The Kingston Trio is an American folk group that helped launch the folk rev… Read Full Bio ↴The Kingston Trio is an American folk group that helped launch the folk revival of the 1960s and continued to thrive despite the emergence of rock and roll.

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.

Chilly Winds
The Kingston Trio Lyrics

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I'm goin' where them chilly winds don't blow
Gonna find a true love
That is where I want to go
Out where them chilly winds don't blow

Sing your song,
Sing it soft and low
Sing it for your baby

And then I'll have to go
Out where them chilly winds don't blow

Wish I was a headlight
On a westbound train
I'd shine my light on
Cool Colorado range
Out where them chilly winds don't blow

If you're feelin' lonely,
If you're feelin' low
Remember that I loved you
More than you will ever know
Goin' where them chilly winds don't blow

I'm leavin' in the springtime,
Won't be back till fall
If I can forget you,
I might not come back at all
Out where them chilly winds don't blow

Out where them chilly winds don't blow
Out where them chilly winds don't blow

Overall Meaning

The Kingston Trio's song "Chilly Winds" is about the singer's desire to escape the cold weather and find a new love. The lyrics convey a sense of restlessness and longing for change. The singer wishes to leave in search of a more fulfilling life with a true love, where the chilly winds don't blow. This sense of yearning is further expressed when the singer asks to have a song sung "soft and low" for their loved one before they leave.

The song's theme of leaving one's current situation to find something better is emphasized in the lines "Wish I was a headlight on a westbound train, I'd shine my light on cool Colorado range." The singer aspires to leave their old life behind and travel to new places, away from the cold winds that haunt them.

The song concludes with the singer announcing their plan to leave in the springtime and potentially not return at all if they can forget their past love. The message is bittersweet, as the singer is attempting to find love and happiness in a new place, but is also leaving behind a part of their life.

Chilly WindsThe Kingston Trio Lyrics

Chilly Winds
The Kingston Trio Lyrics