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.
Hawaiian Nights
The Kingston Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause I just can't forget about the girl I met in the sun-filled rain.
Deep brown skin, like a tropical princess, child of the sun.
She gave me a love I thought I'd I never discover in anyone.
Soft, warm wind blows through her long, dark hair
And then I close my eyes and see her smiling there on Hawaiian nights.
We walked up the strand picking shells from the sand, the sun slipped away.
The sound of guitars under South Sea stars, the ocean's harmony
Made me feel every wave on the love that we made it was ecstasy.
Soft, warm wind blows through her long, dark hair
And then I close my eyes and see her smiling there on Hawaiian nights.
Barefoot lady, my sunshine baby, I'm leaving today.
Barefoot lady, my sunshine baby, this time I'll stay. Yea, yea, yea.
Where soft, warm wind blows through her long, dark hair
And then I close my eyes and see her smiling there on Hawaiian nights. (Soft, warm winds)
On Hawaiin nights. (Long, dark hair) On Hawaiian nights.
The Kingston Trio's song Hawaiian Nights is a love song that talks about a man who meets a girl during his travels and falls in love with her while on vacation in Hawaii. The lyrics describe how he cannot forget the girl he met in the sun-filled rain and her deep brown skin resembling that of a tropical princess. The man reminisces on their time spent on the black sand beach, feeling lazy and walking up the strand picking shells from the sand. The sound of guitars under the South Sea stars and the ocean's harmony made him feel every wave on the love that they made, and it was ecstasy. The song ends with the man singing about his barefoot lady, his sunshine baby, and his decision to stay in Hawaii this time around. The song captures the essence of falling in love with someone and reminiscing on the memories shared together, and how it's hard to leave that kind of paradise.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I just got home and I feel like I want to get back on the plane
The singer has returned home, but still yearns to go back to Hawaii where he met someone special.
'Cause I just can't forget about the girl I met in the sun-filled rain.
The singer met someone in Hawaii and is still thinking about her fondly.
Deep brown skin, like a tropical princess, child of the sun.
The girl the singer met had beautiful, dark skin and looked like a tropical princess who was born of the sun.
She gave me a love I thought I'd I never discover in anyone.
The girl introduced the singer to a type of love he didn't think he could find with anyone else.
Soft, warm wind blows through her long, dark hair
The wind in Hawaii was gentle and the girl the singer met had long, dark hair that the wind blew through.
And then I close my eyes and see her smiling there on Hawaiian nights.
The singer thinks back to his time in Hawaii and remembers the girl he met and her smile.
Stayed for a week on the black sand beach feeling lazy all day.
During his time in Hawaii, the singer enjoyed being on the beach and taking it easy for a week.
We walked up the strand picking shells from the sand, the sun slipped away.
The singer and the girl he met spent time together on the beach looking for shells while the sun set.
The sound of guitars under South Sea stars, the ocean's harmony
The singer and the girl he met enjoyed listening to music played on guitars under the stars while listening to the ocean's sounds.
Made me feel every wave on the love that we made it was ecstasy.
Being with the girl the singer met and listening to the sounds around them made him feel his love for her fully, it felt euphoric.
Barefoot lady, my sunshine baby, I'm leaving today.
The girl the singer met is someone who he calls his sunshine baby, but he is leaving Hawaii and has to leave her behind.
Barefoot lady, my sunshine baby, this time I'll stay. Yea, yea, yea.
The singer promises that if he goes back to Hawaii, he will stay so he can be with the girl he met.
Where soft, warm wind blows through her long, dark hair
The singer thinks back to the feeling of the wind in Hawaii blowing through the girl's long, dark hair.
And then I close my eyes and see her smiling there on Hawaiian nights. (Soft, warm winds)
The singer recalls the memories of him and the girl he met on those perfect Hawaiian nights.
On Hawaiin nights. (Long, dark hair) On Hawaiian nights.
The singer repeats the phrase, emphasizing that his memories of Hawaiian nights include the girl's long, dark hair.
Contributed by Adalyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.