"New Christy Minstrels Founder Randy Sparks Passes Away at 90"
Randy Sparks, the founder of the New Christy Minstrels, a musical ensemble that played a significant role in jump-starting the folk revival of the early 1960s and launching the careers of performers like John Denver, Steve Martin, and Kenny Rogers, has passed away at the age of 90. The group was a constant presence on television and sold an estimated two million albums in their first three years, with their debut album winning the Grammy Award for best performance by a chorus and staying on the Billboard chart for two years.