Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet formed in Buffalo, New York, on September 20, 1947.^[1] The original members were tenor Vern Reed, an executive for a boy's club, lead Al Shea, who was the city of Buffalo policeman, baritone Herschel Smith, a corporate executive, and bass Bill Spangenberg, a truck driver for a steel company. They started out as an unnamed foursome, singing for community groups. During an appearance at the Buffalo Quarterback Club, they were introduced as the "Buffalo Bills", and the name stuck.

However, Herschel Smith was promoted and transferred to Madison, Wisconsin, and had to leave the quartet. Unable to find a replacement, the Bills broke up. Fortunately, they found baritone Dick Grapes and blossomed quickly. In 1950, they won the Barbershop Harmony Society International Quartet Contest, earning them the title of International Quartet Champions. They also performed at military bases in France, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea.

In 1957, a famous composer and radio personality named Meredith Willson had written and composed a musical about his hometown of Mason City, Iowa. He included a barbershop quartet in this plot. Willson had heard the Bills' records and suggested they come to New York and audition for the role of the Iowa quartet. They were immediately accepted, but joining the musical meant there were serious changes to be made. They would all have to quit their jobs and move to New York City.

In the end, Dick Grapes decided to stay behind with his job and family life and was replaced by veteran barbershop bartone Wayne "Scotty" Ward. They continued to make television and radio appearances, including the Arthur Godfrey show, where they met Walter Latzko, a CBS staff music arranger. They were such a hit on Broadway that they were cast in the film adaptation of the musical in 1962. Shortly after filming was completed, Bill Spangenberg became ill and had to leave the quartet. Sadly, he died the following year. Spangenberg was replaced by Jim Jones, bass of the Sta-Laters quartet.

For the next five years, the Bills performed on the Arthur Godfrey Show as a nightclub act, as guest performers in productions of The Music Man and as headline entertainers on barbershop shows as well as county and state fairs around North America. Their total career consisted of 1,510 performances on Broadway, 728 concerts, 675 radio shows, 672 night club and hotel appearances, 626 conventions, 216 television shows, 137 state fair performances, and 1 film. Their final performance was on May 24, 1967 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.

The only surviving members of the Buffalo Bills are Jim Jones, who lives in Orlando, Florida,^[2] and Dick Grapes, who currently lives in Buffalo, New York. Only Reed and Shea were with the Bills throughout their entire existence.

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