Buffalo Bills (quartet)
Encyclopedia
The Buffalo Bills were a barbershop quartet
formed in Buffalo
, New York
, on September 20, 1947. The original members were tenor
Vern Reed, an executive for the Tonawanda Boys' Club, lead Al Shea, who was a city of Buffalo policeman, baritone
Herschel Smith, a corporate executive, and bass
Bill Spangenberg, a truck driver for a steel company. They started out as an unnamed foursome, singing for community groups. During an appearance at the Buffalo Quarterback Club, they were introduced as the "Buffalo Bills", which was meant to be just for that day, but the name stuck from that point on. Coincidentally, a football team known formerly as the Buffalo Bisons
also changed its name to the Bills at about the same time; the name proved popular enough that the current Buffalo Bills
also picked up the name when they debuted thirteen years later.
There was something different about the Buffalo Bills; their big sound, combined with the work of Phil Embury and other talented arrangers, kept them busy singing on barbershop shows and gave them a popularity no other Society quartet had achieved. Phil Embury traveled with the Quartet around the world. The Bills competed in the 1948 and 1949 SPEBSQSA International Quartet Contest, placing sixteenth and sixth.
However, Herschel Smith was promoted and transferred to Madison, Wisconsin
, and had to leave the quartet. Unable to find a replacement, the Bills broke up. Fortunately, they found baritone Dick Grapes and blossomed quickly. In 1950, they won the Barbershop Harmony Society
International Quartet Contest, earning them the title of International Quartet Champions. Soon after their victory, they appeared on the National Radio Show We The People and were honored by the Manhattan and Buffalo chapters on their return trip to their hometown. Their first national television appearance was on The Faye Emerson Pepsi-Cola Show in a television movie in April 1951. The Bills also performed at military bases in France
, Germany
, Austria
, Japan
, and Korea
. That same year, the Bills released an album of four records for Decca. Meredith Willson
, a famous arranger, composer, and orchestra director, hosted a radio show called Music Today with his wife, heard the album and began to admire the Buffalo Bills' work. He travelled to Buffalo with his wife in 1954 to meet them, and began featuring the quartet on his radio show.
In February 1957, the Bills competed on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, won first honors, and received the essential invitation to perform on Godfrey's morning show for the rest of the week. Later that year, Meredith Willson
had written and composed The Music Man
, a musical set in his hometown of Mason City, Iowa
. He included a barbershop quartet in this plot. Willson had heard the Bills' records and suggested they come to New York and audition for the role of the Iowa quartet. They were immediately accepted, but joining the musical meant there were serious changes to be made. They would all have to quit their jobs and move to New York City. Phil Embury arranged the music from The Music Man for the Buffalo Bills.
In the end, Dick Grapes decided to stay behind with his job and family life and was replaced by veteran barbershop baritone Wayne "Scotty" Ward of the Great Scots quartet of Steubenville, Ohio. The quartet took one-year leaves from their jobs (which later became permanent) and moved with their families to New York. They continued to make television and radio appearances, including the Arthur Godfrey show, where they met Walter Latzko, a CBS staff music arranger. They were such a hit on Broadway that they were cast in the film adaptation of the musical
in 1962. Shortly after filming was completed, Bill Spangenberg became ill and had to leave the quartet. Sadly, he died the following year. Spangenberg was replaced by Jim Jones, bass of the Sta-Laters quartet.
For the next five years, the Bills performed on the Arthur Godfrey
Show as a nightclub act, as guest performers in productions of The Music Man and as headline entertainers on barbershop shows as well as county and state fairs around North America. Their total career consisted of 1,510 performances on Broadway, 728 concerts, 675 radio shows, 672 night club and hotel appearances, 626 conventions, 216 television shows, 137 state fair performances, and 1 film. Their final performance was on May 24, 1967 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.
The only surviving members of the Buffalo Bills are Jim Jones, who lives in Orlando, Florida
, and Dick Grapes, who currently lives in Buffalo, New York
. Only Reed and Shea were with the Bills throughout their entire existence.
Barbershop music
Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era , is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture...
formed in Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on September 20, 1947. The original members were tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Vern Reed, an executive for the Tonawanda Boys' Club, lead Al Shea, who was a city of Buffalo policeman, baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
Herschel Smith, a corporate executive, and bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
Bill Spangenberg, a truck driver for a steel company. They started out as an unnamed foursome, singing for community groups. During an appearance at the Buffalo Quarterback Club, they were introduced as the "Buffalo Bills", which was meant to be just for that day, but the name stuck from that point on. Coincidentally, a football team known formerly as the Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo Bills (AAFC)
The Buffalo Bills was an American Football team, based in Buffalo, NY, that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. During its first season in 1946, the team was known as the Buffalo Bisons...
also changed its name to the Bills at about the same time; the name proved popular enough that the current Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
also picked up the name when they debuted thirteen years later.
There was something different about the Buffalo Bills; their big sound, combined with the work of Phil Embury and other talented arrangers, kept them busy singing on barbershop shows and gave them a popularity no other Society quartet had achieved. Phil Embury traveled with the Quartet around the world. The Bills competed in the 1948 and 1949 SPEBSQSA International Quartet Contest, placing sixteenth and sixth.
However, Herschel Smith was promoted and transferred to Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, and had to leave the quartet. Unable to find a replacement, the Bills broke up. Fortunately, they found baritone Dick Grapes and blossomed quickly. In 1950, they won the Barbershop Harmony Society
Barbershop Harmony Society
The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. , is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. Founded by Owen C...
International Quartet Contest, earning them the title of International Quartet Champions. Soon after their victory, they appeared on the National Radio Show We The People and were honored by the Manhattan and Buffalo chapters on their return trip to their hometown. Their first national television appearance was on The Faye Emerson Pepsi-Cola Show in a television movie in April 1951. The Bills also performed at military bases in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. That same year, the Bills released an album of four records for Decca. Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
, a famous arranger, composer, and orchestra director, hosted a radio show called Music Today with his wife, heard the album and began to admire the Buffalo Bills' work. He travelled to Buffalo with his wife in 1954 to meet them, and began featuring the quartet on his radio show.
In February 1957, the Bills competed on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, won first honors, and received the essential invitation to perform on Godfrey's morning show for the rest of the week. Later that year, Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
had written and composed The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
, a musical set in his hometown of Mason City, Iowa
Mason City, Iowa
Mason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....
. He included a barbershop quartet in this plot. Willson had heard the Bills' records and suggested they come to New York and audition for the role of the Iowa quartet. They were immediately accepted, but joining the musical meant there were serious changes to be made. They would all have to quit their jobs and move to New York City. Phil Embury arranged the music from The Music Man for the Buffalo Bills.
In the end, Dick Grapes decided to stay behind with his job and family life and was replaced by veteran barbershop baritone Wayne "Scotty" Ward of the Great Scots quartet of Steubenville, Ohio. The quartet took one-year leaves from their jobs (which later became permanent) and moved with their families to New York. They continued to make television and radio appearances, including the Arthur Godfrey show, where they met Walter Latzko, a CBS staff music arranger. They were such a hit on Broadway that they were cast in the film adaptation of the musical
The Music Man (1962 film)
The Music Man is a 1962 musical film starring Robert Preston as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name by Meredith Willson...
in 1962. Shortly after filming was completed, Bill Spangenberg became ill and had to leave the quartet. Sadly, he died the following year. Spangenberg was replaced by Jim Jones, bass of the Sta-Laters quartet.
For the next five years, the Bills performed on the Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...
Show as a nightclub act, as guest performers in productions of The Music Man and as headline entertainers on barbershop shows as well as county and state fairs around North America. Their total career consisted of 1,510 performances on Broadway, 728 concerts, 675 radio shows, 672 night club and hotel appearances, 626 conventions, 216 television shows, 137 state fair performances, and 1 film. Their final performance was on May 24, 1967 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.
The only surviving members of the Buffalo Bills are Jim Jones, who lives in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, and Dick Grapes, who currently lives in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. Only Reed and Shea were with the Bills throughout their entire existence.