Progressive bluegrass band
the Kentucky Colonels had a short but legendary career during the folk revival of the late '50s and early '60s. The band was formed in Los Angeles in the early '50s by brothers
Roland,
Eric, and
Clarence White and their sister
Joann. When
Joann dropped out, the three brothers began billing themselves as the
Three Little Country Boys and appeared on local television after winning first prize in a talent contest. In 1958, Arkansas native
Billy Ray Lathum became their banjo player and Dobro player
Leroy Mack joined the band the next year.
Latham's arrival allowed
Roland White to switch to mandolin, his instrument of choice.
As
the Country Boys, the group recorded its first single, "I'm Head Over Heels in Love with You." They began appearing on
Town Hall Party and
Hometown Jamboree and recording on
Gene Autry's label. Bassist and banjoist
Roger Bush joined the band in 1961 after
Eric dropped out to marry.
Three Little Country Boys then recorded Songs, Themes & Laughs from the Andy Griffith Show for Capitol. Before the year was out,
Roland was drafted and left the band for two years, leaving them without a mandolinist. The group cut its first album on Briar, which disliked the band's moniker and suggested a series of names, the best of which was
the Kentucky Colonels. In 1963, fiddler
Bobby Sloane joined
the Colonels and
Roland returned as well. By this time,
the Colonels had begun to gather a following through their U.S. tours, and appeared at both the UCLA and Newport folk festivals in 1964. The band recorded several albums and appeared in the movie The Farmer's Other Daughter. They really took off musically when fiddler
Scott Stoneman replaced
Sloane, but broke up shortly thereafter in 1965, with the members going their separate ways.
–
Sandra Brennan, Rovi