The Four Freshmen

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The Four Freshmen
General information
Genre (s) jazz
founding 1948
Founding members
Ross Barbour (until 1977)
singing
 Don Barbour (until 1960)
singing
 Marvin Pruitt (until 1948)
singing
 Hal Kratzsch (until 1953)
Current occupation
Brian Eichenberger
2nd voice, trumpet
Curtis Calderon
3rd voice, electric bass
Vince Johnson
4th voice, drums
Bob Ferreira
former members
singing
 Bob Flanigan (1948-1992)
singing
 Bill Comstock (1960-1972)
singing
 Ken Errair (1953-1956)
singing
 Ken Albers (1956-1982)

The Four Freshmen self- deprecatedly called themselves an American vocal group in the 1950s and 1960s that were very successful in their time and even popular in Japan, until they were pushed into the background by the appearance of British pop bands. Originally the group consisted of members Ross and Don Barbour, Marvin Pruitt and Hal Kratzsch, but over time the members changed and the vocal group is still in business today. She is seen as the predecessor of the Beach Boys , Manhattan Transfer and others.

History of the band

In 1948 the brothers Ross and Don Barbour founded a barbershop quartet at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Butler University in Indianapolis , which was initially called Hal's Harmonizers . The band also included Marvin Pruitt and Hal Kratzsch. Later in the year the band switched their repertoire to a more jazz-heavy style of music and the quartet was renamed The Toppers .

Pruitt soon left the group and was replaced by Ross and Don's cousin Bob Flanigan . Now the quartet was called The Four Freshmen . Early on, the vocal group was influenced by Glenn Miller's The Modernaires and Mel Tormé's Mel-Tones , but they began to show signs of their own unique style of free improvised vocal harmonization. Until September 1948 the quartet was on tour under the name The Four Freshmen . The group borrowed a lot from jazz legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Woody Herman .

The Four Freshmen had their big break in 1950 when band leader Stan Kenton heard the quartet in Dayton, Ohio. He called his record label Capitol Records and arranged for them to audition. The group was then signed by Pete Rugolo that same year .

In 1952 the band released their first hit, It's a Blue World, as a single, which earned them instant mass audience recognition. Kratzsch was replaced by Ken Errair in 1953, who was replaced by Ken Albers himself in 1956. This line-up had little impact on the band's style.

The following releases by Mood Indigo in 1955, Day by Day in 1955 and Graduation Day ref> US catalog number: 3410. The single reached number 17. In 1956 the group was also successful. In 1960 Don Barbour left the band and was replaced by Bill Comstock.

The vocal group remained popular throughout the 1950s and early 1960s , releasing a large number of well-selling albums , making cinema and television appearances, and giving countless sold-out concerts . Eventually the group lost the affection of the mass audience when the British pop bands of the 1960s emerged. In 1972 Bill Comstock left the band and in 1977 Ross Barbour followed him. In 1982 Ken Albers retired. All previous band members were replaced by newcomers.

Even when the last original member, Bob Flanigan, retired in 1992, the group continued. The Four Freshmen have continued the legendary vocal music tradition of the original group in the new band line-up, adding new facets to the music.

In 2000, the band was awarded the American magazine Down Beat's award as vocal music band of the year, which was determined in a reading survey, proving the timeless popularity of the quartet and securing their role as one of the most important vocal groups in jazz history.

In 2001, the record company Mosaic Records , which specializes in jazz music, released a multi-CD edition of The Four Freshmen , which contains all of the quartet's recordings from the 1950s.

Discography

Albums

  • Voices in Modern (1954)
  • 5 trombones (1955)
  • Freshmen Favorites (1956)
  • 5 Trumpets (1957)
  • Four Freshmen and Five Saxes (1957)
  • Voices In Latin (1958)
  • The Freshman Year (1958)
  • Voices In Love (1958)
  • In Person (1958)
  • Four Freshmen and Five Guitars (1959)
  • Love Lost (1959)
  • Voices And Brass (1960)
  • Road Show (1960)
  • Voices in Fun (1961)
  • The Freshman Year (1961)
  • Stars in Our Eyes (1962)
  • Day By Day (1962)
  • Got That Feelin ' (1963)
  • Funny How Time Slips Away (1964)
  • That's My Desire (1967)
  • Four Freshmen in Tokyo '68 (1969)
  • Return to Romance (1971)
  • Alive & Well in Nashville (1982)
  • Live At Butler University With Stan Kenton And His Orchestra (1986)
  • Fresh! (1986, nominated for a Grammy )
  • Freshmas! (1992)
  • Angel Eyes (1995)
  • Easy Street (1997)
  • Golden Anniversary Celebration (1998)
  • Still Fresh (1999)
  • Four Freshmen Live CD (2000)
  • Live in the New Millennium (2002)
  • Live In Holland (2004)

Singles

  • Mood Indigo (1954)
  • Day by Day (1955)
  • Graduation Day (1956)

literature

  • Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940–1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 205-207

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ US catalog number: Capitol 2152. The single reached number 30 and was in the charts for a week; compare Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Records 1940–1955 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 1973, p. 23
  2. ↑ US catalog number: Capitol 3154. The single reached number 72 in the charts, compare: Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 221