The Tarriers - Biography
By J Poet
The Tarriers appeared in the folk void between the death of the first incarnation of the weavers in 1952 and the advent of the Kingston Trio in 1958. They were one of the first integrated bands in the mainstream music business and while they only had one hit, “The Banana Boat Song” in 1956, it was the first folk song on the Billboard charts. Irving Burgess later adapted it for Belafonte’s hit “Day-O.” If they’d hit the scene a few years later they might have been superstars, but they still left a lasting mark on the slowly simmering folk scene and served as the launching pad for several notable careers.
Erik Darling was born in Baltimore, MD and developed a taste for folk music early on. By the time he was 18 he could play banjo, guitar and bass. He was also had a high tenor voice, which led him to become one of folk music’s most unique vocalists. He came to New York in 1950 and was a regular at the Sunday afternoon free for all hootenannies at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. He met Bob Cary in 1953 and they performed and recorded as a duo before Cary was drafted. They cut two songs, “Tom Dooley” and “Bay of Mexico” for the tiny Stinson label that came out on a 10” LP Folksay, Vol. 2 (1953 Stinson). The Kingston Trio used both songs, and Darling’s arrangements of them, on their first album.
When The Weavers reformed in 1955 Darling felt the time was right to launch his own folk band. Cary was back from the Army and Darling signed him up. After running through a bunch of potential band mates they settled on actor/singer Alan Arkin and called themselves The Tarriers, a name once applied to the Irish on the east coast because of their allegedly lazy habits. After a summer playing the Catskill Mountain circuit they signed with Glory, an early indie label. Their first recording was as backing band for Vince Martin on his Glory single “Cindy, Oh Cindy.” Darling’s arrangement made the tune a #9 pop hit. They cut heir first album, The Tarriers (1957 Glory, 2001 Folk Era) to capitalize on the success of Darling’s arrangement of “The Banana Boat Song,” a traditional Jamaican melody that was a #4 pop hit as a single. They recorded some live dates for a potential album that never came out: some of those tracks are included on the Folk Era reissue of The Tarriers.
After returning from their European tour Arkin quit to pursue a successful acting career. His most recent roles are in Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and Get Smart (2008). The mellow voiced Clarence Cooper joined up and that trio cut Hard Travelin’ (1959 United Artists) before Darling left to join The Weavers as Pete Seeger’s replacement. He went on to The Rooftop Singers and a solo career before moving to LA to become a psychologist. The third Tarriers band cut Tell the World About This (1959 Atlantic, 2004 Folk Era) a forgotten folk masterpiece. Cary’s drug problems got him booted out of the band soon after. Weisberg buddy Marshall Brickman replaced him. This had a long successful engagement at New York’s Bitter End club and made two albums – Live at The Bitter End (1964 Decca) and Gather ‘Round (1964 Decca) a studio effort. The final band broke up in 64, reformed with new members, then split for good after a 1965 European tour opening for Judy Collins.
Carey died of a drug overdose in the late 70s. Eric Weissberg recorded an almost forgotten solo album, New Dimensions in Banjo and Bluegrass (1963 Elektra) and later had a monster hit when “Dueling Banjos,” a tune he recorded for the Deliverance soundtrack was released as a single. Marshal Brickman became a writer for Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show and later Woody Allen's co-writer on Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979) and Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993). He won an Academy Award for Annie Hall and co-wrote the book for the hit Four Seasons musical Jersey Boys (2005).
