As a kid, I listened to a lot of records over and over, but mainly records that were both funny and musical, like the output of Stan Freberg and Allan Sherman. And often I listened to the folk-singing trio known as The Limeliters. When they tried to be serious, they weren't all that different from umpteen other folk-singing acts then on the circuit. But when they were silly, they were especially wonderful. I saw them perform live around '64 and I still remember what a good time I had, especially when they seemed to be playing and ad-libbing to amuse each other. The group consisted of Alex Hassilev, Lou Gottlieb and Glenn Yarbrough, and they began performing in 1959. In 1963, Yarbrough went off to try and establish a solo career and he was replaced by Ernie Sheldon.
Around 1965, they drifted apart and that seemed like the end but throughout the seventies, a series of reunion concerts showed that there was a still an audience eager to hear The Limeliters. In 1981, Alex and Lou officially started the act up again, tapping Red Grammer to take Yarbrough's slot. Grammer left in 1990 or 1991 and was replaced by John David and then Rick Dougherty. Gottlieb died in 1996 and his position was assumed by Bill Zorn.
Often when you see these resurrected groups with one original member, you're seeing medium talents coasting on the stardom and/or luck of others. Sometimes, groups re-form around one player and then that guy is replaced so you're watching an act that has only slightly more moral right to use the name than you would. A few years back, I visited with a man who booked talent for an "oldies" revue in Laughlin, Nevada. An agent was on the phone offering him the current incarnation of an act that had had one hit in the sixties, and the agent was swearing on his mother's grave that he would deliver at least one performer who had actually played on the record. The talent booker muttered, "Well, that would be a refreshing change."
All was open and above board with recent appearances of The Limeliters — or The Fabulous Limeliters, as they've sometimes been billed. You knew you were only getting Alex Hassilev and in some ways, that was enough because he was the primary producer and arranger for the original trio so their sound was largely his sound. But he'd also brought in not guys who were cheap but guys who were very good…so what went on the stage under the Limeliters imprint was wholly worthy of the name. I can't think of another act that went through so many changes of personnel and accomplished that.
Things seem to be changing again. The official Limeliters site announces that when they finish their bookings for next month, Dougherty and Zorn will split from Hassilev. They appear to be going off to perform with Yarbrough in another "Limeliter Reunion," though I'm not sure if "reunion" is quite the proper word here. I just hope some permutation of The Limeliters endures for a while, preferably with at least one of the two surviving founders. Yeah, we have all those great albums to listen to forever, and most of them are available on CD. But there's something very life-affirming and reassuring to think that no matter what happens in the world and no matter how musical tastes change, The Limeliters are on a stage somewhere singing, "There's A Meeting Here Tonight."
[NOTE: This posting was updated at 1:25 PM to correct some misinfo. And probably to add in more.]