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.
Go Tell Roger
The Kingston Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Two cents and a penny buys a set of big, wax lips
Riding with no hands around the turn
Let's find a guy named Francis, and give him an Indian burn
And we can go tell Roger there's another face looking in the window
Standing with my clothes on in the rain
Albert holds his breath when he gets mad
That's when I really like him 'cause his breath is really bad
I know that Lucy Higgins still loves me
'Cause she hit me with her lunch pail when I kicked her on the knee
My brother stirs the cool-aid, giving sips
Two cents and a penny buys a set of big, wax lips
Lookin' in the window, lookin' in the window, lookin' in the window
The Kingston Trio's song Go Tell Roger is a nostalgic and playful tune that takes the listener back to the simple, carefree days of childhood. The lyrics are filled with whimsical descriptions of childhood pranks and games. The singer describes his brother stirring the cool-aid and giving sips, while for just two cents and a penny you can buy a set of big, wax lips. The lyrics also touch on childhood mischief, like riding with no hands around the turn and giving someone an Indian burn. The singer suggests they go tell Roger about all their adventures and misadventures, as if to relive those childhood days once more.
The song continues with more descriptions of childhood antics such as standing outside in the rain with clothes on, making funny phone calls to people with funny names like Albert who holds his breath when he gets mad, and even getting hit by Lucy Higgins' lunch pail as a sign of her love. Throughout it all, the refrain of "lookin' in the window" seems to suggest that they are spying on a neighbor and watching life go on beyond their own childhood adventures.
Line by Line Meaning
My brother stirs the cool-aid, giving sips
My brother prepares the cool-aid and gives us each a sip
Two cents and a penny buys a set of big, wax lips
We can purchase a set of large wax lips for only a few cents
Riding with no hands around the turn
We ride our bikes without using our hands around the bend
Let's find a guy named Francis, and give him an Indian burn
We should locate a boy called Francis and give him an Indian burn as a joke
And we can go tell Roger there's another face looking in the window
We can inform Roger that we noticed another person looking into his window
Standing with my clothes on in the rain
I am standing in the rain with my clothes on
Let's make some funny phone calls to folks with funny names
We should make amusing phone calls to individuals with hilarious names
Albert holds his breath when he gets mad
Albert holds his breath when he becomes upset
That's when I really like him 'cause his breath is really bad
I find it entertaining that he has bad breath when he is angry
I know that Lucy Higgins still loves me
I am certain that Lucy Higgins still has feelings for me
'Cause she hit me with her lunch pail when I kicked her on the knee
She reacted to me kicking her by hitting me with her lunch pail, which suggests she still cares about me
My brother stirs the cool-aid, giving sips
My brother prepares the cool-aid and gives us each a sip
Two cents and a penny buys a set of big, wax lips
We can buy a set of large wax lips for a cheap price
Lookin' in the window, lookin' in the window, lookin' in the window
We are peeking into the window repeatedly
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN C. STEWART, RANDY CIERLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lane Crooks
John sure took their music to another level. W/out a doubt my fav version of the Trio.
Chopper Que
This song has a meaning which I am missing. Could someone please translate the slang that is used?
Alpha-Omega
Wax lips was a form of candy that fit in your mouth and formed as big lips...an Indian Burn was grabbing a crew cut kid around the neck and rubbing your forearm up and down on his stubbled hair causing a burning sensation...stir the kool aid giving sips is a veiled reference to LSD... another face looking in the window..is another life story that can be told through song....other than that the entire song is total nonsense...