Subject: RE: Limeliters: Classically Trained?
From:
cnd
Date: 28 Jun 26 - 10:37 AM
As a relatively recent record collector and appreciator of the 60s pop-folk movement, the Limeliters are critically under-appreciated. I have four of the albums and always try to grab one if I find it for a decent price when I'm at the record store.
The liner notes to their seminal 1960 eponymous album report the following:
Before the chance meeting in Los Angeles which resulted in their merger, Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev and Glenn Yarbrough had each worked as single supper club acts. Glenn Yarbrough had been singing at a club in Aspen, Colorado, called the Limelite (hence the group’s name). He returned yearly and eventually bought the lease, calling in Alex Hassilev as his partner. Alex, a professional actor in many off-Broadway shows, left Aspen to do a quickie horror movie. To pay his expenses he opened as a single singing act in Los Angeles at the Cosmo Alley. Later he was joined by Glenn and the act became a duet. At this point Lou Gottlieb met the duo; Lou, an original member of the Gateway Singers who had also written several hit arrangements for the Kingston Trio, organized the trio as the “Limeliters” and opened July 23 at San Francisco’s hungry i.
Lou Gottlieb does most of the arranging and composing for the group and also serves as their lofty comic spokesman. His constant companion on stage is the string bass, which well befits his tall and husky figure. Known in academic circles as Dr. Louis Gottlieb, his Ph.D in musicology could explain the brittleness of his wit and the crisp, professional zaniness of his introductions.
Alex Hassilev, tall, dark and suave, speaks and sings a multitude of languages in a rich baritone voice. His innumerable dialects and accents range from the Big Smokey to the Ural mountains--often within the same song. Such versatility is the result of years of theatrical training and experience. On stage, he switches from guitar to the five-string banjo with the relaxed ease of a virtuoso.
Glenn Yarbrough, an Elektra recording artist with several albums to his credit, possesses a high, lyric tenor voice of startling clarity and has an engaging way with the classical guitar. Boyish, with a casual air of unstudied naturalness, his solo work on When I First Came To This Land never fails to impose “concert hall silence” on the most boisterous, expense-account audience.
To summarize:
- Lou Gottlieb: Ph.D in musicology, arranged for The Kingston Trio
- Alex Hassilev: professional actor, started out in stage and theater productions
- Glenn Yarbrough: the (comparatively) "unstudied natural[]" of the group, though he had experience in classical and choral training as a child (hat tip to Jim above)
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