Sunny Side! is an album by the American folk music group the Kingston Trio, released in 1963 (see 1963 in music). It reached number 7 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The lead-off single was "Desert Pete" b/w "Ballad of the Thresher". The single was the last Top 40 single for the group. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
Preview copies of the album that were sent to radio stations and music critics contained the track "Woody's Song." Negative feedback led to Capitol removing it from the album. "Woody's Song" appeared on "Rediscover," a rarities album released by Folk Era Records in 1985, under the title of "Folksinger's Song."Ben Blake, Song Annotations, "The Kingston Trio: The Stewart Years," 2000, Bear Family Records.
Reception
Allmusic critic Bruce Eder thought the album was a "rushed recording" due to the success of "Reverend Mr. Black". He wrote: "The major problem with the album is that too many of the songs here sound like they're stuck at (or shouldn't have gotten past) the demo stage"
Reissues Sunny Side! was reissued along with The Kingston Trio #16 on CD by Collectors Choice Records in 2000.[ Allmusic entry for reissue of The Kingston Trio #16 and Sunny Side!.] In 2000, all of the tracks from Sunny Side!, including the deleted "Woody's Song," were included in The Stewart Years 10-CD box set issued by Bear Family Records.
Track listing Side one
"Desert Pete" (Billy Edd Wheeler) "Marcelle Vahine" (Augie Goupil) "Sing Out" (Michael Stewart) "Ballad of the Thresher" (Nat Allen, Keith Donald, Alice Nielsen) "Blowin' in the Wind" (Bob Dylan) "Goo Ga Gee" (Mike Settle)
Side two
"Jackson" (Wheeler, Jerry Leiber) "Two-Ten, Six-Eighteen (Doesn't Anybody Know My Name)" (Rod McKuen) "Those Brown Eyes" (Woody Guthrie, Alan Arkin, Bill Carey, Erik Darling) "Those Who Are Wise" (John Stewart) "Rider" (Nick Reynolds, Bob Shane, Judy Henske)
Personnel Bob Shane – vocals, guitar Nick Reynolds – vocals, tenor guitar, bongos, conga John Stewart – vocals, banjo, Glen Campbell - 6 string banjo on "Desert Pete", 12 string guitar Dean Reilly – bass Sue Ellen Davies - backing vocals on “Desert Pete” (Beverly Bivens of We Five was not on Desert Pete, but she replaced Sue Ellen Davies in The Ridgerunners which became We Five in 1965)
Production notes Voyle Gilmore – producer
Chart positions YearChartPosition1963Billboard Pop Albums7
References