Society Hall Welcomes legendary folk band The Limeliters!
Sat Mar 29, 2025 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM MDT
Society Hall, 81101
Description
Society Hall, at 400 Ross Avenue in Alamosa, is excited to feature The Limeliters on March 29th. Doors will open at 6:30 pm with the show beginning at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $20 and are available online at www.societyhall.org or in Alamosa at The Green Spot, 711 State Avenue. The concert will also stream live on the Society Hall Facebook page and You-Tube channel.
For 60+ years the Limeliters have entertained standing-room-only crowds with their incredible musical talent and zany sense of humor. They first made their mark in folk clubs and on college campuses during the height of the folk music boom of the early 60′s, which led to numerous TV appearances. With different configurations over the years, the group has preserved their signature vocal sound.
The Limeliters were formed in July, 1959 by Louis Gottlieb (bass), Alex Hassilev (baritone), and Glenn Yarbrough (tenor). It was springtime in Los Angeles, and “Cosmo Alley” was the nightclub to frequent. Lou Gottlieb, fresh from obtaining his Ph.D in musicology, just happened to be in the audience when Alex Hassilev and Glenn Yarbrough appeared on stage to sing a duet together. It was a chance meeting . . . and a legendary one. Lou, who was then working as a vocal arranger, originally thought that “these two guys” could help him make some demos for The Kingston Trio. However, when the three started working together, they could not restrain the magic.
Soon, they packed up and headed to Aspen, Colorado, to work at a ski lodge called “The Limelite,” which Glenn and Alex had purchased after singing there during the previous ski season. After a short period of perfecting their act, they set off for the “Hungry i” in San Francisco, which at the time, was the West Coast nerve center for the mushrooming contemporary folk movement. The owner had just had a group with three long names strung together and wasn’t about to put “Yarbrough, Hassilev, and Gottlieb” up on the marquee!! But the group hadn’t really decided on a name yet. So where had they last been playing? When they answered “The Limelite,” he said, “that’s your name from now on!”
Their success was immediate. Only two days after their professional debut, the group received offers from three recording companies and in early 1959, they released their first album on Elektra. Soon after, they signed with RCA and a string of best selling albums followed, making the Limeliters a household name.
The Limeliters’ album, “Tonight in Person” reached number 5 in the U.S. charts in 1961. Their second album made the top 40, and their third release, “The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters,” made the top ten in the same year. But their one album with the longest staying power is undoubtedly their album of folk songs for kids of all ages, “Through Children’s Eyes” For three years, The Limeliters were the musical representatives for Coca-Cola. Their rendition of the jingle, “Things Go Better with Coke” became a national hit.
More than all the albums, what The Limeliters are truly famous for is their trademark “Limeliters sound.” Never having a true chart-topping hit record, they are loved for a large collection of rousing songs including such audience-pleasers as “There’s a Meetin’ Here Tonight,” “City of New Orleans,” “A Dollar Down,” “Have Some Madeira M’Dear,” “Lonesome Traveler,” “Wabash Cannonball,” “Whiskey in the Jar,” and many others which are performed on their 25+ record albums and in their exciting concerts.
During the seventies, in response to an ever-greater demand from their many fans, starting in 1976, The Limeliters embarked on a series of yearly reunion tours with Glenn Yarbrough. These were so successful that in 1981, Alex and Lou decided to reform the group and to get back into the mainstream of entertainment.
Today, after 6 decades in the music business, The Limeliters are still one of the most exciting and entertaining vocal acts touring the country.With the addition of newest members, C. Daniel Boling and Steve Brooks, The Limeliters are poised to “pass the music on” to new audiences, young and old.
The board of Society Hall, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, invites you to another wonderful musical evening with The Limeliters, Saturday March 29th at 7:30 pm. Doors will be open at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $20.00 and are available online at www.societyhall.org or in Alamosa at The Green Spot. Society Hall - Where Community Celebrates!
Location
Society Hall, 81101