A POTTED HISTORY OF BARBERSHOP

J. Sutton (with acknowledgements to David Wright & Dave Stevens of S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A.Inc & The Penketh family of LABBS) Permission to copy given to anyone visiting the LABBS WEBSITE

So the Barbershop Quartet & Chorus were born in the Barbershop.

During the "Gay 90's" & the early part of the 1900's the barbershop in the USA became the place to "hang out" for the dapper young fellows, who would continue the tradition of singing without accompaniment. This "past-time" soon overflowed into the pool halls & saloons. Often these young singers would continue their singing on the streets & it became known as "Lamp post" or "Kerbstone" harmony. The street shoe-shine boys were often the local"experts" & would entertain their clients in hotel lobbies, bus & rail stations etc. At the height of its popularity, no minstrel or burlesque/vaudeville/musichall show was complete without the dulcet tones of a Barbershop Quartet!

During the years 1918 & 1938 the Barbershop Quartet almost became extinct due to change in life styles & the coming of movies, dance bands & radio. Song styles changed to suit ever incresing hoard of professional singers & these tunes were mostly for the soloist therefore not so easy to harmonise by ear.

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 & decided to stage a revival. In 1939 Owen C. Cash became the first President of the "Society for the Encouragement & Propagation of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America" (SPEBSQSA).

The word "Propagation" was later changed to "Preservation" once the Society was firmly established.

The Society started to hold annual contests for quartets in 1939 & the first winners were "The Bartlesville Barflies". The quartets harmonised by ear to the melody so no arrangements were available. At a later stage people started to write down the notes the sang, then arrangers began to create notes to sing from the principles of natural ear harmony, from which eventually came the definition of the style, competition judging rules (also linked to vocal skill & oerforming the story of a song with musicality) & the vast wealth of published arrangements to buy that any one can learn. Unfortunately, this has led to a certain laziness in the use of our own ears to be creative in harmonising!! ( Much more woodshedding please!!!)

In 1941, a Quartet called "The Chordbusters" won the annual competition & declared that they would never compete as again because once a gold medallist - always a gold medalist. This is where the current rule originated, so no Quartet once champions can compete again. It wasn't until 1953 that goups of men (often led by quartets in their area) became fully recognised as "choruses" & given their own annual contest.

In the late 1950's, one Harry Danser, from Crawley, Sussex, visited the USA & to his delight found a large society of barbershop devotees. Harry had sung in a barbershop quartet during the musichall days. On his return home he formed "The Barbershop Four" quartet which performed locally & 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. In 1976 the barbershop grass widows formed their own association - The Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers (LABBS). Since that time many more associations have sprung from Owen C. Cash's dream of a barbershop society which now reaches round the globe each association belonging to a World Harmony Council, formed & supported by the founder society (SPEBSQSA).