The Limeliters

The Limeliters stood alongside the Kingston Trio as two of the most commercially dominant folk acts during the early 1960s, when the folk revival itself functioned as a cultural counterweight to the rebellious energy of rock & roll. Glenn Yarbrough supplied lead vocals and guitar, Lou Gottlieb handled vocals and bass, and Alex Hassilev contributed vocals, guitar, and banjo in the original configuration.

During 1959 Gottlieb—a onetime jazz pianist and Gateway Singers alumnus who had recently finished a doctoral dissertation on 15th century cyclic masses—caught Hassilev and Yarbrough performing at Hollywood’s Cosmo Alley nightclub. Struck by their vocal blend, he proposed that the three record demos for the Kingston Trio, supplying his own arrangements of traditional material plus several original pieces. The chemistry among them proved immediate, so they chose independence and took their name from the Limelite club in Aspen, Colorado, where they had polished both their sound and their stage presentation. A strong summer run at San Francisco’s hungry i earned them an Elektra debut followed by a string of RCA Victor best-sellers.

Although each member possessed striking individual gifts, their personal temperaments clashed; Hassilev occasionally called the trio “the Bicker Brothers.” His own voice was rich and powerful, and he moved easily among several languages. Gottlieb worked as arranger and composer while also trying his hand at standup comedy. Yarbrough possessed one of the purest and most arresting voices of his era. Unlike many contemporaries, the Limeliters never submerged any singer’s identity when they harmonized; Yarbrough’s soaring tenor rode above Gottlieb’s central baritone and Hassilev’s supporting bass-baritone, creating a seamless blend that still preserved each distinct timbre. Onstage Gottlieb played standup bass and served as master of ceremonies, seasoning the show with erudite quips, dry asides, and unpredictable non-sequiturs.

Between 1961 and 1963 the Limeliters ranked among the most sought-after attractions in popular entertainment, logging television appearances, commercial jingles, and a punishing itinerary that reached as many as 310 dates a year. A near-fatal plane crash in Provo, Utah, in 1963 forced the members to reconsider their priorities. Yarbrough left first, launching a solo career whose 1965 single “Baby the Rain Must Fall” reached number 12 before audience interest waned. Ernie Sheldon briefly filled the vacancy until the group disbanded in 1965. Hassilev moved into production and acting; Gottlieb settled in Sonoma County in Northern California and founded the Morning Star Ranch, one of the decade’s best-known hippie communes.

The original members regrouped in 1973 and resumed touring, though before smaller crowds. Yarbrough departed again in 1981; Red Grammer, a tenor whose voice fit Yarbrough’s parts with ease, took his place. When Grammer later left to pursue a solo career as a children’s entertainer, Rick Dougherty joined. The Limeliters continued playing intimate venues through the 1980s and 1990s, attracting a loyal audience drawn largely from their earlier peak years. Gottlieb’s death in 1996 at age 72 appeared to threaten the group’s survival, yet Bill Zorn, formerly of the “New” Kingston Trio, stepped in and kept the Limeliters active into the twenty-first century. Dougherty and Zorn exited in 2003 (Zorn subsequently rejoined a touring version of the Kingston Trio), replacements arrived the following year, and Hassilev’s retirement and replacement in 2006 left the continuing lineup without any founding members. Alex Hassilev died on April 21, 2024, at the age of 91.