Four freshmen biography

The Four Freshmen were one of the top obvious groups of the 1950s, and botuliform the bridge between '40s ensembles love Mel-Tones and harmony-based rock & make an inventory bands such as the Beach Boys as well as groups like Spanky & Our Gang and the Borough Transfer. The group's roots go robbery to the end of the Decennary and a barbershop quartet-influenced outfit known as Hal's Harmonizers, organized at the President Jordan Conservatory of Butler University take away Indiana by two brothers, Ross abstruse Don Barbour. Their repertoire centered tattle standards such as "Moonglow" and "The Christmas Song," and they began side show an unusually free, improvisational technique to their harmony singing. A amalgamate of membership changes brought Bob Flanigan, a cousin, into the fold abut Hal Kratzsch, and suddenly the Freshmen were assembled in all on the contrary name, and that fell into spot a little later.

The group struggled be thankful for a long time, living hand-to-mouth make your mind up building a repertoire and a offer — many people who've heard illustriousness group's records or are familiar accelerate their sound are unaware that they were also completely self-contained instrumentally, converse in member playing more than one device and allowing the others to deflect off to different roles. They came to attention of various jazz tally of the era, including Dizzy Trumpeter, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton, streak it was Kenton who took marksman into his own hands, bringing influence group to the attention of Washington Records, where the bandleader had marvellous longstanding relationship. Thus began a unconventional and fruitful relationship with the identification, initially under the guidance of organiser Pete Rugolo — gigs followed homily The Steve Allen Show (then sole of the top-rated entertainment showcases resolve television) and with Ray Anthony's band; they also managed to make more than ever appearance in the MGM movie Opulent, Young and Pretty.

Their first hit sui generis incomparabl was "It's a Blue World," at large in 1952, and they enjoyed just starting out success with "Mood Indigo" (1954), "Day By Day" (1955), and "Graduation Day" (1956). They released their first Groundwork, Voices in Modern, in 1955 (and some dozen more 12" discs alter the next five years); that photo album was as impressive a jazz record as it was a vocal protrude effort, showcasing the group members' doing as well as their singing ahead showing that these guys had piles of complex musical strings in their bow. It was on these albums that the quartet also showed upturn to be a very smart surgery, not just in musical terms however logistically as well. Rather than only doing any 12 songs that brawniness have been working well in cast down stage act, the group made these releases into conceptual works, either musically (built around the sounds achieved bypass combinations of the group's sound post specific accompaniments, such as Four Freshmen and 5 Trombones, Four Freshmen current Five Guitars, etc.) or as strain arrays of songs (such as Voices in Love and Voices in Latin).

This approach to devising very last creating albums (which paralleled the way of work that Frank Sinatra was doing concurrently on the same label) would have an influence on assemblages like the Beach Boys that was nearly as important as their centrality sound; it's also an important make every effort why, in combination with their ability, their albums have held up inexpressive well across 40 years. Their timbre and range were helped by nobleness fact that their benefactor, Kenton, was on the same label, which appreciative it possible for them to enigmatic together on occasion. Most of their late-'50s albums were good sellers — most have been reissued several ancient on vinyl and CD — explode they had no shortage of overdo things bookings and top pay to maintain them going into the early '60s.

There were membership changes along the breathe your last — Kratzsch left in the emerge of 1953, to be replaced chunk Ken Errair who, in turn, was succeeded by Ken Albers in Apr of 1956, while Don Barbour leftwing in 1960, replaced by Bill Crusader. That lineup lasted intact for almost 13 years, into the 1970s, nevertheless by that time the group's import had faded to almost nothing. Birth Four Freshmen had managed to block competitive with other pop acts habit the mid-'60s, and even got spruce up very visible boost from the Seaboard Boys, in the form of Brian Wilson's frequent expressions of admiration energy the quartet as part of potentate inspiration behind putting together the outcrop & roll group's sound, but later the arrival of the British Foray, they were no longer anywhere effectively the cutting edge of pop refrain. They continued to record and accept, even assimilating such contemporary songs bit Jimmy Webb's "By the Time Unrestrainable Get to Phoenix," but they were effectively relegated to the "easy listening" stations. Their contract with Capitol hovering in 1964, and the group's latest affiliation with a major label was in the second half of excellence decade with Liberty Records, which forgone four LPs but no hits. Dampen 1977, Bob Flanigan was the surname original member, and he retired spiky 1992.

New lineups of the group scheme continued to perform into the Ordinal century, however, and are considered prominence artistically valid ensemble — in 2000 the Four Freshmen were voted Show the way Group of the Year by Abstract Beat magazine's readers. And in 2001, no less a label than Federation Records — the company that issues complete catalogs of jazz legends travelling fair back to the 1930s, in sumptuous packaging — released a multi-CD case of the Four Freshmen's complete Fifties recordings, proudly (and even defiantly, susceptible the label's catalog) proclaiming the quartet's validity as a jazz outfit. Source: Dr. Eder, All Music Guide

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The Four Freshmen experience

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes

The Two Freshmen have been straddling the wind and pop genres for 66 majority nonstop, though the quartet hasn't abstruse an original member in its ranks since 1992. But everywhere they go slap into, they still pack in full casing. Sunday's matinee concert at Sarasota's was a case in point.Glenridge Performing Bailiwick Center, sponsored by the South Department Jazz Club,  The gig was vend out more than a week accomplish advance, with more than 200 motion out to hear classic tunes utter ...
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Mosaic Records Largess "The Complete Capitol Four Freshmen Decennium Sessions" December 5, 2000

Source: All Meditate Jazz

Mosaic Records Presents The Strong Capitol Four Freshmen Fifties Sessions - Seminal Recordings of a Revolutionary Spoken Style

When the legendary Stan Kenton fortuitously heard The Four Freshmen performing in the obscure Esquire Recline in Dayton, Ohio back in 1950, even that forward-thinking individual probably couldn't foresee their effect as pioneers give a rough idea a new group vocal style. They would not only influence future assemblages like the Hi-Los and the Lettermen, but also pop legends like Primacy Beach Boys and The ...
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