We Never Knew Just What It Was … the Story of the Chad Mitchell Trio

Of all the groups to emerge during the folk era of the 1960's, The Chad Mitchell Trio was unequivocally the best. Their complex harmonies, sense of comedic timing and stage presence were unique to the folk movementAs Mike, Chad and Joe Frazier raced along a frantic treadmill of rehearsal, recording sessions, nightclub performances and concerts, Mike and Chad began to realize the demand for musical excellence was the only thing they had in common. Their personalities were and remain polar opposites.When Chad left The Trio in 1965, to be replaced by John Denver, neither Mike nor Chad mourned the parting. Two years later, Joe's demons caught up to him, forcing his dismissal.When folk reunions became popular in the 80's, fans and folk historians agreed that The Chad Mitchell Trio was the one group that would never take the stage again. Their schism was just too great.They hadn't spoken in twenty years.Then came a call.I will if he will.Their mentor and music director Milt Okun worried they were making a mistake. They couldn't possibly be as good as their fans remembered.They were.They kept their day jobs, and their distance. But once again, they had the music.As their friend Tom Paxton noted, "Sometimes the only thing people have in common is musical talent. But if they have that one thing, they'd be fools not to use it. Michael Murphey grew up in Eastern New Mexico, and spent nearly thirty years as a newspaper journalist in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest. Following his retirement from journalism in 1998, Murphey began his second career in baseball, where he is one of three partners in a company called Dave Henderson Baseball Adventures, which produces the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners fantasy camps as well as other adult amateur baseball events throughout the country. His life as an old man baseball player has also afforded him time in recent years to resume writing. He has been an avid lover of the written word all his life. He divides his time among Spokane, Washington, Phoenix, Arizona, and Fort Myers, Florida.