Halifax Three

The Halifax Three made a couple of professional but rather bland folk albums in 1963, very much in the mold of commercial vocal harmony-oriented groups of the folk revival, such as the Kingston Trio. Those albums, and the group, would be totally forgotten today if not for the presence of Denny Doherty in the Halifax Three Lineup. Within a year or so of the Halifax Three's demise, Doherty had linked up with John Phillips and Michelle Phillips to form the Mamas and the Papas, in which his strong vocals, often taking the leads, were an essential part. However, little of the originality of either the Mamas and the Papas as a group, or Doherty as a singer, could be heard in the two Halifax Three LPs. The first and tamer of the pair, 1963's The Halifax Three, combined adaptations of traditional folk material with a few originals by the group's Richard Byrne, as well as covers of songs by folk songwriters such as Oscar Brand. Slightly earthier folk, blues, and country influences were heard in the superior follow-up, San Francisco Bay Blues, which offered a similar mix of conscientiously sung and arranged folk.

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