The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds. It rose to international popularity fueled by unprecedented sales of LP records and helped alter the direction of popular music in the U.S.
"If I Had a Hammer " is a protest song written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. It was written in 1949 in support of the Progressive movement, and was first recorded by the Weavers, a folk music quartet composed of Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. It was a #10 hit for Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962 and then went to #3 a year later when recorded by Trini Lopez in 1963.
Glenn Robertson Yarbrough was an American folk singer and guitarist. He was the lead singer (tenor) with the Limeliters from 1959 to 1963 and also had a prolific solo career. Yarbrough had a restlessness and dissatisfaction with the music industry which led him to question his priorities, later focusing on sailing and the setting up of a school for orphans.
The Limeliters are an American folk music group, formed in July 1959 by Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev (banjo/baritone), and Glenn Yarbrough (guitar/tenor). The group was active from 1959 until 1965, and then after a hiatus of sixteen years, Yarbrough, Hassilev, and Gottlieb reunited and began performing again as The Limeliters in reunion tours. On a regular basis a continuation of The Limeliters group is still active and performing. Gottlieb died in 1996, Yarbrough died in 2016, and Hassilev died in 2024, the last founding member, who had remained active in the group, retired in 2006, leaving the group to carry on without any of the original members.
"Turn! Turn! Turn!", also known as or subtitled "To Everything There Is a Season", is a song written by Pete Seeger in 1959. The lyrics – except for the title, which is repeated throughout the song, and the final two lines – consist of the first eight verses of the third chapter of the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. The song was originally released in 1962 as "To Everything There Is a Season" on the folk group the Limeliters' album Folk Matinee, and then some months later on Seeger's own The Bitter and the Sweet.
Peter, Paul and Mary is the debut studio album by American folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released in May 1962 on Warner Bros. Records. Released in both mono and stereo on catalog no. 1449, it is one of the rare folk albums to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart in the US, where it remained for over a month. The lead-off singles "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree" reached numbers 10 and 35 respectively on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. It was the group's biggest selling studio album, eventually certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for U.S. sales of more than two million copies.
Louis Gottlieb credited as Lou Gottlieb, was an American bassist and comic spokesman for music trio The Limeliters. He held a PhD in musicology and was considered one of the so-called "new comedy" performers, a new generation of unabashed intellectuals that also included Mort Sahl, Nichols and May, and Lenny Bruce. In 1966 he established the Morningstar Ranch, a community that he declared open to all people and which later became central to a legal dispute related to the ethics of ownership of land.
The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob Niles, Susan Reed, Paul Robeson, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Cisco Houston had enjoyed a limited general popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. The revival brought forward styles of American folk music that had in earlier times contributed to the development of country and western, blues, jazz, and rock and roll music.
"Morningtown Ride" is a lullaby, written and performed by Malvina Reynolds. It was covered by The Seekers and their recording reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song tells the comforting story of the journey through nighttime made by all the "little travellers" (children), on board a train, with the Sandman as guard.
The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds is a 1967 collaborative concept album on the theme of the signs of the Zodiac. It was issued by Elektra Records in and featured early use of the Moog synthesizer by Paul Beaver, with music written by Mort Garson, words by Jacques Wilson, and narration by Cyrus Faryar. Instrumentation was provided by members of the Wrecking Crew studio collective. It has been variously described as "a wonderful period piece" and "apt to inspire more giggle fits than stoned, pull-the-shades-down reveries".
The Kingston Trio (Nick Bob John) (more commonly known as Nick Bob John) is an album by the American folk music group the Kingston Trio, released in 1964 (see 1964 in music). Nick Bob John failed to reach the Top 40, peaking at number 53 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
The Limeliters Reunion, Vol. 2 is an album released by The Limeliters in 1976 on Brass Dolphin LP record 2202. Recorded live on September 28, 1976 in the Seattle Opera House, the album documents one of the yearly reunion concerts given by the Limeliters in that decade. Vol. 1 contained new material, whereas this album was a tribute to the “folk mania” of the 1960s.
Lonesome Traveller is a 1950 skiffle song written by Lee Hays and recorded by Pete Seeger and The Weavers in that year. The lyrics begin "I'm just a lonely and a lonesome traveller.."
"Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" is a song written by American folk singer-songwriter Ed McCurdy in 1950. Due to McCurdy's connection with fellow musicians, it was common in repertoires within the folk music community. The song had its first album release when Pete Seeger recorded it as "Strangest Dream" for his 1956 album Love Songs For Friends & Foes. Seeger would later re-visit the song for his 1967 album Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and other Love Songs. The strong anti-war theme of the song led it to be recorded by multiple other artists, including The Weavers (1960), Joan Baez (1962), The Kingston Trio (1963), Simon & Garfunkel (1964), and Johnny Cash who released two versions of the song during the 2000s.
Tonight: In Person is a live album by the American folk music group, The Limeliters, a trio made up of Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev, and Glenn Yarbrough. It was recorded live on July 29, 1960, in Hollywood, California, at the Ash Grove, a former Melrose Avenue furniture factory converted into a folk music club. The album was released in January 1961 on the RCA Victor label. It was the group's first album for RCA Victor.
The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters is a live album by the American folk music group, The Limeliters, a trio made up of Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev, and Glenn Yarbrough.It was recorded in Berkeley, California and released in 1961 on the RCA Victor label.
Sing Out! is a studio album by the American folk music group, The Limeliters, a trio made up of Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev, and Glenn Yarbrough. The album was recorded in studio at RCA Victor's Music Center Of The World. It was released in 1962 on the RCA Victor label.
Through Children's Eyes is a live album by the American folk music group, The Limeliters, backed by a chorus of 70 children from the Berkeley Unified School District in California. The album was recorded on 29 December 1961 at the Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, California as a "benefit for the Music Department of the Berkeley school system, as well as an opportunity to record The Limeliters in unusual and delightful circumstances." It was released in 1962 on the RCA Victor label. Each of the original members of the group cited the album as their most satisfying. On the liner notes of the album, Gottlieb said: "I cannot tell you what a kick it was to sing with those children...The sound of their voices was - and I know this seems corny but it is true - simply an inspiration to us."
Folk Matinee is a studio album by the American folk music group, The Limeliters, a trio made up of Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev, and Glenn Yarbrough. It was released in 1962 on the RCA Victor label.
Our Men in San Francisco is a live album by the American folk music group, The Limeliters, a trio made up of Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev, and Glenn Yarbrough. It was recorded at a live performance at the Hungry I nightclub in San Francisco. It was released in 1963 on the RCA Victor label.
