By this time, the Kingston Trio had hit big with the unofficial anthem of the yet-unnamed folk era, "Tom Dooley." Mort Lewis was aware of this burgeoning phenomenon and was duly impressed with The Brothers Four's show. He urged The Brothers Four to send him a demo, which he promised to shop to Columbia Records, which, as Flick remembers, "ruled the charts in all types of music." Columbia was interested and The Brothers Four were signed to a deal.

"It was really a case of being in the right place at the right time," says Flick. With Columbia as their label and Mort Lewis as their manager, The Brothers Four couldn't have been more poised for success.

On July 4, 1959, The Brothers Four flew to New York for the first time, checking into two cheap rooms at a midtown hotel. "We ate at the Automat, 'cause that was all we could afford," laughs Flick, "and every day, we walked to Columbia Records," using their studios to research, rehearse and ultimately, to record, their first album, The Brothers Four (1959). In 1960, The Brothers Four spawned the single "Greenfields," which slowly and steadily garnered airplay, until what Flick remembers as "this worldwide, giant momentum" turned it into a bona fide hit and one of the most recognizable songs of the day.

While The Brothers Four were busy making records and touring the world, the powers at Columbia were looking for new ways to pair their "big properties" with up-and-coming artists. "As a result," says Flick, "when the John Wayne movie The Alamo came out, and Columbia picked up the score, they suggested we record 'The Green Leaves of Summer'," which went on to become one of the group's biggest hits.

The Brothers Four continued to perform and record, and were particularly strong on the college circuit. "From 1960 to 1964," recalls Flick. " we were extremely busy, because that's when the college concert circuit was really born." The circuit, which began primarily with jazz concerts, had grown to embrace other music forms, as well as comedy, and was particularly receptive to the new wave of folk groups on the scene.

"At that time, we were doing 250 to 300 one-nighters a year, mostly on college campuses." In between, The Brothers Four packed all of the important clubs of the day, including Basin Street East and the Village Gate in New York, and the Cellar Door in Washington, D.C.

The advent of The Beatles and the British Invasion, together with the emergence of folk/rock and Dylan's "going electric," changed things a bit, and for a while, popular folk music seemed passe'.

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