Search - Serendipity Singers :: Don't Let the Rain Come Down: Best of

Forgotten Memories

05/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Until I bought this CD I had forgotten how good the Serendipity Singers were. They did not achieve the greatness of other groups including the New Christy Minstrels whom they imitated and in many ways exceeded, but they did have a few modest hits and a loyal following.Don't Let the Rain Come Down and Beans in My Ears are the two most popular, but there were several excellent ones with Freedom's Star and Little Brother being personal favorites. I could have done without Maybe Baby, a 50s bubble gum song, but they do it well.If you are into 60s folk, then this should be a must have."

Legacy of the Serendipity Singers

Kira's Mama | Aurora, CO United States | 08/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not sure what Albert from NJ was smoking... but "Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Richie Furay..." were never members of the Serendipity Singers.



As the daughter of one of the founding members of the Serendipities, I can say that with 100% certainty, as I know all of them personally.



As a child of the Serendipities, I grew up on this music, as did all of the other children of the group. We knew the words to "Crooked Little Man" and "Run Chicken Run" and "Beans in My Ears" better than we did the 'normal' children's songs.



It was only after I was in college and started finding their albums in used record stores, buying them, and listening to them with the perspective of a young adult that I realized just how amazing they really were.



While several of their songs (especially the ones from the Shel Silverstein album) were more fanciful and appealing to kids - songs like "Freedom's Star" and "Jimmy-O" and "Cloudy Afternoon" stick with you as an adult.



The music remains as good as it was when first pressed into albums -- my daughter finds them as enchanting to listen to as I did, as does my husband, who didn't grow up on them.



When you talk about the Folk-rock period of the late 50's/early 60's several names pop to most peoples' minds: The New Christie Minstrels, The Kingston Trio, The Brothers Four, and The Serendipity Singers. This collection is hard to find because 40+ years later, their fans still buy their music whenever they can find it.



Listen to the samples, and you'll see what I mean."

Forgotten sixties folk group

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 06/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The early sixties folk revival was short-lived. The Serendipity singers only really got going near the end. They had one American top 10 hit in 1964 and one other minor hit, after which all their singles failed to chart, though some bubbled under. Like the more famous New Christy Minstrels, there were a lot of members in the group, though their style was generally more relaxed, but their repertoire was also varied.This collection contains their best music for the Phillips label. Their debut (untitled) album is represented by seven tracks including their big hit, Don't let the rain come down (crooked little man), which is based loosely on the old children's nursery rhyme about a crooked man who walked a crooked mile.The follow-up album, Many sides of, is represented by just three tracks, but they include the minor American hit Beans in my ears. British fans may recognise this song via Lonnie Donegan's cover version. Their third album, Take your shoes off, is represented by five tracks, including a cover of Little brown jug, originally made famous by Glenn Miller, with a section of Green green in the middle of the song. This was chosen as the album's single but failed to chart.Their last two albums for Phillips, We belong together and Sing of love lies and flying festoons (an album of songs written by Shel Silverstein, perhaps best known for the songs he wrote for Bobby Bare and Dr Hook), are each represented by three tracks. The remaining tracks never appeared on album at the time, though some were released on singles. One of these, Maybe baby, is a cover of a Buddy Holly song.The Serendipity singers came on the scene too late to make a huge impact, but anybody interested in the sixties folk boom will find this a fascinating collection - but if you haven't got anything by the New Christy Minstrels, buy some of their music first."