The Hi-Lo's were an a cappella quartet formed in 1953. The group's name (which makes incorrect use of the apostrophe) is reportedly a reference to their extreme vocal and physical ranges (Bob Strasen and Bob Morse were tall, Gene Puerling and Clark Burroughs were short).

History

The group consisted of Gene Puerling

Gene Puerling

Eugene Thomas Puerling was a vocal performer and vocal arranger. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Puerling created and led the vocal groups The Hi-Lo's and The Singers Unlimited...

 (bass-baritone, arranger and leader), Bob Strasen (baritone), Bob Morse (baritone and occasional soloist) and Clark Burroughs (tenor). In 1959, Don Shelton replaced Strasen. They are considered a musical influence on groups like The King's Singers, The Manhattan Transfer

The Manhattan Transfer

The Manhattan Transfer is an American vocal music group. There have been two manifestations of the group, with Tim Hauser being the only person to be part of both...

, Chanticleer

Chanticleer (ensemble)

Based in San Francisco, California, Chanticleer is a full-time classical vocal ensemble in the United States. Over the last three decades, it has developed a major reputation for its interpretations of Renaissance music, but it also performs a wide repertoire of jazz, gospel, and other venturesome...

, The Free Design

The Free Design

The Free Design was a Delevan, New York-based vocal group playing jazzy pop music. Their music can be described as sunshine pop and baroque pop, which were pop music subgenres at the time, which later influenced the bands Stereolab, Cornelius, Pizzicato Five, Beck and The High Llamas.-Early...

 and Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson

Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...

. They were also supported by Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

. Clare Fischer

Clare Fischer

Clare Fischer is an American composer, arranger, pianist and organist. His parents were of German, French, Irish-Scot, and English backgrounds.-Early years:...

 was their pianist for years and did some of their arrangements.

Puerling and Shelton later formed another quartet, Singers Unlimited.

Bob Morse died in 2001. Afterward, Puerling, Shelton and Burroughs still appeared very occasionally as the Hi-Lo's in and around Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

. Shelton is an accomplished reed player and has played in Clare Fischer's bands. Clark Burroughs is semi-retired and can sometimes be heard on film soundtracks.

On March 25, 2008, Gene Puerling died just shy of his 79th birthday.

Albums

• Listen To The Hi-Lo's! (1954)
• The Hi-Lo's I Presume (1955)
• Under Glass (1955)
• Noah's Ark
  Noah's Ark (1956 TV series)
  Noah's Ark is a 24-episode half-hour drama television series which aired on NBC in the 1956-1957 season. It stars Paul Burke in the title role of the young veterinarian Dr. Noah McCann, partner with the older Dr. Sam Rinehart, played by Victor Rodman , who in the series uses a wheelchair...
  
  television series theme song (1956–1957)
• Now Hear This (1957)
• Suddenly It's The Hi-Lo's (1957)
• The Hi-Lo's And The Gerry Fielding Orchestra (1957)
• Love Nest (1958)
• Reflection In Rhythm With The Hi-Lo's (1958)
• Featuring The Hi-Lo's (1958)
• The Hi-Lo's And All That Jazz (1958)
• All Over The Place (1960)
• Broadway Playbill (1960)
• Die 4 Hi-Lo's (1960)
• Dansez Avec (1961)
• This Time It's Love (1962)
• The Hi-Lo's Happen To Bossa Nova (1963)
• The Hi-Lo's Happen To Folk Songs (1963)
• Attention! (1968)
• But Beautiful (1970)
• More Than You Know (1970)
• "Back Again" (1979)
• "Now" (1980)
• Harmony In Jazz (1980)
• The Hi-Lo's Collection (1982)
• Cherries And Other Delights (1994)
• Nice Work If You Can Get It... (1996)
• Clap Yo' Hands (1999)
• Suddenly It's The Hi-Lo's / Harmony In Jazz (1999)
• Under Glass / I Presume (1999)
• Now Hear This
  Now Hear This (Hi-Lo's album)
  Now Hear This was an LP album by The Hi-Lo's released in 1957 by Columbia Records, as catalog number CL-1023.-Track listing:It was combined with the Hi-Lo's 1960 album, Broadway Playbill, into a compact disc released by Collectables Records on October 17, 2000.-External links:**...
  
   / Broadway Playbill
  Broadway Playbill
  Broadway Playbill was an LP album released in 1960 by Columbia Records, as catalog number CL-1416 and CS-8213 . The album contains songs from three Broadway musicals: Gypsy, The Sound of Music, and Fiorello, all done by The Hi-Lo's-Track listing:It was combined with the Hi-Lo's 1957 album, Now...
  
  (2000)
• Love Nest, All Over The Place (2001)
• Happen To Bossa Nova / Happen to Folk Songs (2002)
• Hi-Lo's with Rosemary Clooney: Ring Around Rosie (2005)
• A Musical Thrill (2006)

External links

• Hear them!
• The Hi-Lo's Official Fan Site
• All About Jazz
• singers.com