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.
Coplas
The Kingston Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chile verde me pediste
Chile verde te dare
Vamanos para la huerta con al la te lo cortare
(Tell them what it means then)
You want green peppers? (si)
I'll give you green peppers
Come out to the garden
Dice que los de tu casa
Ninguno me puede ver
Diles que no basta el agua que al cabo lo han do beber
Tell your parents not to muddy the water around us
(Porque?)
They may have to drink it soon
La mula que yo mente la montó hoy mi compadre
Eso a mi no me importa pues yo la monte primero
Ah, so! you are surprised I speak your language
You see, I was educated in your country at U. C. R. A.
La noche que me case
No pude dormirme un rato
Por estar toda la noche corriendos detras de un gato
Me dejiste que fue un gato
Que entro por tu balcon
Yo no visto gato prieto con sombrero y pantalón
On my wedding night, I did not sleep a wink
I spent the whole night chasing a cat that had come in over the balcony
Wearing a sombrero and long pants
The Kingston Trio's song "Coplas" is a Spanish folk song that tells the story of a man who is trying to impress a woman by speaking her language and offering her green peppers from his garden. He advises her not to let her parents muddy the water around them, as they may have to drink it soon. In the second verse, the man recalls riding his mule before his friend, implying that he is not concerned about other people's opinions. He then surprises the woman by revealing that he was educated in her country at U.C.R.A. In the final verse, the man tells the story of his wedding night, where he was unable to sleep due to chasing a cat that had entered over the balcony. He claims the cat was wearing a sombrero and long pants, leading the woman to suggest that he was dreaming.
The song has a lighthearted and playful feel, using colloquialisms and puns to convey its humor. Despite containing a mix of both Spanish and English verses, the song manages to illustrate the idea of cross-cultural communication, as both the man and the woman attempt to connect with each other despite their linguistic and cultural differences. The song was initially released in 1960 and was part of the Kingston Trio's fifth album, "String Along."
Line by Line Meaning
Cha! Cha!
Expressing excitement or enthusiasm
Chile verde me pediste
You asked for green peppers
Chile verde te dare
I'll give you green peppers
Vamanos para la huerta con al la te lo cortare
Come out to the garden
Dice que los de tu casa
Tell your parents
Ninguno me puede ver
Not to muddy the water around us
Diles que no basta el agua que al cabo lo han do beber
They may have to drink it soon
La mula que yo mente la montó hoy mi compadre
My friend rode the mule I trained today
Eso a mi no me importa pues yo la monte primero
It doesn't matter to me because I rode it first
Ah, so! you are surprised I speak your language
Expressing surprise at another's reaction
You see, I was educated in your country at U. C. R. A.
Explaining the reason for their language fluency
La noche que me case
On my wedding night
No pude dormirme un rato
I didn't sleep a wink
Por estar toda la noche corriendos detras de un gato
Chasing a cat all night
Me dejiste que fue un gato
You told me it was a cat
Que entro por tu balcon
That came in over your balcony
Yo no visto gato prieto con sombrero y pantalón
I've never seen a black cat wearing a hat and pants
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DAVE GUARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@swtshortforsweet8122
Bob Shane, I love you!
@TrishBlassingame
The first song I learned to sing :)
@stevephillips7884
My favorite KT song. Recently a friend translated it. I took 2 years in high school. The culture uses a lot of double meanings.
@EngliscMidEadwine
The song is actually called Canastas y más canastas. Here's a representative example of an authentic Mexican version https://youtu.be/XYlIIsuLPnM - most of the verses differ but the one about the Gato con sombrero y pantalón is present in both versions, plus the melodies are similar. The Kingston Trio version is played in a much more stereotypical "what Americans think Mexican music sounds like" fashion. Of course the song is named for a verse the Kingstons don't sing so it would be an odd choice of title for this version - however the title Coplas is like calling a song in English "Verses".
Also their Spanish isn't great but it's still a lot better than anyone I took Spanish classes with. It wouldn't surprise me if they actually spoke it.
@daveausamerika5408
Toque su guitarra, ¡ándele!
Chile verde me pediste
Chile verde te daré
Vámonos para la huerta
Que allá te lo cortaré (mis-pronounced as "Con allá te lo cortaré" here)
- (Tell 'em what it means, kid!) You want green peppers? (Sí) I'll give you green peppers. Come out to the garden
Dices que los de tu casa
Ninguno me puede ver
Diles que no batan el agua
Que al cabo lo han de beber
- Tell your parents not to muddy the water around us (¿Por qué?) They may have to drink it soon.
La mula que yo monté
¡La montó hoy mi compadre!
Eso a mi no me importa;
pues, yo la monté primero
- So... you aah surprize I speak your ranguage! You see... I was educated in your country, at U.C.R.A.!
—(The actual translation was left out for being too dirty, and replaced with the above questionable joke about the Japanese: "The mule I rode, my comrade rode today! I don't care about that, because I rode it first.")
La noche que me casé,
No pude dormirme un rato
Por estar toda la noche
Corriendo detrás de un gato!
Me dijiste que fue un gato,
Él que entró por tu balcón
Yo no he visto un gato prieto
Con sombrero y pantalón
-On my wedding night, I did not sleep a wink; I spent the whole time chasing a cat, which had come over the balcony (Meow), wearing a sombrero and long pants!
@ginamiller6015
UCRA 😂
@marsinahal-badri8875
A great example of an Andalusian "copla"...And heavily influenced in the New World, by possibly "crypto-Muslims".----KiraSeer