The early days of barbershop

The barbershop quartet was born in the barber shop! One reference to this fact is in Pepys' diary of the 17th century and also by Percy A Scholes in 'The Oxford Companion to Music'. This was published in New York by the Oxford University Press in 1938 and reads; "One of the regular haunts of music in the 16th and 17th century was the barber's shop. Here, customers awaiting their turn, found simple instruments, (apparently almost always the Cittern), on which they could strum. The barbers, themselves, in their waiting time between customers, took up the instrument and thus acquired some skill as performers."

During the 'Gay Nineties' and the early part of this century the barber shop became the place to "hang out" for the dapper young fellows, who would continue the tradition of singing, this time without instruments. This 'past-time' soon overflowed into the pool halls and saloons. Often these young singers would continue their singing on the streets and it became known as 'Lamppost' or 'Kerbstone' harmony.

At the height of its popularity no minstrel or baroque show was complete without the barbershop quartet!

During the years 1918 and 1938 the barbershop quartet became almost extinct due to the change in life styles and the coming of movies, dance bands and radio. Song styles changed and these tunes were not so easy to harmonise to. Owen C Cash remedied this situation through a chance meeting with Rupert I Hall in a hotel bar. They discovered a mutual liking for the barbershop chord and they decided to stage a revival. Subsequently in 1939 Owen C Cash became the first President of the "Society for the Propagation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America" (The Society or SPEBSQSA). The word "Propagation" was later changed to Preservation once the Society was firmly established.

The Society started to hold annual contests for these quartets in 1939 the winners of which were the "Bartlesville Barflies'. In 1941 a quartet called "The Chordbusters" won the annual contest and declared that they would never again compete as a quartet because once a gold medallist always a gold medallist. This is where this rule originates. It was not until 1953 that the barbershop choruses became fully recognised and were given their own annual contest.

The spread to Britain

In the late 1950s, one Harry Danser, from Crawley, Sussex, visited the USA and to his delight found a large group of barbershop devotees. Harry had sung in a barbershop quartet during the music-hall days. On his return home he formed the Barbershop Four quartet which performed locally and gained a great deal of interest from the public. In 1964 the Crawley Barbershop Harmony Club was born. Ten years later the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) was formed.

And finally...

In 1976 the ladies formed their own organisation, Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers (LABBS) and since that time many more associations have sprung from Owen C Cash's dream of a barbershop Society.

See who have been the champion choruses and quartets over the years!