Modern Folk Quartet
| Modern Folk Quartet | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | MFQ, Modern Folk Quintet |
| Origin | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
| Genres | Folk, folk rock |
| Years active | 1962–1966 1975–1978 1985–1991 2003 |
| Labels | Warner Bros., Dunhill |
| Past members |
Cyrus Faryar Henry Diltz Chip Douglas Stan White Jerry Yester Eddie Hoh Jim Yester |
The Modern Folk Quartet (or "MFQ") were an American folk music revival group that formed in the early 1960s. Originally emphasizing acoustic instruments and group harmonies, they performed extensively and recorded two albums. In 1965, as the Modern Folk Quintet, they ventured into electric folk rock and recorded with producers Phil Spector and Jack Nitzsche. Although MFQ received a fair amount of exposure, their rock-oriented recordings failed to capture their sound or generate enough interest and they disbanded in 1966. Subsequently, MFQ re-formed several times and made further recordings.
Cyrus Faryar, Henry Diltz, Chip Douglas, and Stan White formed the quartet in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1962, after Faryar had returned from the mainland U.S. after a period singing with Dave Guard's Whiskeyhill Singers. They took the name Modern Folk Quartet as a conscious parallel with the Modern Jazz Quartet, who were known for their use of sophisticated counterpoint. The MFQ adopted a similar approach to vocalization; a fellow folk musician commented: "They were singing diminished, flatted ninths, jazz chords ... really advanced stuff". The group moved to Los Angeles, where they became regulars at the Troubadour club. After White became ill, he was replaced by local singer-guitarist Jerry Yester, who had performed with the New Christy Minstrels and Les Baxter's Balladeers.Herb Cohen became their manager (later manager of Frank Zappa, Tim Buckley and others) and the quartet recorded their debut album in 1963. Simply titled The Modern Folk Quartet, it was produced by Jim Dickson (later manager of the Byrds) for Warner Brothers Records. MFQ performed with an array of popular folk group instruments, including guitar, banjo, ukulele, bass, and percussion, and four-part vocal harmonies. An album review called their material "a superbly chosen selection of concurrently new traditionals and original adaptations of standards from the folk music canon" that benefit from the group's fresh approach.
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