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.
Zombie Jamboree
The Kingston Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Back to back, belly to belly
Well I don't give a damn
'Cause it doesn't matter really
Back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree
Now hear me callin'
Well I don't give a damn
'Cause it doesn't matter really
Back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree
Zombie Jamboree took place in a New York cemetery (Where?)
Zombie Jamboree took place in Long Island cemetery
Zombies from all parts of the island (Where?)
Some of them are great Calypsonians
Hey, since the season was Carnivale
They got together in Bacchanal
Whatcha doin'?
Back to back, belly to belly
Well I don't give a damn
'Cause it doesn't matter really
Back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree
?
Back to back, belly to belly
Well I don't give a damn
'Cause it doesn't matter really
Back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree
One female zombie wouldn't behave
She say she want me for a slave
In the one hand she's holding a quart of wine (Whoa)
In the other she's pointin' that she'll be mine
Now believe me folks, yes I had to run (Why?)
Husband of a zombie ain't no fun (No nice!)
I says "Oh, no my turtle dove"
"That old bag of bones I cannot love"
Whatcha doin'?
Back to back, belly to belly
Well I don't give a damn
'Cause it doesn't matter really
Back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree
What a good game!
Back to back, belly to belly
Well I don't give a damn
'Cause it doesn't matter really
Back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree
Right then and there she raise a *feet*
"I'm a-going to get you now, my sweet"
"I'm gonna make you call me Sweetie Pie"
I says "Oh, no, get back-you lie"
I may be lyin' but you will see (What?)
After you kiss this dead zomb-ie (Blecccch!!!)
No, I've never seen such a horror in me life
Can you imagine me with a zombie wife? (Yes!)
Back to back, belly to belly
Well I don't give a damn
'Cause it doesn't matter really
Back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree
You're all alone, you know.
Back to back, belly to belly
Well I don't give a damn
'Cause it doesn't matter really
Back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree
The Kingston Trio’s song Zombie Jamboree is a well-known calypso tune that tells the story of a group of revelers attending a zombie fest on Long Island. The crowd is made up entirely of zombies, from all different corners of the island, some of whom are even great Calypsonians. The festivities take place during the season of Carnivale, and the group of zombies convene in a Bacchanalian celebration. The song’s lyrics talk about the singer’s encounters with a female zombie who grabs onto him and refuses to let go. She is holding a quart of wine in one hand and is pointing towards him with the other, declaring that she will make him hers. The singer is repulsed by the idea of being enslaved by a zombie and runs away from her.
The lyrics of the song are full of humor, metaphors and are full of references to local culture. The words "Back to back, belly to belly" refers to a dance style called baccanal, which is very sexual in nature. The line "zombies from all parts of the island" is a reference to the fact that Long Island has towns of varying economic status, while the fact that some of the undead are great Calypsonians is a witty joke on the whole idea of the dead rising from the grave to dance.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, now
Let me tell you what happened next
Back to back, belly to belly
Everyone was dancing very closely
Well I don't give a damn
I wasn't too concerned
'Cause it doesn't matter really
It wasn't a big deal
At the Zombie Jamboree
It was happening at the Zombie Jamboree
Now hear me callin'
Listen closely to what I'm saying next
Zombie Jamboree took place in a New York cemetery (Where?)
The Zombie Jamboree was held in a cemetery in Long Island
Zombies from all parts of the island (Where?)
Zombies from all over Long Island were there
Some of them are great Calypsonians
Some of the zombies were talented Calypso singers
Hey, since the season was Carnivale
Since it was during Carnivale season
They got together in Bacchanal
They had a wild party with lots of drinking and dancing
Whatcha doin'?
What are you up to?
One female zombie wouldn't behave
There was one female zombie who was causing problems
She say she want me for a slave
She claimed that she wanted me to be her slave
In the one hand she's holding a quart of wine (Whoa)
She was holding a big bottle of wine in one hand
In the other she's pointin' that she'll be mine
She was pointing at me and saying that I belonged to her
Now believe me folks, yes I had to run (Why?)
I had to run away quickly
Husband of a zombie ain't no fun (No nice!)
Being married to a zombie isn't very enjoyable
I says "Oh, no my turtle dove"
I said "No way, my dear"
"That old bag of bones I cannot love"
I cannot love someone who is so old and skeletal
What a good game!
What a fun time we were having!
Right then and there she raise a *feet*
She lifted up a foot
"I'm a-going to get you now, my sweet"
She threatened me, saying she was going to catch me
"I'm gonna make you call me Sweetie Pie"
She said she would make me call her a nice name
I says "Oh, no, get back-you lie"
I told her to get away from me
I may be lyin' but you will see (What?)
I might be lying, but you'll find out soon enough
After you kiss this dead zomb-ie (Blecccch!!!)
After you kiss this disgusting zombie (yuck!)
No, I've never seen such a horror in me life
I've never seen anything as horrifying as this
Can you imagine me with a zombie wife? (Yes!)
Can you believe the thought of me being married to a zombie? (Ew!)
You're all alone, you know.
You're on your own right now
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Conrad Eugene Mauge Jr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
AB
I grew up in the 80's and when around age 9 found this album, and never heard such amazing music. Kingston Trio is amazing
KFred
I first heard this in 1975, I was 5. Loved it, of course
Richard Glueck
Dave Guard was inspired. Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane were perfect partners. Immortal group.
Rad Gal Tunes
My older sister had this album, loved every song on it. A few years later my chosen folk group was The Chad Mitchell Trio.
taagteam
Just love this song - been diggin' it since I was a little kid in the 60's!
Debra Kadabra
Good god I love this one. These dudes were awesome and hilarious.
nwredneck390
Grew up in the late 70's, early 80's listening to Mom's old Trio LP's. Great stuff!
Greg W
So did I. Mother had the LP, but we listened to them on 8-Track. FUN! :)
Angel Heinemann
I grew up to this music in the 60's. My Dad cranked these albums at high decibels on the weekends and it was wonderful!
Monica Call
This was the first record that my parents bought when they bought a new stereo system in the late 60’s. My sibs and I loved this song and would sing it over and over. My mom was upset about us singing the word “damn” so we substituted “darn instead. We thought that it was funny that she objected to one word when we were singing about zombies. Oh well.