The Kingston Trio figured in the record collections of my parents,
who went to university in the 1950's.
The album I particularly recall is
"The Kingston Trio Sold Out,"
which today is quite the double entendre;
that nuance was lost on me as a small child.

The cover shows a big old concert poster for the KT,
the words Sold Out have been stamped on the poster,
the poster is plastered on a brick wall,
and in front of the brick wall is a ladder
on which a handywoman in cropped trousers is gazing dreamily
at the poster, as though she has a crush
on the three strapping young men photographed there. Ick.

What REALLY made my ears perk up, listening to the album,
were the two songs from TONGA, of all places.
These are sung with guitar, acoustic double-bass, and bongo drum.
And the fellows belt out that Tongan/Polynesian language,
sounding hilariously North American Macho about the whole thing.
Those performances are hard-wired into my brain,
if only because they made me laugh.