The Brothers Four are an American folk group founded in 1957 in Seattle, Washington.

Bob Flick, John Paine, Mike Kirkland, and Dick Foley met at the University of Washington, where they were members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity in 1956. Their first professional performances were the result of a prank played on them in 1958 by a rival fraternity, who had arranged for someone to call them, pretend to be from Seattle's Colony Club, and invite them to come down to audition for a gig.

Their second single, "Greenfields," released in January 1960, hit no 2 on the pop charts, and their first album, Brothers Four, released toward the end of the year, made the top 20. Other highlights of their early career included singing their fourth single, "The Green Leaves of Summer," from the John Wayne movie The Alamo, at the 1961 Academy Awards, and having their second album, BMOC/Best Music On/Off Campus, go top 10.

The group owned a radio station in Seaside, Oregon (KSWB) in the late 60's. The station was subsequently sold to a group from Montana and later to a self-proclaimed minister and finally merged into a larger conglomerate of radio stations.

The group attempted a comeback by recording a highly commercial version of Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" but were unable to release it due to licensing issues, and The Byrds eventually stole their thunder by releasing their heralded version.

Despite all the changes, The Brothers Four spent 47 years in the business, the group is still active.

www.brothersfour.com