1- The "Golden Age" of barbershop quarteting in the USA refers to a specific 30 year period of time. When did it start and end?
2- Why did so much barbershopping take place in actual barbershops during the Golden Age?
3- In 1910 a song was composed entitled [Mister Jefferson Lord,] "Play That Barbershop Chord." The name caught on and from that time forward our type of music has always been known as barbershop harmony. What were the three commonly used names prior to 1910?
Answers to Barbershop History-Trivia Quiz
1. 1890 through 1920
2. Barbershops, throughout America but especially in small towns where early barbershop quartet singing blossomed, were de facto men's' clubs where guys would fight about politics, share stories, meet before and after baseball games and other events, or simply hang out. Coarser types would frequent saloons; nicer folks would head for the barbershop. Getting a sufficient number of guys together simultaneously was one of the essential elements. Another was the growing love of close harmony and the "ear" approach to singing and getting chords to ring that barbershop elevated to an art form.
3- Curbstone harmony, lamppost harmony, but most often simply close harmony.