Music Friday: The Kingston Trio Sings About a 'Priceless Gem of Perfection'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we flip the 45 of The Kingston Trio's 1958 chart-topping hit, "Tom Dooley," to find a surprising gem of a song on the B-side, "Ruby Red."

Writers Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance employ rubies, diamonds, emeralds and sapphires in the lyrics to describe the one that got away.

Dave Guard, Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds of The Kingston Trio sing, "Ruby red were her lips. Diamond pure was her heart / Emerald green (emerald green) was the color of her eyes / A priceless gem of perfection, but I lost her 'neath the sapphire sky."

"Ruby Red" earned tremendous exposure on the B-side of a record that would sell more than three million copies and top the charts in five countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Norway and Italy.

As the following songs attest, there is no shame in being on the B-side of a hit record...

• "Hound Dog," Elvis Presley (1953) / B-side of "Don't Be Cruel"

• "I Saw Her Standing There," The Beatles (1963) / B-side of "I Want To Hold Your Hand"

• "We Will Rock You," Queen (1977) / B-Side of "We Are the Champions"

• "You Can't Always Get What You Want," Rolling Stones (1969) / B-side of "Honky Tonk Women"

"Ruby Red" made its album debut as the 10th track of The Kingston Trio's second live album called Stereo Concert, which was released in 1959.

Only one year later, Pockriss and Vance would score their own #1 hit with "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." Recorded by Brian Hyland, the song became a worldwide smash and sparked the sales of two-piece bathing suits.

The Kingston Trio is credited with launching the folk revival of the late 1950s. The group started as a San Francisco lounge act, but quickly gained international fame. The Kingston Trio received an honorary Grammy in 2011.

Although Shane, the last surviving original member of The Kingston Trio, passed away in January at the age of 85, the band continues to tour with a new cast of musicians.

Please check out the audio track of "Ruby Red." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Ruby Red"
Written by Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance. Performed by The Kingston Trio.

Ruby red, Ruby red

Ruby red were her lips. Diamond pure was her heart
Emerald green (emerald green) was the color of her eyes
A priceless gem of perfection, but I lost her 'neath the sapphire sky
Ruby red, Ruby red, Ruby red

I'd cross the wide Pacific and swim the China Sea
To have those lips of ruby red back here again with me
Ruby red, Ruby red
To have those lips of Ruby red back here, again, with me

Ruby red were her lips. Diamond pure was her heart
Emerald green (emerald green) was the color of her eyes
A priceless gem of perfection, but I lost her 'neath the sapphire sky
Ruby red, Ruby red, Ruby red

I thought I could forget, and so I sailed away, but I lived to regret until this very day
Ruby red, Ruby red
To have those lips of Ruby red back here, again, with me

Ruby red were her lips. Diamond pure was her heart
Emerald green (emerald green) was the color of her eyes
A priceless gem of perfection, but I lost her 'neath the sapphire sky
Ruby red, Ruby red, Ruby red

Ruby red. Ruby red

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

Gal Gadot Becomes the 4th Woman to Ever Wear the 128-Carat 'Tiffany Diamond'

Actress Gal Gadot gets to wear the 128.54-carat "Tiffany Diamond" in the soon-to-be-released big screen adaptation of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile. The famous — but rarely worn — gem dangles from a platinum necklace featuring an openwork motif of sun rays glistening with 481 diamonds totaling more than 100 carats.

A Tiffany representative told the Hollywood Reporter that the necklace is showcased prominently in the murder mystery, starring Tom Bateman, Kenneth Branagh, Russell Brand, Dawn French, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Emma Mackey and Letitia Wright. Gadot plays a glamorous heiress who meets with foul play during her honeymoon aboard a cruise ship on the Nile River.

During its storied 143-year history, the cushion-cut yellow diamond has been worn by only four women. The gem made its first public appearance on the neck of Mrs. E. Sheldon Whitehouse at the 1957 Tiffany Ball. Actress Audrey Hepburn famously wore it in 1961 publicity posters for the motion picture Breakfast at Tiffany’s. And, in February of 2019, Lady Gaga turned heads when she wore it at the 91st Academy Awards.

Gaga revealed in June of this year how The Tiffany Diamond remained on her neck during a Madonna-hosted afterparty — and a late-night excursion to Taco Bell.

“When we were heading to Taco Bell, my car was pulled over, and Tiffany’s security politely removed [the necklace] from my neck,” Gaga said during a virtual appearance on The Graham Norton Show.

Promoted by Tiffany as one of the largest and finest fancy yellow diamonds in the world, the 128.54-carat gem was cut from a 287.42-carat rough stone discovered in the Kimberley diamond mines of South Africa in 1877. It was acquired the following year for $18,000 by Tiffany’s founder, Charles Lewis Tiffany. Today, it's estimated to be worth $30 million.

The rough stone was brought to Paris, where Tiffany’s chief gemologist, Dr. George Frederick Kunz, supervised the cutting of the diamond into a cushion-shape brilliant with an unprecedented 82 facets — 24 more facets than the traditional 58-facet brilliant cut. The stone is just over an inch wide and seven-eighths of an inch from top to bottom.

In 1961, the diamond was set in a ribbon rosette necklace to promote Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In 1995, it became part of a brooch called "Bird on a Rock," which was exhibited at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

The Tiffany Diamond necklace worn by Gadot was designed in 2012 to mark Tiffany’s 175th anniversary celebration. When the necklace is not attending the Academy Awards or on a movie set, it can be seen on the main floor of Tiffany's flagship store in New York City.

Death on the Nile is scheduled to hit theaters in October.

Credits: Promotional photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. Tiffany Diamond image by Shipguy / CC BY-SA.

Lesotho's Latest Colossal Gem-Quality Diamond Weighs in at 442 Carats

The Letšeng mine in the tiny southern African kingdom of Lesotho has produced another colossal gem-quality diamond. The 442-carat, Type IIa stone could be worth as much as $18 million.

The still-unnamed rough gem is the fifth-largest gem-quality diamond ever unearthed at Letšeng, a mine that is recognized as the highest dollar-per-carat kimberlite mine in the world.

Despite having a land mass slightly smaller than Maryland, Lesotho is an international powerhouse when it comes to turning out huge, top-quality stones. Some of Letšeng’s most impressive finds include the Lesotho Legend (910 carats), Lesotho Promise (603 carats), Letšeng Star (550 carats) and Lesotho Legacy (493 carats). Of the largest 50 rough diamonds ever discovered, nine have come from Lesotho.

While mining company Gem Diamonds didn't place a value on the 442-carat rough gem, a mining-industry analyst told bloomberg.com that is was worth about $18 million, based on recent sales of similar Type IIa stones.

In 2018, the Lesotho Legend (about twice the weight of the newest discovery) was sold for $40 million. The 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona (#3 on the all-time list) fetched $53 million in September of 2017, while the 812-carat Constellation (#8 on the all-time list) was sold for $63 million in May of 2016. All were D-color, Type IIa diamonds, which means they were colorless and chemically pure with no traces of nitrogen or boron impurities.

Since Gem Diamonds acquired the mine in 2006, Letšeng has produced more than 60 100-plus-carat diamonds.

“The recovery of this remarkable 442-carat diamond, one of the world’s largest gem-quality diamonds to be recovered this year, is further confirmation of the caliber of the Letšeng mine and its ability to consistently produce large, high-quality diamonds,” noted Gem Diamonds CEO Clifford Elphick. “It is also a fitting testament to the dedication of the employees in the Group to have recovered such an extraordinary diamond, whilst at the same time maintaining strict adherence to health and safety precautions during the global Covid pandemic.”

The Gem Diamonds executive also reported that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this diamond will be used to fund a special community project.

The United Kingdom-based Gem Diamonds holds a 70% stake in the Letšeng mine with the government of Lesotho owning the remaining 30%. In October 2019, the partners renewed the mining lease for another 10 years.

Credits: Images courtesy of Gem Diamonds.