Before the Beatles took over the charts in the mid-60s, it was the Kingston Trio that ruled the pop music world. With their collegiate appeal, trademark striped shirts and soothing three-part harmonies, Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds and Dave Guard (who was replaced by John Stewart in 1961) played music for the masses, and revolutionized folk and pop in the process.

Nick Reynolds was born July 27, 1933 at Mercy Hospital and grew up on the island of Coronado with a Navy family that remains in the area to this day. Reynolds left home to attend Menlo College in Palo Alto as a business major and it was there that he met Shane, who was sleeping in the back of the hall during a boring accounting lecture. The two became fast friends. Shane eventually introduced him to Guard, who was a graduate student at Stanford University at the time, and the three began to play music together.

The Kingston Trio signed to Capitol Records in 1958 after a string of sold-out San Francisco gigs. The Trio became famous for comic stage banter, their catchy guitar and banjo riffs and their energized harmonies. The release of their self-titled debut, which included the ever-popular "Tom Dooley," in 1958, revolutionized folk music and set the stage for Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Peter, Paul & Mary to lead into the protest movement of the 1960s.

The group recorded primarily for Capitol Records (1958-1964) and American Decca (1964-1967) and their many hits include "The Tijuana Jail," "M.T.A.," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "Greenback Dollar." At one point, the group had four albums in the top 10 on the charts, something that's never been duplicated, even by the Beatles. The Kingston Trio won two Grammy's and made numerous gold records over their career.

Reynolds often thinks back to his time in San Diego and his family's love of music.

"My family was very musical because there was no TV and radio was marginal because reception wasn't the best," Reynolds remembers. "As soon as we were old enough my father gave us all ukuleles and we all sang harmony after dinner. It was the best way to entertain yourself back then."

Reynolds also remembers early Coronado as a two-policeman town where everyone knew everyone else by their first names.

"I think when I was growing up, it was the best time in Coronado," he says. "All the dogs ran free and there were whole empty blocks where we built forts and played. It was a great place to grow up and learn to be creative."

Reynolds left the music business in 1967 - when Shane took over the group using other players - and moved up to Port Orford, Ore., where he built a house and raised beef cattle for nearly 20 years. But it wasn't long before Reynolds was drawn back to San Diego.

After a brief stint back with the New Kingston Trio, Reynolds retired in 1999 to Coronado with his wife Leslie to be near his two sisters, four kids and three grandchildren. Reynolds had a small stroke in 2002, which caused him to lose his voice, but he does still make it out to concerts in San Diego.

"I went out to see Brian Wilson and Al Jardine of the Beach Boys at 4th and B in January," Reynolds says. "Al dedicated some songs to me, which was so kind and amazing. He told the audience, 'If there hadn't been a Kingston Trio, it would be hard to imagine that there would be a Beach Boys.' That made me smile."