The Kingston Trio is an American folk group that helped launch the folk rev… Read Full Bio ↴The Kingston Trio is an American folk group that helped launch the folk revival of the 1960s and continued to thrive despite the emergence of rock and roll.

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.

Remember the Alamo
The Kingston Trio Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

A hundred-and-eighty were challenged by Travis to die.
By the line that he drew with his sword when the battle was nigh.
"The man who would fight to the death cross over but him that would live better fly,"
And over his line went a hundred-and-seventy-nine.

[Chorus]
Hi! Santa Anna, we're killing your soldiers below, So the rest of Texas will know
And remember the Alamo!

Though Bowie lay dyin', his powder was ready and dry.
From flat on his back, Bowie killed him a few in reply,
And young Davy Crockett was smilin' and laughin', the challenge was fierce in his eye.
For Texas and freedom, a man more than willin' to die.

[Chorus]

A courier sent to the battlements, bloody and loud,
With words of farewell in the letters he carried were proud:
"Grieve not, little darlin', my dyin' if Texas is sovereign and free,
We'll never surrender and ever will liberty be!"

[Chorus]

Remember the Alamo!

Remember the Alamo!
Remember the Alamo!

Overall Meaning

The Kingston Trio's song "Remember the Alamo" tells the story of the Battle of Alamo which took place in San Antonio, Texas, in 1836 during the Texas Revolution. The first verse of the song refers to William B. Travis, the commander of the Alamo, who drew a line in the sand and asked his men to cross it if they were committed to fighting to death for the independence of Texas from Mexico. Only one man, Moses Rose, refused to cross the line and escaped before the final battle.

The second verse mentions Jim Bowie, who was bedridden during the battle due to illness but fought until his death. The verse also refers to Davy Crockett, the American frontiersman and politician who was one of the defenders of the Alamo. The song portrays Davy Crockett as a valiant hero, smiling and laughing even in the face of death, and willing to fight for Texas' independence.

The third and final verse is a message from the courier to his loved ones, expressing his readiness to die for the freedom and sovereignty of Texas. The chorus of the song, "Hi! Santa Anna, we're killing your soldiers below, so the rest of Texas will know and remember the Alamo!" is a rallying cry for Texans to fight for their independence and never forget the sacrifice of the defenders of the Alamo.

Overall, "Remember the Alamo" is a tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the Texans who fought and died for the independence of Texas.

Line by Line Meaning

A hundred-and-eighty were challenged by Travis to die.
Travis challenged 180 men to fight to the death for Texas against Santa Anna's army.

By the line that he drew with his sword when the battle was nigh.
Travis drew a line with his sword, telling the 180 men to cross it and fight or retreat and live.

"The man who would fight to the death cross over but him that would live better fly,"
Travis encouraged the men to fight, telling them that whoever wasn't willing to fight to the death should retreat and save their life.

And over his line went a hundred-and-seventy-nine.
All but one of the 180 men crossed Travis's line to fight for Texas against Santa Anna's army.

Hi! Santa Anna, we're killing your soldiers below, So the rest of Texas will know
The Texans were killing Santa Anna's soldiers, sending a message to Texas that they were fighting for their freedom.

And remember the Alamo!
The Texans wanted Texas to remember the bravery and sacrifice of the men who died at the Alamo.

Though Bowie lay dyin', his powder was ready and dry.
Although Bowie was dying, he was still ready to fight with his gunpowder dry.

From flat on his back, Bowie killed him a few in reply,
Even while lying down, Bowie managed to kill some of Santa Anna's soldiers in response to their attack at the Alamo.

And young Davy Crockett was smilin' and laughin', the challenge was fierce in his eye.
Crockett was smiling and laughing, showing that he was ready and willing to face the challenge of fighting for Texas against Santa Anna's soldiers.

For Texas and freedom, a man more than willin' to die.
Crockett was ready to give his life if necessary for the cause of Texas and its freedom.

A courier sent to the battlements, bloody and loud,
A messenger was sent to the battlements, injured and making loud noise.

With words of farewell in the letters he carried were proud:
The messenger carried letters with proud words of farewell to his loved ones.

"Grieve not, little darlin', my dyin' if Texas is sovereign and free,
The messenger urged his loved ones not to grieve his death if Texas gained sovereignty and freedom.

We'll never surrender and ever will liberty be!"
The messenger said that Texans would never surrender and would always have freedom.

Remember the Alamo!
The Texans wanted Texas to remember the bravery and sacrifice of the men who died at the Alamo.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JANE G.R. BOWERS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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