The Kingston Trio, Photoshop & Me

And now for something completely different, as Monty the Python would say…

This post is about the dangers of making a casual remark.

Ever hear of the Kingston Trio? They were the Beatles of their day. They played folk music, however, not rock.

Their recording of “Tom Dooley” hit #1 and sold over six million copies. It put them on the cover of Life magazine.

Front to back: Nick Reynolds, Bob Shane, Dave Guard.

They were a little before my time, but I discovered them
later and became a big fan. I have most of their albums.

One day I happened to tell a friend of mine, “I like the Kingston Trio.”

Not long after, I received this in my inbox:

Is that really me?? Hmm. I did own some big round glasses once, and I do have a mustache… Well, judge for yourself using this handy Mark Armstrong Identi-Kit.

My friend, whose name is Dave Beffa, is a Photoshop whiz.
I can see where he cloned Bob Shane’s hair to make mine. What’s funny about that is that it gives me a passing resemblance to John Stewart.

Who’s John Stewart? He replaced Dave Guard in the Trio in 1961. So in a sense, there really was a “Kingston Quattro” during their “big name” period, 1958-67. Here’s the second lineup.

Plug: My friend, whose full name is David Beffa-Negrini, creates beautiful custom wooden jigsaw puzzles. Just send him a photo, a company logo, whatever. His puzzles make truly unique gifts. Details on his site, Fool’s Gold Puzzles.

If you’re not familiar with the Kingston Trio, here are a couple of my favorite tracks:

A Worried Man, an infectious toe-tapper by the original lineup (Guard-Shane-Reynolds), and a beautiful ballad
called Where Are You Going Little Boy, written by Stewart
and performed by Shane-Reynolds-Stewart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGMqDZjqo4E

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About Mark: I’m an illustrator specializing in humor, editorial, branding, social media, and content marketing.
My images are different, like your brand needs to be.

You can view my portfolio, and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Questions? Send me an email.

Follow @mrstrongarm