Reading the post below made me think that, yes, the Chad Mitchell Trio and later the Mitchell Trio had fun while singing a protest song, like The Kingston Trio had fun singing anything, but it never seemed all that serious; it may as well have been Tom Lehrer making fun of himself up there on stage. I try to enjoy lots of different songs for lots of different reasons. Phil Ochs was a very complex man who wrote a big variety of songs for various reasons. I think he sincerely believed that it was possible to change the world with songs. (many of us did and some of us still do) The Mitchell Trio primarily seemed more like entertainers. But, yeah, I liked 'em all: Pete Seeger, Malvina Reynolds, Janis Ian, Ewen MacColl, Ernie Marrs, Sis Cunningham, Woody Guthrie, and too many to name. The Best of Broadside has some wonderful examples of great songs that still benefit the listener. I say let's stop worrying about who is/was the greatest and the best and just try to find the best song for the current dilema. The more songs and artists we know, the better choice of weapons we have. Or as Tom Lehrer put it in the "Folk Song Army" "Ready. Aim. Sing!"

-Singin' Steve Sedberry

Subject: RE: Greatest protest singer of the sixties From: folk1234 Date: 28-Jan-00 - 10:22 AM

I too agree with the likes of Dylan, Ochs, & Baez, but the ones I liked the best, and I still listen to, are done by The Chad Mitchell Trio. CMT had a unique way of having fun while protesting. They delivered a powerful message, but they were also very entertaining. You left their concert feeling good, not angry.