Troubadors,” and we competed for Sonoma State University’s “Campus Talent ’65.” I played my guitar like a wooden Indian but had a pleasant tenor voice and did killer arrangements; the other guy had a croaky bass voice and couldn’t arrange himself out of a paper bag but waled on a twelve-string; the girl couldn't hardly play her guitar and had a watery, nothing voice but was drop-dead gorgeous. In other words, we were nicely balanced. And as it happened we actually got a paid gig [our one and only] for the night before the competition - provide 30 minutes’ entertainment on a Friday night for a Church Altar Society at a nearby motel for which we received the princely sum of $5.00 each plus a free dinner. Needless to say, we were right at the boil for the competition the very next night. Hey, would you believe, we won first place!!