1- In last month's quiz it was noted that George Feldner's research indicated that "Michigan Jake" will be the first currently reigning international championship quartet to ever headline in one of our chapter shows. Additional input from the ole' pafessa tells us that five other first-place quartets, however, have graced our show stage, but in years other than the one in which they became champions. Who were they, when did they take the gold, and on which show did they perform? [Note: This is obviously a local question -- you can either omit it or fill in with your own chapter history.]
2- Name the most famous "close harmony" quartet (The term barbershop was not yet in use, see last month's quiz) of the pre-Civil War era.
3- The golden age of the writing of songs that lend themselves to the barbershop style was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and came from a wonderful place in Manhattan called "Tin Pan Alley." How did the term come about?
4- Where was Tin Pan Alley?
5- Which quartet first recorded a barbershop song; where and when was the recording made?
1- The Buffalo Bills, 1950 champs, in 1956 (with the Easternaires, no less, as the warm-up quartet on the same show!)…The Oriole Four, 1970 Champs, in 1959…The Confederates, 1956 champs, in 1968…Grandma's Boys, 1979 champs, in 1971…and Rural Route 4, 1986 champs, in 1985.
2- The Hutchinson Family Quartet, founded in or about 1840
3- A journalist named Monroe Rosenfeld did a series of articles about NYC's thriving music industry and the district in which it was centered. While walking down the street, the sounds coming out of open windows of pianists banging out newly written tunes sounded to Rosenfeld like the clatter of pots and pans.
4- West 28th Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue.
5- The Manhannsett Quartet, at Thomas Edison's Studio on September 27, 1891