While I'm not sure how often Columbia sent out a single the group got lucky that they recorded "Green Leaves of Summer" (a song apparently pitched to The Kingston Trio first) and that it got nominated for an Academy Award. That meant that by the end of 1960 the group had risen above most of the other wanna be's and with the power of Columbia Records (record Clubs and compilations et al) they were well established.
Personally I never bought a folk record single. I always bought the album. I invested in a group and not just a song and wanted to hear what might be coming next. My record library was almost exclusively folk albums between 1960-1953.
Responses