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.
Coming from the Mountains
The Kingston Trio Lyrics
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We're comin' from the mountains,
Across the Northern plains
It's off to California,
Then back again to Maine
Singin' a song that you all know,
Then let your voices go
So sing it out, my
We traveled here, we traveled there, we traveled ev'rywhere
We go by air,
We go by rail,
Any place they pay us scale
Now, repeat the chorus, here we go
Comin' from the mountains, across the Northern plains
It's off to California,
Then back again to Maine
Singin' a song that you all know,
Then let your voices go
So sing it out, my
Brothers, wherever we may go
The folk group has a banjo
Because it's really in
I'll let you hear my banjo ring
When I learn to play the thing
Now, repeat the chorus, here we go
Comin' from the mountains, across the Northern plains
It's off to California,
Then back again to Maine
Singin' a song that you all know,
Then let your voices go
So sing it out, my
Brothers, wherever we may go
The boys with Davy Crockett
Who died at the Alamo,
We heard them say when they
Attacked, I knew this room would kill the act!
Now, repeat the chorus, here we go
Comin' from the mountains, across the Northern plains
It's off to California,
Then back again to Maine
Singin' a song that you all know,
Then let your voices go
So sing it out, my
Brothers, wherever we may go
Comin' from the mountains, across the Northern plains
It's off to California,
Then back again to Maine
Singin' a song that you all know,
Then let your voices go
So sing it out, my
Brothers, wherever we may go
The Kingston Trio's "Coming From The Mountains" is a spirited tune about the travels and performances of a group of musicians. The song begins with the group "comin' from the mountains" and traveling "across the Northern plains" to California and back again to Maine, singing all the while. The song encourages the audience to join in on the singing and to let their voices go. The chorus repeats after each verse, emphasizing the importance of singing and the power of music to unite people from all regions and backgrounds.
The second verse highlights the various ways the group travels to their performances, by air or rail, as long as they are paid their salary. The third verse delves into the instrumentation of the group, mentioning the banjo and the desire to learn how to play it. The final verse references the story of Davy Crockett and the Alamo, with a humorous line about how even historical figures couldn't keep the group from singing. Overall, "Coming From The Mountains" is a catchy and uplifting song about the joy of performing and singing with others.
Line by Line Meaning
Ooh
Expression of excitement or anticipation
We're comin' from the mountains,
We are traveling from the mountainous regions
Across the Northern plains
Traveling across open land areas in the North
It's off to California,
We are headed to California
Then back again to Maine
Then we will return to Maine
Singin' a song that you all know,
We are performing a popular song that the audience is familiar with
Then let your voices go
Encouraging the audience to sing along
So sing it out, my
Sing it loud, my
Brothers, wherever we may go
Fellow travelers, no matter where we go
We traveled here, we traveled there, we traveled ev'rywhere
We have traveled far and wide
We go by air,
We travel by airplane
We go by rail,
We travel by train
Any place they pay us scale
We perform anywhere that pays us fairly
The folk group has a banjo
Our group includes a banjo player
Because it's really in
Because it's currently popular
I'll let you hear my banjo ring
I will play the banjo for you to listen to
When I learn to play the thing
Once I become skilled at playing the banjo
The boys with Davy Crockett
The men who fought alongside Davy Crockett
Who died at the Alamo,
Who died in the battle at the Alamo
We heard them say when they
We heard them exclaim when they
Attacked, I knew this room would kill the act!
While fighting, they joked that the small space they were in would ruin their performance
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN STEWART
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind