By the early 1970s, John Stewart had become one of the very few musicians to make an effective transition from a highly commercial early-60's folk revival group to a respected, album-oriented singer-songwriter. Stewart had first risen to fame in the Kingston Trio, replacing founding member Dave Guard in 1961 and remaining with the group until they disbanded in 1967. Though their record sales remained at superstar levels through 1963, the British Invasion helped bring the folk revival to a close, and the folk-rock movement further buried the Kingston Trio saleswise. To his credit, Stewart emerged from the trio's ashes as a reborn serious solo singer-songwriter. Three Capitol albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s -"Signals Through the Glass" (co-billed to Stewart's wife, singer Buffy Ford), "California Bloodlines", and "Willard" -established him as a critical favorite, if not quite a solo star.
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