1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,639 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,880 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: show that hits the high notes of history every day 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: of the week. I'm Gay Blusier and today we're celebrating 5 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: Barbershop Quartet Day with a look at the story of 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: the first group devoted solely to the nostalgiic cause of 7 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: barbershop music. The day was April eleventh, nineteen thirty eight. 8 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: The first meeting of the Barbershop Harmony Society was held 9 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was organized by Owen Clifton Cash, 10 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: a local tax attorney, and by Rupert Hall, an investment manager. 11 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: A few weeks earlier, the men's paths had crossed in 12 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: Kansas City, where they discovered they had a common interest 13 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: in barbershop music. The two discs us the idea of 14 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: holding some kind of festival or meeting for fans of 15 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: the waning genre to get together and practice their craft. 16 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: They got the ball rolling by inviting fourteen male singers 17 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: to gather at the Tulsa Club that spring. They weren't 18 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: sure anyone would actually come, but in the end it 19 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:20,679 Speaker 1: was a full house. There were even about a dozen 20 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 1: extra men who had been brought along as guests. The 21 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: following week, seventy men showed up for the second meeting, 22 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: and attendance continued to grow from there. What had started 23 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: as an informal organization eventually became an official one, complete 24 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 1: with officers, charters, and buy laws. The society helped revive 25 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: interest in barbershop quartets throughout the nineteen forties, making it 26 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: socially acceptable once again for four men to don striped 27 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: jackets and straw hats and sing together in perfect harmony. 28 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: So if you've ever seen the Dapper Dans perform at 29 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: a Disney theme park, now you know who to thank 30 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: for helping keep that style of music alive for the uninitiated. 31 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: Barbershop music is a popular form of choral a cappella singing. 32 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 1: The focus is on tight, carefully arranged harmonies between four, 33 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 1: typically all male or all female singers in male groups. 34 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: The second tenor generally acts as the lead, carrying the 35 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: melody with which the other three voices harmonize. The first 36 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 1: tenor sings harmony above the lead, the baritone sings harmony below, 37 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: and the lowest voice, the bass, sings lower, still providing 38 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: the foundation. Other Common characteristics of the genre include the 39 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,640 Speaker 1: synchronization of word sounds, the repetition of phrases to produce 40 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 1: an echo effect, and the use of music with a 41 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: strong syncopated rhythm, such as ragtime. The roots of barbershop 42 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: music are somewhat more diverse than you might expect. Although 43 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: the musical style is generally associated with the United States, 44 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:01,639 Speaker 1: its name likely came from England's back as the sixteen hundreds, 45 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: British barbers kept a stringed instrument on hand for their 46 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: customers to strum while waiting for their turn in the chair. 47 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: Some of the regulars would even rig up other instruments 48 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: to flesh out their performances. One popular trick was to 49 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: fill a candlestick with coins and then shake it to 50 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: add a bit of percussion. The resulting songs became known 51 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: as barber's music, or more simply as barbershop. The marriage 52 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: of music and hair cutting eventually made its way to 53 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:34,079 Speaker 1: the US, and by the eighteen thirties barbershops had become 54 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: the social and musical centers for average joe Americans. In 55 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: their case, though the communal instrument of choice was their voices, 56 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: sometimes it was the barber himself who would lead things off, 57 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: singing a tune to pass the time as he worked. 58 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: Then some of his patrons would inevitably join in by 59 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: adding their own harmonies to the mix. Those impromptu songs 60 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: usually took the form of call and response, a compositional 61 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: technique that was brought to the US through the music 62 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: of enslaved Africans. By the late nineteenth century, the American 63 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: family unit had become quite musical thanks to the spread 64 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: of printed sheet music and to the presence of a 65 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:19,040 Speaker 1: piano in most middle class homes. Those conditions allowed barbershop 66 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: style singing to catch on outside of the barber shop, 67 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 1: and in the years ahead it became a full blown 68 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: national craze. Although the exact origins are unknown, most music 69 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,719 Speaker 1: historians believe the barbershop style grew directly from the African 70 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:38,799 Speaker 1: American music of the eighteen eighties and eighteen nineties. Many 71 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:43,040 Speaker 1: black communal folk songs of the era share qualities with barbershop, 72 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: especially spirituals, which place a heavy emphasis on timing, intonation, 73 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:52,040 Speaker 1: and of course, the blending of voices. White minstrel singers 74 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: began imitating that style, and in the early days of 75 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: the recording industry, white quartets started recording and selling albums 76 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: that show case they're vocal harmonies. Some of the first 77 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:07,840 Speaker 1: hit barbershop songs later became genre defining staples, such as 78 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: Shine on Harvest, Moon, Hello My Baby, and Sweet Adeline. 79 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: That last title will come up again a little later, 80 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:17,840 Speaker 1: so for now, let's listen to a clip from a 81 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: nineteen oh four recording of the song by the Hayden 82 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:42,720 Speaker 1: Quartet gat on My delon the Night, Yeah Paine on 83 00:05:43,480 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: my gree Fainty. If you formed a picture in your 84 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: mind while listening to that song, it probably involved four 85 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 1: guys dressed in bright striped jackets and straw hats, and 86 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 1: maybe some big mustaches too. That signature look became synonymous 87 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 1: with the genre at the turn of the twentieth century, 88 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: when barbershop quartets were fixtures of the vaudeville circuit. The 89 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: singers would typically take the stage in between the other 90 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,160 Speaker 1: acts while the curtains were drawn and the next performers 91 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:38,719 Speaker 1: were setting up. The quartets flashy costumes and oversized facial 92 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: hair were a way to ensure that they could be 93 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:44,279 Speaker 1: seen by all the patrons, even the ones way back 94 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: in the cheap seats. The distinctive sound and look of 95 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,600 Speaker 1: barbershop quartets remained in vogue until the nineteen twenties or so, 96 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:55,919 Speaker 1: at which point it was eclipsed and popularity by jazz 97 00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:00,720 Speaker 1: and swing. However, a decade later, harmony sing was still 98 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: limping along in some places. For example, it was featured 99 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:08,599 Speaker 1: fairly often in early theatrical cartoons. In fact, one of 100 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: my personal favorite uses of barbershop was in the nineteen 101 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: thirty four Mary Melody short pop goes Your Heart in It. 102 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: The song of the same name was performed by the 103 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: Guardsman Quartet Take a listen with. Outside of cartoons, barbershop 104 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: was still alive in many American homes as well. It 105 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: was no longer the popular music of the day, but 106 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:06,240 Speaker 1: for many men in particular, barbershop was still their preferred 107 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: form of musical self expression. Ohen Cash and Rupert Hall 108 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: were among those faithful adherents, and in the spring of 109 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty eight they decided to get together with their 110 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: fellow die hearts. They sent out a somewhat tongue in 111 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 1: cheek invitation to that effect, writing, quote, Gentlemen, in this 112 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: age of dictators and government control of everything, about the 113 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 1: only privilege guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, not in 114 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:36,559 Speaker 1: some way supervised and directed is the art of barbershop 115 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: quartet singing. Without doubt, we still have the right of 116 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 1: peaceable assembly, which I am advised by competent legal authority 117 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: includes quartet singing. The writers of this letter have for 118 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:50,959 Speaker 1: a long time thought that something should be done to 119 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: encourage the enjoyment of this last remaining source of human liberty. 120 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,199 Speaker 1: The letter went on to set the time and location 121 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: of the first meeting, Monday, April eleventh, at six thirty 122 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 1: pm at the Tulsa Club, an all white, all male 123 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 1: social club that served as a popular venue for high 124 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 1: class dinners and meetings. The invitation was signed, quote harmoniously, 125 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:19,640 Speaker 1: yours Rupert Hall, the Royal Keeper of the Minor Keys, 126 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: and OC Cash, Third Assistant Temporary Vice Chairman. Those self 127 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,679 Speaker 1: applied titles were meant to sound ridiculous, and so was 128 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: the name of the organization they claimed to represent, the 129 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing 130 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: in America or SpeB sq SA. Of course, once the 131 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 1: organization was formalized, it dropped the silly name and adopted 132 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: the much more sensible. One of the Barbershop Harmony Society 133 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: hall in Cash had reserved the club's rooftop garden for 134 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: their first meeting, and the group spent most of the 135 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: evening out there singing old songs beneath the ours. The 136 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: men had so much fun they agreed to meet again 137 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: the following week. Unfortunately, some Tulsa club members on the 138 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 1: floors below had complained about the hours long singing session, 139 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: so the group had to relocate to a nearby hotel. 140 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: By the end of May, their now weekly meetings were 141 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,960 Speaker 1: drawing upwards of one hundred and fifty men, and the 142 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: group was fast outgrowing its new venue. The decision was 143 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: ultimately made to start setting up other chapters outside of Tulsa. 144 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,959 Speaker 1: The first of those offshoots was started in Oklahoma City 145 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,439 Speaker 1: that July and was soon followed by groups in Kansas City, 146 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:40,320 Speaker 1: Saint Louis, and four other Oklahoma towns. In the decades 147 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: that followed, chapters were added in other states as well, 148 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 1: fulfilling the dream of a wide scale barbershop revival. However, 149 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: it wasn't a very inclusive revival. Membership to the Barbershop 150 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:56,559 Speaker 1: Harmony Society was open only to white men, just like 151 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 1: the Tulsa Club where the group was founded. The organization 152 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: finally open to men of color in nineteen sixty three, 153 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: but it remained close to women of any ethnicity until 154 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:10,079 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen. Of course, that's not to say that women 155 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: interested in barbershop had just been sitting on the sidelines 156 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 1: waiting for permission. In fact, many of the wives of 157 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: early BHS members actually started a similar organization for women 158 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:24,800 Speaker 1: way back in nineteen forty five as a nod to 159 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: an old barbershop standard. The group called itself the Sweet 160 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:32,680 Speaker 1: Ade Lines, though after nearly eighty years of expansion, it's 161 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 1: now called Sweet Ade Lines International. Both groups are still 162 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:41,240 Speaker 1: going strong in the twenty first century, with the BHS 163 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 1: now boasting more than eight hundred chapters and well over 164 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: twenty thousand members. When you factor in Sweet Ade Lines 165 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 1: International and other affiliated groups, the total number of active 166 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:56,679 Speaker 1: barbershop singers is estimated to be more than eighty thousand worldwide, 167 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:01,120 Speaker 1: representing more than thirty countries. The mission and motto of 168 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:05,920 Speaker 1: these groups is harmonize the world. That's a demanding task 169 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,080 Speaker 1: for anyone, especially these days, but who knows, maybe barbershop 170 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 1: singers will be the ones to pull it off in 171 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 1: our current climate. It's the kind of ludicrous idea that 172 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: just might work. I'm Gabelusier and hopefully you now know 173 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:25,400 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 174 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:27,200 Speaker 1: If you want to keep up with the show, you 175 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:31,040 Speaker 1: can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI 176 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 1: HC Show. And if you have any comments or suggestions, 177 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,200 Speaker 1: you can always send them my way by writing to 178 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 1: this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays 179 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: and Ben Hackett for producing the show, and thanks to 180 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,160 Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow 181 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 1: for another day in History class.