The Kingston Trio was formed in 1957 in the Palo Alto, California area by original lineup of Dave Guard (1934–1991), Bob Shane (1934–2020), and Nick Reynolds (1933–2008), who were just out of college. Greatly influenced by The Weavers, the calypso sounds of Harry Belafonte, and other semi-popular folk artists such as the Gateway Singers and the Tarriers, they were discovered playing at a college club called the Cracked Pot by Frank Werber, a local publicist then working at the Hungry i. He became their manager, and secured them a one-shot deal with Capitol Records.
Their first hit was a catchy rendition of an old-time folk song, "Tom Dooley", which went gold in 1958. It was so popular that it entered popular culture as a catchphrase: Ella Fitzgerald, for example, parodies it during her recorded version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". It won them the first Grammy award for Best Country & Western Performance in 1959. The next year, they won the first Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording category for the album The Kingston Trio at Large.
At one point in the early 1960s The Kingston Trio had four albums at the same time among the Top 10 selling albums, a record unmatched for nearly 40 years. In spite of this, they had a relatively small number of hit singles.
The group's music was simple and accessible, with much use of tight vocal harmony, signature riffs (often played on the banjo), and repetitive choruses. Capitol producer Voyle Gilmore[1] enhanced their vocal sound to great effect with reverb and the relatively new process of doubletracking, in which the performers sang along with their own pre-recorded part to produce a stronger sound than with a single voice, in part due to a natural time gap of a fraction of a second between the original recording and the overdubbed part. At first pairs of tape recorders were used, then later multitrack recording machines, to produce the effect.
Guard left the band in 1961 as part of a disagreement over its musical direction. He formed the group Whiskey Hill Singers, and was replaced by John Stewart, who led the group through several more years of popularity until the arrival of The Beatles and British invasion rock bands pushed them from the charts.
In 1967 the Trio disbanded after a final performance at the Hungry i, June 17, 1967.
Shane, the lone member to resist the break-up of the Trio, started a new group, aptly named, "The New Kingston Trio," in 1969. Eventually, Shane was successful in reaching a contractual agreement with his former partners, Guard, Reynolds, and Werber, to secure and license once again, the original name, "The Kingston Trio" (unencumbered by the adjective new), in 1976.(Blake et al. 1986.) Shane still owns the property today, 2006.
For a number of years in the 1980s Reynolds, one of the original three members, rejoined Shane.
In 2004 Shane retired from the group due to health problems. He was replaced by Bill Zorn, who had been with Shane in an iteration of the group called The New Kingston Trio; Zorn also has been a member of The Limeliters.
In 2005 Bobby Haworth (a one-time member of The Brothers Four) left the group to be replaced by Rick Dougherty, who also had been a member of The Limeliters.
As of 2006, The Kingston Trio consisted of George Grove, Bill Zorn and Rick Dougherty.
in October 2017, Grove, Zorn, and Dougherty were replaced as the Trio by new licensees Reynolds and Marvin and their friend, Tim Gorelangton. In 2018, Josh Reynolds left the group and was replaced by Bob Haworth, who became a member of the band for the third time. At the end of 2018, Haworth left the group and was replaced by Don Marovich.
C'mon Betty Home
The Kingston Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
see'mon, Betty, home. Come on the very next train. You've been gone so lonesome long
I hardly know my name. I hardly know my name.
Wind in the willow go sorry sigh all night through.
Willow sigh as I pass by where I walked with you.
[Chorus]
Ripple in the river go hurry by. Never come no more.
Ripple by and tell her I'm waiting on the shore.
The Kingston Trio's "C'mon Betty Home" is a song about a man who is missing his love and pleading for her return. He is so lonely in her absence that he hardly knows his own name. The chorus is a call for Betty to come back home on the very next train. The man describes the sadness he feels as he walks by the same willow tree where they used to walk. The same river where they used to see the ripples caused by their love now flows by, but Betty is not there to share it with him.
The imagery of the willow tree and the river symbolizes the memories and love that the man shared with Betty. However, now that she is gone, those things only make him feel sad and lonely. The man is waiting for Betty on the shore, hoping that she will come back to him soon. The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the urgency of his request, and his desire for Betty's return.
Line by Line Meaning
see'mon, Betty, home.
Please come back home, Betty.
Come on the very next train.
Take the very next train to come back home.
You've been gone so lonesome long
You have been away for a very long time and it's been difficult to cope.
I hardly know my name. I hardly know my name.
I have been so lonely without you that I feel disconnected from myself.
Wind in the willow go sorry sigh all night through.
The wind blowing through the willow trees seems to echo my sorrow and loneliness all night long.
Willow sigh as I pass by where I walked with you.
Even the willow trees seem to mourn our separation as I pass by the places we used to stroll together.
[Chorus]
Please come back home, Betty.
Ripple in the river go hurry by. Never come no more.
The ripples in the river, much like time, keeps moving forward without returning to the past.
Ripple by and tell her I'm waiting on the shore.
Tell the ripples, just like a messenger, to let Betty know that I am waiting for her by the shore.
[Chorus]
Please come back home, Betty.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: NOEL PAUL STOOKEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
3Pitous
A song given to them by Peter Paul and Mary!
Larry Talbott
Written by Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, this was the B side to a single, which if I remember correctly had as the A side "Jane, Jane, Jane."
3Pitous
A song given to them by Peter Paul and Mary