About Dave Guard
Donald David Guard (October 19, 1934 – March 22, 1991) was an American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of the Kingston Trio. Guard was born in San Francisco and went to Punahou School in Honolulu in what was then the pre-statehood U.S. Territory of Hawaii. Upon completion of his final year of high school in 1952 at Menlo School, a private prep school in Menlo Park, California, he matriculated at nearby Stanford University, graduating in 1957 with a degree in economics. While an undergraduate at Stanford, Guard started a pickup group with Reynolds and Shane. Guard called his group Dave Guard and the Calypsonians, with a Weavers-style signature sound that was principally two guitars, a banjo, and rollicking vocals. Guard kept the group together after Reynolds and Shane left, changing the name of the Calypsonians to the Kingston Quartet. Then in 1957, when Reynolds and Shane agreed to team up with Guard again, the group changed its name to the Kingston Trio. Under contract with Capitol Records, the Trio became a huge commercial and influential success. Guard spent his early years first in San Francisco, and then his junior high school and high school years in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. According to Guard, his own first serious exposure to stringed instruments came from Shane, who taught him the rudiments of playing the six-string guitar. With material gathered from a variety of sources, under Guard's musical arrangements and direction, the Kingston Trio quickly became a success.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.