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 Where I Send Thee
The Kingston Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee? Well, I'm gonna send you one by one, one for the little bitty Baby
Was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee? Well, I'm gonna send you two by two, two for Paul and Silas,
One for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
Two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee? Well, I'm gonna send you six by six, well, six for the six that never got fixed,
Five for the gospel preachers, four for the four that stood at the door, three for the Hebrew children,
Two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee? Well, I'm gonna send you eight by eight, eight for the eight that stood at the gate,
Seven for the seven that never got to heaven and six for the six that never got fixed,
Five for the gospel preachers, four for the four that stood at the door, three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee? Well, now, I'm gonna send you ten by ten, ten for the ten commandments,
Nine for the nine all dressed so fine, eight for the eight that stood at the gate,
Seven for the seven who never got to heaven and six for the six that never got fixed,
Five for the gospel preachers, four for the four that stood at the door, three for the Hebrew children,
Two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
He was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
"Go Where I Send Thee" is a traditional African-American spiritual song that has been recorded by many artists, including The Kingston Trio. The song starts with the line "Children, go where I send thee." This line is repeated throughout the song, and each time it is followed by a new set of instructions for the children to follow. The song is essentially a counting song, with each set of instructions adding a new group of people to the list.
The first set of instructions is to send one child for the little bitty Baby that was born in Bethlehem. This is a reference to Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem according to the Christian faith. The second set of instructions is to send two children for Paul and Silas, who were important figures in the early Christian church.
The song continues to add more groups of people to the list, including three Hebrew children, six people who never got fixed (meaning they were never able to overcome their vices), and eight people who stood at the gate. Each set of instructions is followed by a repetition of the phrase "born, born, born in Bethlehem."
Overall, "Go Where I Send Thee" is a song about following instructions and spreading the message of Jesus. The song is often performed during Christmas, as it references the nativity story.
Line by Line Meaning
Children, go where I send thee.
I am telling you, children, to go where I am sending each of you.
How shall I send thee?
In what way should I send you each on your journey?
Well, I'm gonna send you one by one, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
I will send you on your journey one by one, each one of you tasked with paying tribute to the newborn baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
Well, I'm gonna send you two by two, two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
I will send you on your journey in pairs, with two of you assigned to help Paul and Silas and one assigned to pay tribute to the newborn baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
Well, now, I'm gonna send you three by three, three for the Hebrew children, two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
I will send you on your journey in groups of three, with three of you assigned to represent the Hebrew children, two assigned to help Paul and Silas, and one assigned to pay tribute to the newborn baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
Well, I'm gonna send you six by six, well, six for the six that never got fixed, five for the gospel preachers, four for the four that stood at the door, three for the Hebrew children, two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
I will send you on your journey in groups of six, with six of you representing those who face difficulties in life, five assigned to spread the gospel message, four assigned to stand guard, three representing the Hebrew children, two assigned to help Paul and Silas, and one assigned to pay tribute to the newborn baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
Well, now, I'm gonna send you eight by eight, eight for the eight that stood at the gate, seven for the seven that never got to heaven and six for the six that never got fixed, five for the gospel preachers, four for the four that stood at the door, three for the Hebrew children, two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
I will send you on your journey in groups of eight, with eight of you assigned to guard the gate, seven representing those who have not found their way to heaven, six representing those who are struggling, five assigned to spread the gospel message, four assigned to stand guard, three representing the Hebrew children, two assigned to help Paul and Silas, and one assigned to pay tribute to the newborn baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
Well, now, I'm gonna send you ten by ten, ten for the ten commandments, nine for the nine all dressed so fine, eight for the eight that stood at the gate, seven for the seven who never got to heaven and six for the six that never got fixed, five for the gospel preachers, four for the four that stood at the door, three for the Hebrew children, two for Paul and Silas, one for the little bitty Baby was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
I will send you on your journey in groups of ten, with ten of you representing the Ten Commandments, nine representing those who dress well, eight assigned to guard the gate, seven representing those who have not found their way to heaven, six representing those who are struggling, five assigned to spread the gospel message, four assigned to stand guard, three representing the Hebrew children, two assigned to help Paul and Silas, and one assigned to pay tribute to the newborn baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
He was born, born, born in Bethlehem.
The newborn baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: TRADITIONAL, HARRY BLUESTONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ralbiruni
the best of america, during a time who achevied by man ont he moon! May the Lord give again a 60's for the mankind !
@nanon1982
What he said. Double.
@THANEWTRIBE
OMG!!! Every Christmas my family would listen to this... Man do I miss my Dad!!!!! I can see you singing this around the Christmas tree! Love u Dad!
@nanon1982
Duplicate, my good man.
@FamilyGould
I listened to this as a kid on our Hi-Fi.
@nanon1982
Big ol' wooden "consoles." They were called, "Stereo Hi-Fi (high fidelity) Consoles." Us kids had to dust them . . . A massive piece of quality furniture that we took for granted . . .
@stormbringer60kb
Same here! Dad turned me on to the KT when I was about 6. And it just wasn't christmas without laying on the floor, in front of that old hi-fi stereo cabinet, looking at the tree, and singing along to their music. Merry Christmas, Papa. I miss you.
@nanon1982
Nice.
@nanon1982
The most immaculate, great, musically-inspiring, awesome, fabulous, fantabulous, gnarly Christmas album of my childhood . . . A must-have for all those who care about such things. {Memorize it, auditory-wise.}
@markstanley565
I sang this at St.Mary’s Church anbd they were on they were feet before the song ended