The Old Quartet

There’s something about the harmony of a good quartet that I really like. I would guess that my love for the sound began in junior high and high school when we sang songs like “Bound for Jubilee” and “Go Down Moses.” The basic group was Jim Norton (first tenor), me (second tenor), Eric Hayes (baritone), and Bill Shanks (bass). Various people joined the group including Ron Howard, Paul Isaacs, Brian Leland, and Jeff Meyer. We sang at Westerville Bible Church, Northside’s concerts, and even at the awards program at Bob Jones University! But our favorite place to sing had to be the bathroom for better accoustics.

Then during my first year of college I joined Basilean where four of us formed a quartet for a short time. There were Brian Leland (bass), Dave Becker (baritone), me (second tenor), and believe it or not … Ryan DeBarr (first tenor). That was a lot of fun. Since then, I’ve enjoyed singing in various church quartets. One of my favorites was at Bible Community Church with Dan Pfeifle, Bruce Cline, and Tom Spence. It’s good to smile and look back on “the good old days.”

Today, I got in the mood to hear some good harmony. So, I googled “barbershop” and found a listing of various barbershop quartets. On that site, I was able to listen to sample recordings of several groups. Of the ones I perused, several made my “listen-again” list. And after listening to them over and over again, I thought it would be good to share what I’ve been enjoying. Click on a link below to hear the tune.

Note that you’ll need Real Player to hear each one.

Ein Klein Not Musik by Gas House Gang

Frog Kissin by Most Happy Fellows

I Want a Girl by the Buffalo Bills

We’re Little But We’re Loud by Gas House Gang

When I Look in Your Eyes by Most Happy Fellows

When you’ve finished listening to those, you can watch this funny quartet singing:

And an old favorite:

5 thoughts on “The Old Quartet”

  1. dale

    Andy, you are just too hilarious! Man, you got to love that Mozart clip. I am absolutely rolling on the floor laughing so hard it hurts! I needed this after a trying week. Thanks!

  3. Brian Leland

    Yep, those were the days! I believe the two songs that we sang at that particular competition were “I Will Arise and Go to Jesus” and “Oh, Mary Don’t You Weep”.

  5. Andy Rupert

    I forgot about my undergrad year and a half at Northland. My room mates and I formed a trio and made two recordings. The first was called the Shower Boys because of where we liked to sing. That one included whoever walked into the room when we were recording. The other was a Christmas tape which we made at a local church. I wonder what ever happened to those recordings.

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