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The Four Freshmen

 
Artist: The Four Freshmen
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The Four Freshmen

Group Members:

Ross Barbour, Don Barbour, Hal Kratzsch, Ken Albers, Ken Errair, Bob Flanigan

Similar Artists:

The Hi-Lo's, The Lettermen, The Four Preps, The Beau Marks, The Platters, Four Hits & A Miss, Song Spinners, The Gaylords, The Crew Cuts, The Four Aces, The Beach Boys

Followers:

Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, The Manhattan Transfer, The Vogues, The Manhattan Vocal Project, Poker Dots

Performed Songs By:

Harry Warren, Johnny Mercer, Mack Gordon, Duke Ellington, Sammy Cahn, Bobby Troup, Irving Mills, Matt Dennis, George Gershwin
See The Four Freshmen Lyrics
  • Formed: 1948, Indianapolis, IN
  • Genres: Vocal Music
  • Representative Albums: "Capitol Collectors Series," "Voices in Modern," "The Four Freshmen in Person"
  • Representative Songs: "Day by Day," "It's a Blue World," "Graduation Day"

Biography

The Four Freshmen were one of the top vocal groups of the 1950s, and formed the bridge between '40s ensembles like the Mel-Tones and harmony-based rock & roll bands such as the Beach Boys as well as groups like Spanky & Our Gang and the Manhattan Transfer. The group's roots go back to the end of the 1940s and a barbershop quartet-influenced outfit called Hal's Harmonizers, organized at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Butler University in Indiana by two brothers, Ross and Don Barbour. Their repertoire centered on standards such as "Moonglow" and "The Christmas Song," and they began to show an unusually free, improvisational approach to their harmony singing. A couple of membership changes brought Bob Flanigan, a cousin, into the fold alongside Hal Kratzsch, and suddenly the Four Freshmen were assembled in all but name, and that fell into place a little later.

The group struggled for a long time, living hand-to-mouth while building a repertoire and a sound -- many people who've heard the group's records or are familiar with their sound are unaware that they were also completely self-contained instrumentally, each member playing more than one instrument and allowing the others to switch off to different roles. They came to attention of various jazz figures of the era, including Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton, and it was Kenton who took matters into his own hands, bringing the group to the attention of Capitol Records, where the bandleader had a longstanding relationship. Thus began a long and fruitful relationship with the label, initially under the guidance of arranger Pete Rugolo -- gigs followed on The Steve Allen Show (then one of the top-rated entertainment showcases on television) and with Ray Anthony's band; they also managed to make an appearance in the MGM movie Rich, Young and Pretty.

Their first hit single was "It's a Blue World," released in 1952, and they enjoyed further success with "Mood Indigo" (1954), "Day By Day" (1955), and "Graduation Day" (1956). They released their first LP, Voices in Modern, in 1955 (and some dozen more 12" discs over the next five years); that album was as impressive a jazz document as it was a vocal pop effort, showcasing the group members' playing as well as their singing and showing that these guys had lots of complex musical strings in their bow. It was on these albums that the quartet also showed itself to be a very smart outfit, not just in musical terms but logistically as well. Rather than simply doing any 12 songs that might have been working well in its stage act, the group made these releases into conceptual works, either musically (built around the sounds achieved by combinations of the group's sound and specific accompaniments, such as Four Freshmen and 5 Trombones, Four Freshmen and Five Guitars, etc.) or as thematic arrays of songs (such as Voices in Love and Voices in Latin).

This approach to devising and creating albums (which paralleled the kind of work that Frank Sinatra was doing concurrently on the same label) would have an influence on groups like the Beach Boys that was nearly as important as their harmony sound; it's also an important reason why, in combination with their virtuosity, their albums have held up so well across 40 years. Their sound and range were helped by the fact that their benefactor, Kenton, was on the same label, which made it possible for them to record together on occasion. Most of their late-'50s albums were good sellers -- most have been reissued several times on vinyl and CD -- and they had no shortage of top bookings and top pay to keep them going into the early '60s.

There were membership changes along the way -- Kratzsch left in the spring of 1953, to be replaced by Ken Errair who, in turn, was succeeded by Ken Albers in April of 1956, while Don Barbour left in 1960, replaced by Bill Comstock. That lineup lasted intact for nearly 13 years, into the 1970s, but by that time the group's influence had faded to almost nothing. The Four Freshmen had managed to stay competitive with other pop acts through the mid-'60s, and even got a very visible boost from the Beach Boys, in the form of Brian Wilson's frequent expressions of admiration for the quartet as part of his inspiration behind putting together the rock & roll group's sound, but following the arrival of the British Invasion, they were no longer anywhere near the cutting edge of pop music. They continued to record and perform, even assimilating such contemporary songs as Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," but they were effectively relegated to the "easy listening" stations. Their contract with Capitol ended in 1964, and the group's last affiliation with a major label was in the second half of the decade with Liberty Records, which yielded four LPs but no hits. By 1977, Bob Flanigan was the last original member, and he retired in 1992.

New lineups of the group have continued to perform into the 21st century, however, and are considered an artistically valid ensemble -- in 2000 the Four Freshmen were voted Vocal Group of the Year by Down Beat magazine's readers. And in 2001, no less a label than Mosaic Records -- the company that issues complete catalogs of jazz legends going back to the 1930s, in deluxe packaging -- released a multi-CD box of the Four Freshmen's complete 1950s recordings, proudly (and even defiantly, given the label's catalog) proclaiming the quartet's validity as a jazz outfit. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
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Discography: The Four Freshmen
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Blue World

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Still Fresh

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Easy Street [Video/DVD]

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Graduation Day [El]

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Voices in Modern/Funny How Time Slips Away

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Young & Foolish

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Live in Holland

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Voices in Love/Love Lost

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Golden Anniversary Celebration

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Voices in Latin/The Freshman Year

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Wikipedia: The Four Freshmen
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The Four Freshmen
Origin Indianapolis, Indiana
Genres Jazz
Years active 1948–Present
Labels Capitol
Website http://www.4freshmen.com/
Members
Brian Eichenberger
Curtis Calderon
Vince Johnson
Bob Ferreira
Former members
Ross Barbour
Don Barbour
Marvin Pruitt
Bill Comstock
Bob Flanigan
Ken Errair
Hal Kratzsch
Ken Albers
Ray Brown
Gary Lee Rosenberg
Kevin Stout
Greg Stegeman
Autie Goodman
Alan MacIntosh
Newton Graber
Dennis Grillo
Rod Henley
Dave Jennings
Mike Beisner
Kirk Marcy

The Four Freshmen is a multiple Grammy-nominated American male vocal band quartet that blends open-harmony jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires (Glenn Miller), The Pied Pipers (Tommy Dorsey), and The Mel-Tones (Artie Shaw), founded in the barbershop tradition. The Four Freshmen is considered a vocal band because, in addition to singing, it accompanies itself on guitar, trumpet, bass, and drums, among other instrumental configurations.

During 61 years of performance (1948–present), The Four Freshmen recorded 48 albums, CDs, and DVDs. Some of the most requested songs follow: "Its a Blue World", "Day In, Day Out", "Skylark", "You've Got Me Cryin' Again", "Angel Eyes", "After You've Gone", "Invitation", "Poinciana", "Mam'selle", "Route 66", "Day by Day", "Laura", "That Old Feeling", "Young and Foolish", "You Stepped Out of a Dream", "Mood Indigo", "Tell Her I Love Her", "Please Remember", "September Song", "Early Autumn", "My One and Only Love", "It's All Right with Me", "Something's Gotta Give", "You've Changed", "If I Had You", "Indian Summer", "Simple Life", "Easy Street", "Rain", "Crazy Bones", "There Will Never Be Another You", "Love Lost", "How Can I Tell Her", "I Wish I Knew", "Walkin' My Baby Back Home", "Little Girl Blue", "Time Was", "Goodbye", "It Could Happen to You", "I Could Have Told You", "More Love", "Where Do You Start", "You Call It Madness, I Call It Love", "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?", "The Day Isn't Long Enough", "We'll Be Together Again", "In This Whole Wide World", and "And So It's Over".

The group tours internationally to sold-out audiences and records popular standards flavored with jazz harmonies since its late '40s founding in the halls of the Jordan School of Music at Butler University (Indianapolis), thanks to a series of incarnations. [1]

The Four Freshmen influenced many vocal groups. These groups include from the beginning — The Hi-Lo's, The Hilltoppers, and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross — to later on — The Lettermen, The Four Preps, The Skyliners, Spanky and Our Gang, The Mamas & the Papas, The Association, The Four Seasons, ABBA, The Swingle Singers, Take 6, New York Voices, The Manhattan Transfer, and The Bobs. In his autobiography, Brian Wilson attributes the success of the Beach Boys' initial sound to the harmonic chord choices found in Four Freshmen arrangements. In concert, the Beach Boys honors the Four Freshmen verbally and illustrates the Four Freshmen's voicing with an a cappella version of its hit, "In My Room".

Ross Barbour, a founding Freshmen and author of the group's biography, Now You Know: The Story of the Four Freshmen, explained several of the technical aspects of "The Four Freshmen sound."

Contents

History

In early 1948, brothers Ross and Don Barbour, then at Butler University's Arthur Jordan Conservatory in Indianapolis, Indiana, formed a barbershop quartet called Hal's Harmonizers. The Harmonizers also included Marvin Pruitt — soon replaced by Ross and Don's cousin Bob Flanigan — and Hal Kratzsch (1925–70), replaced in 1953 by Ken Errair. The quartet soon adopted a more jazz-oriented repertoire and renamed itself the Toppers. At first, they were influenced by Glenn Miller's The Modernaires and Mel Tormé's Mel-Tones, but soon developed their own style of improvised vocal harmony. In September 1948, the quartet went on the road as The Four Freshmen, and soon drew the admiration of jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Woody Herman.

In 1950, The Four Freshmen got a break when band leader Stan Kenton heard the quartet in Dayton, Ohio, and arranged for an audition with his label, Capitol Records, which signed The Four later that year. In 1952, they released their first hit single "It's a Blue World". Further hits included "Mood Indigo" in 1954, "Day by Day" in 1955, and "Graduation Day" in 1956.

The Four Freshmen won Best Vocal Group of the Year in Down Beat magazine's Readers' Polls in 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 2000, and 2001.

The Four Freshmen were nominated in the Grammy Vocal Group Performance category in 1958 for The Four Freshmen in Person, 1961 for Voices in Fun, 1962 for The Swingers, 1964 for More Four Freshmen and Five Trombones, and in 1986 for Fresh!.

Throughout the '50s and early '60s, The Four Freshmen released a number of successful recordings, made film and television appearances, and performed in concert. The group eventually lost their mainstream following with the advent of the British pop bands of the 1960s. The group did not disband, however, even after the last original member, Bob Flanigan, retired in 1992. Flanigan now manages the group and owns the rights to The Four Freshmen name.

The current incarnation of The Four Freshmen features Brian Eichenberger (lead, guitar, keyboards, arranger), Curtis Calderon (second voice, trumpet, flugelhorn), Vince Johnson (third voice, bass, trombone, whistler, scatter, arranger), and Bob Ferreira (fourth voice, drummer, soloist). They perform at upwards of 100 bookings a year. Their latest recordings are "The Star-Spangled Banner" (a single CD); the best-selling CD In Session (with previously unrecorded titles and Brian's arrangements); the CD Live in Holland with the Concertgebouw Jazz Orchestra; the Christmas-themed CD Snowfall; and the DVD Live from Las Vegas' Suncoast Hotel and Casino, which was released as a CD recording in 2009.

Brian, Curtis, Vince, and Bob have been honored with the following designations: JazzTimes magazine's Readers Poll Best Vocal Group (multiple wins), Down Beat magazine's Readers Poll Best Vocal Group (multiple wins), and Down Beat magazine's Readers Poll Hall of Fame finals (multiple years).

Four Freshmen Society

The 20th International Four Freshmen Society Convention, "Back Home in Indiana", was held in Indianapolis, the home of Butler University, on August 21–23, 2008. Six hundred of the approximately 3,000 Society members attended in honor of The Four Freshmen's 60th year of continual performance. Present were original Four Freshmen Ross Barbour and Bob Flanigan (now Butler honorary doctors) and the widow of Don Barbour. Former Four Freshmen Ray Brown (Group 5), Rod Henley (Groups 8 and 11), Kirk Marcy (Group 12), and Greg Stegeman (Groups 14-21) attended and performed along with current Four Freshmen Brian, Curtis, Vince, and Bob (Group 22).

The 21st International Four Freshmen Society Convention was held on August 20-22, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. It is known to the attendees as the "Blue Moon" convention. Former Freshmen Ross Barbour, Bob Flanigan, Rod Henley, Autie Goodman, and Greg Stegman (by phone) participated along with the 400-plus fans.

The 22nd International Four Freshmen Society Convention will be held in Annapolis, Maryland on August 19-21, 2010.

Discography

Albums, CDs, and DVDs

  • Voices in Modern (1955)
  • 4 Freshmen and 5 Trombones (1955)
  • Freshmen Favorites (1956)
  • 4 Freshmen and 5 Trumpets (1957)
  • 4 Freshmen and 5 Saxes (1957)
  • Voices In Latin (1958)
  • The Freshman Year (1958)
  • Voices In Love (1958)
  • In Person (1958)
  • 4 Freshmen and 5 Guitars (1959)
  • Love Lost (1959)
  • Voices And Brass (1960)
  • Road Show (1960)
  • First Affair (1960)
  • Voices in Fun (1961)
  • The Freshman Year (1961)
  • Best of The Four Freshmen (1961)
  • Stars in Our Eyes (1962)
  • The Swingers (1962)
  • Day By Day (1962)
  • Got That Feelin' (1963)
  • In Person, Vol. 2 (1963)
  • More 4 Freshmen and 5 Trombones (1964)
  • Funny How Time Slips Away (1964)
  • That's My Desire (1967)
  • A Today Kind of Thing (1968)
  • Today is Tomorrow (1968)
  • Four Freshmen in Tokyo '68 (1969)
  • Different Strokes (1969)
  • My Special Angel (1970)
  • Return to Romance (1971)
  • Mount Freshmore (1977)
  • Alive & Well in Nashville (1977)
  • Live At Butler University With Stan Kenton And His Orchestra (1986)
  • Fresh! (1986)
  • Freshmas! (1992)
  • Angel Eyes (1995)
  • Easy Street(1997)
  • Golden Anniversary Celebration (1998)
  • Still Fresh CD (1999)
  • Four Freshmen Live CD (2000)
  • Live in the New Millennium CD (2002)
  • Live in Holland CD (2004)
  • In Session CD (2005)
  • Star-spangled Banner Single CD (2005)
  • Live from Las Vegas' Suncoast Hotel DVD (2006)
  • Snowfall CD (2007)
  • Live from Las Vegas' Suncoast Hotel CD (2009)

45 RPM Singles (A-Side / B-side, release date, stock number)

  • "Mr. B's Blues" / "Then I'll Be Happy" (11/50) Capitol 1293
  • "Now You Know" / "Pick Up Your Tears and Go Home" (4/51) Capitol 1377
  • "It's A Blue World" / "Tuxedo Junction" (7/52) Capitol 2152
  • "The Day Isn't Long Enough" / "Stormy Weather" (11/52) Capitol 2286
  • "Poinciana" / Baltimore Oriole" (4/53) Capitol 2398
  • "Holiday" / "It Happened Once Before" (8/53) Capitol 2564
  • "Seems Like Old Times" / "Crazy Bones" (2/54) Capitol 2745
  • "I'll Be Seeing You" / "Please Remember" (6/54) Capitol 2832
  • "We'll Be Together Again" / "My Heart Stood Still" (8/54) Capitol 2898
  • "Mood Indigo" / "Love Turns Winter to Spring" (10/54) Capitol 2961
  • "It Never Occurred to Me" / "Malaya" (3/55) Capitol 3070
  • "Day By Day" / "How Can I Tell Her" (6/55) Capitol 3154
  • "Charmaine" / "In This Whole Wide World" (11/55) Capitol 3292
  • "Angel Eyes" / "Love Is Just Around the Cornter" (2/56) Capitol 3359
  • "Graduation Day" / "Lonely Night in Paris" (4/56) Capitol 3410
  • "He Who Loves and Runs Away" / "You're So Far Above Me" (9/56) Capitol 3532
  • "That's the Way I Feel" / "What's it Gonna Be" (2/57) Capitol 3652
  • "Julie Is Her Name" / "Sometimes I'm Happy" (8/57) Capitol 3779
  • "How Can I Begin To Tell" / "Granada" (11/57) Capitol 3832
  • "Whistle Me Some Blues" / "Nights Are Longer" (3/58) Capitol 3930
  • "Don't Worry Bout Me" / "I Never Knew" ?? Capitol
  • "Candy" / "Route 66" (2/60) Capitol 4341
  • "Teach Me Tonight" / "Shangri-La" (6/62) Capitol 4749
  • "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" / "Taps Miller" (9/62) Capitol 4824
  • "Summertime" / "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" (6/63) Capitol 5007
  • "Funny How Time Slips Away" / "Charade" (11/63) Capitol 5083
  • "My Baby's Gone" / "Don't Make Me Sorry" (3/64) Capitol 5151
  • "When I Stop Lovin' You" / "Nights Are Long" (4/65) Capitol 5401
  • "Old Cape Cod" / "Men In Their Flying Machines" (8/65) Capitol 5471
  • "Cry" / "Nowhere to Go" (12/66) Decca 32070
  • "Cherish" / "Come Fly With Me" (6/68) Liberty 56047
  • "Windy" / "Up, Up and Away"
  • "Blue World" / "Phoenix" (4/69) Liberty 56099
  • "My Special Angel"
  • "I Want To Love" / "While I'm Young" Capitol F 3539 (Ken Errair solo
  • "Ain't Goin' Nowhere"
  • "How About Me" Capitol F 3890 (Ken Errair Quartet)
  • "How's About Tomorrow Night"
  • "The Creep" / "Tenderly" (2/54 Capitol 2685) (Four Freshmen sing on Tenderly)

Note: The first fifteen singles ("Mr. B" through "Graduation Day") were also released as 78rpm Capitol discs, with the same stock numbers as above.

Promotional Singles

  • "It's a Blue World" / "Poinciana" Capitol PRO 862
  • "You're So Far Above Me" / "Brazil" Capitol PRO 863
  • "Every Time We Say Goodbye" / "Circus" Capitol PRO 864
  • "Whistle Me Some Blues" / "It Never Occurred To Me" Capitol PRO 865
  • "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" / "I May Be Wrong" Capitol PRO 866
  • "Baltimore Oriole" / "It Could Happen To You" Capitol Pro 867
  • "Accentuate The Positive" / "I Want To Be Happy" Capitol PRO 1822
  • "We've Got A World That Swings" / "When My Sugar Walks Down The Street" Capitol PRO 2392 (red vinyl)
  • "It Never Occurred To Me" / "Malaya" Capitol PRO 2969
  • "How Can I Tell Her" / "Day By Day" Capitol PRO 3070
  • "Angel Eyes" / "Love Is Just Around The Corner" Capitol PRO 3154
  • "I Want To Love While I'm Still Young" / "Aint'Goin' Nowhere" (Ken Errair Capitol PRO 3359
  • "Give Me The Simple Life" (dated 1/12/62)) / "Say it Isn't So" (not a Four Freshman cut) USAF presents Music in the Air
  • "Nowhere To Go" / "Cry" Decca 32070

7 inch, 33 1/3 (small hole) Promo Singles

  • "Here's Hollywood" / "And So It's Over" Capitol PRO 2402
  • "Moon River" / "Dynaflow" Capitol PRO 2449
  • "Blue World" / "Poinciana" Capitol PRO 2510
  • "Li'l Darlin'" / "Lulu's Back In Town" Capitol XE 1753
  • "Candy" / "It Could Happen To You" Capitol XE 1640 (set of 3)
  • "Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe" / "While You Are Gone"
  • "Day By Day" / "Little Girl Blue"
  • "Moonlight Rain"
  • "I'm Beginning To See The Light" / "It's A Blue World"

References

  1. ^ Smith, William H. (2008-08-20). "A Vocal Group at the Top of Its Class". The Wall Street Journal: pp. D9. 

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Four Freshmen".  Read more

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