''Something Special'' is an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by the American

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

group

the Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

, released in 1962 (see

1962 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1962. Specific locations *1962 in British music *1962 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1962 in country music * 1962 in jazz Events * January 1 – The Beatles and Bri ...

). It reached number 7 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The lead-off single was a non-album track "C'mon Betty Home" b/w "Old Joe Clark". "One More Town" b/w "She Was Too Good to Me" was released as a single later the same year. Neither single made the Top 40. ''Something Special'' was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in the Best Folk Recording category.Blake, B., Rubeck, J., Shaw, A. (1986) ''The Kingston Trio On Record.'' Kingston Korner Inc, ILL: A notable feature of ''Something Special'' is that it was highly orchestrated, using strings, brass instruments and a choir.

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

music critic Bruce Eder wrote the album "was the oddest of all the Kingston Trio's albums... a marked departure from previous work by the trio... The results aren't bad so much as they are strange at times."

Reissues

*''Something Special'' was reissued along with ''Back in Town'' on CD by Collectors Choice Records in 2000. A bonus track, "C'mon Betty Home" is included. Allmusic entry for reissue of ''Something Special''/''Back in Town''./ref> *In 2000, all of the tracks from ''Something Special'' were included in '' The Stewart Years'' 10-CD box set issued by

Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History The label has been in existence since ...

. This collection also includes eleven tracks without

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman, November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely ...

's orchestral overdubs; the twelfth cut, "Old Joe Clark," appeared on the album as it was originally recorded.

Track listing

Side one

# "Brown Mountain Light" ( Scotty Wiseman) – 2:48 # "One More Town" ( John Stewart) – 2:57 # "Oh Willow Waley" (

Georges Auric Georges Auric (; 15 February 1899 – 23 July 1983) was a French composer, born in Lodève, Hérault, France. He was considered one of ''Les Six'', a group of artists informally associated with Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie. Before he turned 20 he ...

, Paul Dehan) – 2:46 # " Tell it on the Mountain" (Traditional,

Nick Reynolds Nicholas Wells Reynolds (July 27, 1933 – October 1, 2008) was an American folk musician and recording artist. Reynolds was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio, whose folk and folk-style material captured international attention du ...

Bob Shane Robert Castle Schoen (February 1, 1934 – January 26, 2020), known professionally as Bob Shane, was an American singer and guitarist who was a founding member of The Kingston Trio. In that capacity, Shane became a seminal figure in the rev ...

, Stewart) – 1:55 # "Little Boy" (

Mike Settle Michael Ward Settle (born March 20, 1941) is an American songwriter, journalist, broadcaster and singer. Settle began his musical career as a solo singer and a member of The New Christy Minstrels. His debut solo album ''Folk Sing Hallelujah'' ...

) – 2:33 # "Strange Day" (Stewart, George Yanok) – 3:55

Side two

# "Away Rio" (Reynolds, Shane, Stewart) – 2:57 # "Pullin' Away" (Reynolds, Shane, Stewart) – 3:17 # "She Was Too Good To Me ( Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 2:46 # "Jane, Jane, Jane" ( Stan Wilson) – 2:51 # "Portland Town" (Stewart) – 1:59 # "

Old Joe Clark "Old Joe Clark" is a US folk song, a mountain ballad that was popular among soldiers from eastern Kentucky during World War I and afterwards. Its lyrics refer to a real person named Joseph Clark, a Kentucky mountaineer who was born in 1839 and murde ...

" (Traditional) – 1:58

Personnel

– vocals, guitar *

– vocals, tenor guitar, bongos, conga * John Stewart – vocals, banjo, guitar *Dean Reilly – bass

Production notes

* Voyle Gilmore – producer *Pete Abbott – engineer *

– arrangements, conductor

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1962 albums The Kingston Trio albums Albums produced by Voyle Gilmore Capitol Records albums Albums conducted by Jimmie Haskell Albums arranged by Jimmie Haskell Collectors' Choice Music albums