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.
One More Town
The Kingston Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chorus:
If there's one more town, I'll be goin'. A fight for the winnin' I'll be there.
If there's one more song, I'll be singin'. I'm always goin' but I don't know where.
(Backing singers) Keep a movin' a movin' on
But the girls back home in their blue gingham dresses only heard one thing from me.
(Chorus)
Went down to New Orleans last summer on a flat boat workin' my way.
There were well-mannered ladies and streets that were shady, but for me, I never could stay.
(Chorus)
INSTRUMENTAL
Sailed up to New York on a schooner, but I won't be stayin' there long.
There were bright city lights, girls in pink tights but their faces were all painted on.
(Chorus)
No I don't know where
No I don't know where
The Kingston Trio's song, One More Town, tells the tale of a restless wanderer who is always on the move. The song opens with the chorus where the singer declares that if there is one more town to go to or one more song to sing, he shall be there. The character speaks of his seventeen years spent in West Virginia and eight more years spent running free, but the only thing he shared with the girls back home was his desire to keep moving.
The singer then shares his experience of going down to New Orleans and how he could not stay despite the well-mannered ladies and the shady streets. The song describes the singer's encounters as he moves from one place to another - from West Virginia to New Orleans to New York. The song ends with a fade-out where the singer repeats the lines, "No, I don't know where," further emphasizing the restlessness and uncertainty that the character experiences.
Overall, the song explores the theme of restlessness, the constant desire for movement, and the lack of commitment to any one place, person or thing. It speaks about the difficulty in finding a place to call home and the emotional toll that comes with living a life of constant nomadism.
Line by Line Meaning
If there's one more town, I'll be goin'. A fight for the winnin' I'll be there.
I am a traveler and if there is another town that I haven't been to before, I will go there enthusiastically, and I am willing to fight until I succeed.
If there's one more song, I'll be singin'. I'm always goin' but I don't know where.
Whenever I hear music or a song, my heart sings along, but I have never been able to settle down in a particular place.
Keep a movin' a movin' on
I keep moving forward and never look back.
I spent seventeen YEARS in West Virginia. Eight more years just A-runnin' free. But the girls back home in their blue gingham dresses only heard one thing from me.
I spent a long time in West Virginia, and then I spent eight more years wandering aimlessly. However, all I could talk about to the girls back home was my travels.
Went down to New Orleans last summer on a flat boat workin' my way. There were well-mannered ladies and streets that were shady, but for me, I never could stay.
Last summer, I traveled to New Orleans on a flat boat, and although it was a beautiful city with good people and bad, I could not stay.
Sailed up to New York on a schooner, but I won't be stayin' there long. There were bright city lights, girls in pink tights but their faces were all painted on.
I traveled up to New York on a schooner, but I know I won't be there for very long. The sights were bright, and the women were pretty, but they weren't genuine like me.
No I don't know where
I honestly couldn't tell you where I'm going or where I'll end up.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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