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.
Colorado Trail
The Kingston Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chorus:
Weep, all ye little rains. Wail, winds, wail. All along, along, along the Colorado Trail.
Eyes like the morning star, cheeks like the rose, Laura was a pretty girl everybody knows.
(Chorus)
Laura was a laughin' girl, joyful in the day. Laura was my darling girl. Now she's gone away.
(Chorus)
Sixteen years she graced the Earth and all of life was good. Now my life lies buried 'neath a cross of wood.
(Chorus)
All along, along, along the Colorado Trail.
The Kingston Trio's Colorado Trail is a simple, yet poignant song about the singer's lost love. The song begins with a plea to the rain and wind to weep and wail, setting a mournful tone from the onset. The first verse describes Laura, the love interest, as "a pretty girl everybody knows" with "eyes like the morning star" and "cheeks like the rose", painting a picture of a beautiful young woman with a bright and lively disposition. The second verse takes a darker tone, as the singer mourns the loss of Laura who was once a "laughin' girl, joyful in the day" but has now "gone away". The third verse reveals that Laura lived only sixteen years, leading the singer to reflect on the brevity and fragility of life, and the sorrow of losing a loved one so young. The chorus repeats throughout the song, emphasizing the melancholy and solitude of the singer's journey along the Colorado Trail.
Overall, the song is a haunting depiction of grief and loss, and the deep sense of emptiness that can come with losing a loved one unexpectedly. The beauty of the melody combined with the understated lyrics make it a powerful reminder of human vulnerability, and the fleeting nature of life itself.
Line by Line Meaning
Weep, all ye little rains. Wail, winds, wail. All along, along, along the Colorado Trail.
The singer expresses his grief over the loss of his loved one, Laura, and calls on nature to join him in mourning as he travels along the Colorado Trail.
Eyes like the morning star, cheeks like the rose, Laura was a pretty girl everybody knows.
Laura was a well-known beauty with striking eyes and rosy cheeks.
(Chorus)
Repeats the earlier sentiment of mourning and calling on nature to join in.
Laura was a laughin' girl, joyful in the day. Laura was my darling girl. Now she's gone away.
Laura was a happy girl who brought joy to the artist's life, but now she's left him and he mourns her absence.
(Chorus)
Repeats the earlier sentiment of mourning and calling on nature to join in.
Sixteen years she graced the Earth and all of life was good. Now my life lies buried 'neath a cross of wood.
Laura lived for sixteen years, during which life was good. However, since her passing, the singer feels like his own life has ended and he now buried under a grave marker.
(Chorus)
Repeats the earlier sentiment of mourning and calling on nature to join in.
All along, along, along the Colorado Trail.
Repeats the setting of the song as the artist travels along the Colorado Trail, somber and alone in his grief.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: NORMAN LUBOFF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
rey knudson
I STILL LOVE THIS SENTIMENTAL AND BEAUTIFUL SONG! R.I.P. DAVE, BOB, NICK AND JOHN! THANKS FOR SHARING! R.K. 3/18/2021.
Kenneth Pack
They sound just as good as they did, long long tine ago..
ken col
Music like this brings the past into the present, and give hope for the future.
Peggy Sjostrom
What a lovely song! Thanks for posting!
Brian Skinner
This really soothes my troubled soul--Makes me remember my Dear Brother Jim--Gone three years now
Barrett Deng
we are signing THE COLORADO TRAIL for choir! :)
Svein Ramberg
This is a Beautiful version of The Kingston Trio!
Michael Flory
I was luck enough to have as a youth orchestra director in the bsnc I was with when I was 12 years old, one of the original members ov the Kingston Trio.
fanchbrezoneg
Hi Jim, a very very fine version, maybe the best with Cisco Houston/ Friendly.
mysteriouspainpoet
I'm planning to hike the whole 500 miles of the Colorado Trail. thought I shoud hear this song first! ahahahah