McCoy joins The Brothers Four 2004

Everything changed for McCoy and me in the spring of 2004. After 45 years John Paine was retiring from The Brothers Four. I told Bob Flick that I thought McCoy would be a great addition to the group.

While it was clear that McCoy would step easily into John’s place on stage what I underestimated is how much McCoy would add to the experience of being on the road and how much fun we would have traveling together.

That first season the group toured the US with The Kingston Trio and Glenn Yarbrough. Every day McCoy and I would explore some new city or town and then singing that night to an audience who truly appreciated folk music.

The Brothers Four also made three trips to Japan that year. It was something special thirty-five years after I made my first trip to that amazing country to be sharing that experience with McCoy.

When the group is on the road there is nowhere else we want to be and nothing else we would rather do. The audiences are aware of how much fun we’re having and that makes every show special.

There are a couple of versions here of The Brothers Four's career song, "Green Fields." One is a collage of photos that Gary Settle took. The other is a video we did at the Wheeler Theater at Fort Warden in Port Townsend.

The Brothers Four do a number of medleys during a performance. Included in the audio tracks is a four string banjo medley as well as a medley of songs with the five string banjo. The third audio recording is Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds" and features McCoy.

If you'd like to join McCoy and me on September 13th for a special 50th anniversary concert please go to Brown Paper Tickets.http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2055269