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.
El Matador
The Kingston Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Aye, Matador
I feel her eyes,
They are wide with excitement and fear
I feel her heart
For it cries when the horns are too near,
I will be bold,
Brave and swift will I be,
To-re-ro fi-no
She'll dream tonight of me
O-le, o-le, o-le!
Viva el Matador!
O-le, o-le, o-le!
Viva el Matador!
Aye, To-re-ro, she is here,
Aye, Matador
I see her smile
And I see there the reason she came,
To-ro, come closer,
Come hear and I'll whisper her name
You may be brave,
And as bold as you're black
But I will be nu-mer-o u-no,
To-re-ro fi-no,
To--ro, come back
O-le, o-le, o-le!
Viva el Matador!
O-le, o-le, o-le!
Viva el Matador!
O-le, o-le, ole!
Viva el Matador!
O-le, o-le, o-le!
Viva el Matador!
To--ro, aqui
Closer, closer, closer, closer
The Kingston Trio's "El Matador" is a song that tells the story of a matador who is about to face a bull in a bullfight. The matador is excited and confident about the upcoming fight, but he also notices a woman in the crowd who catches his attention. As he prepares to face the bull, he imagines winning the fight and impressing the woman, who he hopes will dream of him that night.
The matador declares his readiness to be the number one fighter and to impress the woman with his bravery and skill. Despite his confidence, he acknowledges the danger of the battle when he talks about the horn being too near and the bull being as bold as he is black. The chorus, "O-le, o-le, o-le! Viva el Matador!" symbolizes the cheers and support from the crowd as the matador faces the bull. The final plea for the bull to come closer shows the matador's courage and his willingness to face any challenge head-on.
Overall, "El Matador" is a song that glorifies the bravery of the matador in the bullfight while also hinting at the attraction between the matador and the woman in the crowd. It showcases the culture and tradition surrounding bullfighting and the passion and courage required to face such an opponent.
Line by Line Meaning
Aye, To-re-ro, she is here,
The matador sees her and acknowledges her presence.
Aye, Matador
Reiterating the reference to the matador.
I feel her eyes,
The matador senses her gaze upon him.
They are wide with excitement and fear
She is both thrilled and scared.
I feel her heart
The matador can feel the beat of her heart.
For it cries when the horns are too near,
Her heart races in danger of harm to the matador.
I will be bold,
The matador feels confident.
Brave and swift will I be,
He will exhibit bravery and agility.
And I will be nu-mer-o u-no
The matador aspires to be the number one performer.
To-re-ro fi-no
Repeating the reference to the matador.
She'll dream tonight of me
The matador imagines that he will be on her mind even in her sleep.
O-le, o-le, o-le!
A repeated phrase expressing enthusiasm and encouragement.
Viva el Matador!
Long live the matador!
I see her smile
The matador notices her facial expression.
And I see there the reason she came,
He discerns her motive for being present.
To-ro, come closer,
The matador beckons her to approach.
Come hear and I'll whisper her name
The matador invites her to listen as he reveals her name.
You may be brave,
The matador acknowledges her bravery as well.
And as bold as you're black
He equates her bravery to her black hair.
But I will be nu-mer-o u-no,
The matador assures her that he will be the best performer.
To-re-ro fi-no,
Repeating the reference to the matador.
To--ro, come back
He implores her to return to see him perform again.
To--ro, aqui
Repeating the reference to the matador.
Closer, closer, closer, closer
He continues to beckon her to approach him closely.
O-le, o-le, ole!
A repeated phrase expressing enthusiasm and encouragement.
Viva el Matador!
Long live the matador!
O-le, o-le, o-le!
A repeated phrase expressing enthusiasm and encouragement.
Viva el Matador!
Long live the matador!
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: VINCENT ANTHONY GUARALDI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Julia Goolia
Loved this song since I was a kid. It’s always done something to me.
Jeff Loewi
I listened to this in college, in the very early 60's, I loved it then, I love it now. The good stuff always stands the test of time. Thanks guys.
Kirk Barkley
It's called classic = music which is evergreen
Romit Berger
I absolutely oppose bullfighting but adore this song and the Kingston trio for many many years ❤️
sonyahannah
The Kingston Trio -- in all their combinations, they gave us zest, harmony, humor, joy, sorrow, praise. . . I miss 'em!
Robert Huge
one of those songs you can actually picture in your mind
Mike Mirarchi
One of my favorite Kingston Trio songs -- thank you for posting this, Scout! :^)
Laurar44
I grew up listening to the KT -- on reel-to-reel tapes, no less! But I thought I was the only one my age who loved them, and especially this song! Thank goodness for Youtube!!! :)
bradyfan1949
Thank you darlin' for putting this song up, great job! This song is one of their BEST! Loved it way back when and still do...
SHMUEL PAPIRNIKOV
THIS TUNE IS UNFORGETTABLE!