Folk Music Trio Reunited for UT Homecoming

In 1964 the Cumberland Trio was on the edge of a dream.

L-R: Tom Kilpatrick, Jerre Haskew and Andy Garverick

The group (actually three singers and a bass player) was made up of University of Tennessee students Jerre Haskew, Andy Garverick, Tom Kilpatrick and Jim Shuptrine. The young men had just had a successful spot on the ABC-TV program "Hootenanny," had played for enthusiastic audiences at college campuses, and were awaiting the release of their debut album.

The group was prepared to join the Kingston Trio; Peter, Paul and Mary; the Chad Mitchell Trio and other collegiate folk groups as a top-selling music act.

Yet before the year was out the dream was over.The group's record company went bankrupt, and in a span of a few months folk groups went out of fashion. The Cumberland Trio's unreleased album gathered dust. The group split, its members pursuing nonmusical careers.

Tonight, however, the Cumberland Trio will reunite for their first concert since 1965. And the group's debut album, recorded 37 years ago, has just been released.

The Cumberland Trio's performance at 8 p.m. today at the Bijou Theatre is part of the UT Homecoming celebration, and proceeds will benefit the UT School of Music Scholarship Fund.

"We had what we thought was a real shot," said Haskew from his Chattanooga office.

It did seem that way.

Haskew, Garverick, Kilpatrick and Shuptrine formed the group in late 1962. Their debut was in competition in UT's Carnicus celebration in the spring of 1963. They won the competition and followed by competing in the National Collegiate Folk Festival in
Jacksonville, Fla. The group won there as well - beating out such contenders as The Hillmen, which featured future Byrds member Chris Hillman, and future country music star Vern Gosdin.

The Cumberland Trio's local popularity soared, and when ABC decided to film two "Hootenanny" shows at UT in January 1964, the Cumberland Trio was invited to perform. On the same show were Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, Doc Watson and Homer
and Jethro, as well as young Kenny Rogers singing with a folk group called The New Christy Minstrels, Carly Simon and her sister billed as the Simon Sisters, and an 18 year old Paul Simon singing with a folk group called the Goldbriars.

The "Hootenanny" appearance led to a recording session in Nashville - with Chet Atkins producing - and an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry as guests of Archie Campbell. With an album's worth of music already recorded, RCA Records offered the group a
recording contract with a then-standard 2 percent royalty rate. "Then another company came along and offered us a 10 percent royalty rate," Haskew recalled.

The company was the Recording Industries Corporation, which had recently opened offices in Nashville and New York. "Even Chet told us we should go with RIC," Haskew said. The group drove to New York and began recording.

While in the city the group performed at the Bitter End, one of the city's legendary music clubs. A young comic named Bill Cosby opened the show.

When the recording was complete the group returned to Knoxville and rented a theater that adjoined the Greystone Hotel in Gatlinburg. The Cumberland Trio would hone their act and make some money with twice-daily shows while waiting for the release
of their album.

But the album release continued to be pushed back. In September, the group found out that the RIC was bankrupt.

"Then the folk music scene that had been so popular just fell off the planet," Garverick said.

RCA was no longer interested.

Haskew's wife, Barbara, was offered a teaching job at Memphis State University, and Jerre took a job at a Memphis bank, was in banking for over 25 years and then became a successful talk-radio host and consultant in Chattanooga. Kilpatrick finished his law degree and set up practice in Atlanta. Garverick joined the Marines and, after finishing graduate studies at UT, became a banker and consultant. Shuptrine moved back to Chattanooga and became a successful art broker.

The members made an attempt to update the group's sound, but decided to call it quits instead.

"Music became a hobby," Haskew said.

In the late 1960s Haskew located one of the founders of RIC Records who agreed to sell the Nashville tapes to Haskew for $100.

The members have remained in contact through the years, but it wasn't until Barbara Haskew decided to surprise her husband with a special 37th wedding anniversary gift that the Cumberland Trio became active again.

Barbara enlisted artist Patricia Mayes to illustrate the lyrics to Haskew's song "A Lion Named Sam" for a children's book. After receiving the book, Haskew had the RCA recording of the song remastered and pressed on CD for inclusion in the book. At the
encouragement of the engineer, Haskew had the rest of the recordings restored as well.

Haskew sent copies of "Sam" to a long list of friends, including Dave Roberts, director of the UT Alumni Association. Roberts broached the idea of a Cumberland Trio reunion concert. Shuptrine was the only member who could not commit to the show (due to health reasons), but he does plan on being at the concert.

Garverick hopes to release a CD of the Bijou show and record another studio album sometime in the future.

And Haskew has no lack of confidence either: "You know, we were pretty good then, but we're better now."

- Wayne Bledsoe, entertainment writer, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Nov. 9, 2001

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