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Archive Record

Tonight: In Person

The Limeliters

Original Liner Notes

Friday night, July 29, 1960. You are at the Ash Grove, the Hollywood counterpart of San Francisco’s hungry i. This former Melrose Avenue furniture factory—now converted into a big, rough-hewn, barn-like hall—is so packed that the waitress can barely squeeze her way to your table for the order. Most of the people around you will be hearing the Limeliters tonight for the first time, but they’re quick to tell you, “this group is great.” They’ve come here, just as you have, on the fervent urging of friends who had seen this new act in San Francisco.

The lights dim. The room grows quiet. Three young men, toting banjo, guitar and bass, mount the platform. In an instant, the rafters ring with a full, lusty choral sound that belies the presence of a mere trio. There’s a Meetin’ Here Tonight is sung in a rousing, folksy fashion that sets the room alive with its rhythmic contagion. You sense that electric something in the air that welds an audience to top performers. You feel it in the unbuttoned hilarity of such songs as The Monks of St. Bernard and Madeira, M’Dear and the haunting tenderness of The Far Side of the Hill.

As each song reveals a new facet of the trio’s artistry, you try to analyze its style. You find that age-old folk ballads from many lands take on a compelling feeling of here and now. These are presented in an atmosphere of laughs created by sharp ad libs, gag introductions and a humorous treatment of the songs themselves.

In the Limeliters’ hands, the folk ballad is no longer a museum piece. It has been removed from the musty surroundings of scholarly folklorists. This is music born from the lusty feelings of happy people and rightfully is performed in a fun-filled setting.

You are taken with the authentic flavor that endows each number. The various foreign tongues—whether they be Spanish, French or Russian—are heard in their true accent, showing a commendable respect for the origin of the songs. This is a rare quality found in performers today.

The Limeliters consist of: Lou Gottlieb, a University of California Ph.D., whose talents embrace singing and comedy; Alex Hassilev, born in France of Russian parents, who adds his command of more than a dozen languages to his robust baritone; and Glenn Yarbrough who possesses a voice remarkable in its lyric quality and is readily identifiable in the trio’s offerings.

You leave the Ash Grove convinced your friends were right. This group IS great.

– Lee Zhito, The Billboard

Track Listing

Side 1

  1. There’s a Meetin’ Here Tonight (1:56) Yarbrough-Hassilev (composer)
  2. Molly Malone (2:29) Yarbrough-Hamilton-Gibson (arranger)
  3. The Monks of St. Bernard (5:01) Hassilev (composer)
  4. Seven Daffodils (3:34) Lee Hayes (composer)
  5. Hey Li Lee Li Lee (5:39) Louis Gottlieb (composer)

Side 2

  1. Headin’ for the Hills (2:43) John Stewart (composer)
  2. The Far Side of the Hill (3:53) Vicki Arnold (composer)
  3. Rumania, Rumania (3:23) Aaron Lebedeff (composer)
  4. Madeira, M’Dear (4:44) Michael Flanders-Donald Swann (composer)
  5. Proshchai (2:49) Raskin-Gottlieb (composer)

Album Information

  • Artist: The Limeliters
  • Catalog Number: LPM-2272; PM-2272
  • Catalog Numbers: LPM-2272; PM-2272
  • Label: RCA Victor
  • Liner Notes: Lee Zhito, The Billboard
  • Source: LPM-2272
  • Recording location: Recorded in live performance at the Ash Grove, Hollywood, California
  • Recording date: Friday night, July 29, 1960
  • Format: New Orthophonic High Fidelity
  • Copyright: © by Radio Corporation of America, 1961 Press quotes:

…provides group therapy for unashamed eggheads! — United Press International; …fine things happen…not without a sense of humor. — Bill Buchanan, Boston Sunday Advertiser; …sharp and hip to the times. — Variety; …tremendous in the way of sound. — Trudi Nelson, Modesto Bee; …a great group that manages to make folksongs sound like real music. — Herb Caen, San Francisco Chronicle; …one of most unusual vocal trios operating in today’s world. — Robert Taylor, Boston Herald; …their glib ringing arrangements are ticked off with professional precision. — San Francisco Examiner

Important Notice:

This is a ‘New Orthophonic’ High Fidelity recording, designed for the phonograph of today or tomorrow. Played on your present machine, it gives you the finest quality of reproduction. Played on a ‘Stereophonic’ machine, it gives even more brilliant true-to-life fidelity. You can buy today, without fear of obsolescence in the future.