QUESTIONS:
1- What 1921 song was a hit for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, the renowned Peerless Quartet, and also for Al Jolson? For extra credit, name the Broadway musical from which this song comes.
2- The Peerless Quartet had a second name and a second configuration. Explain.
3- Many barbershop aficionados in the early 20th century believed that the Peerless Quartet really was incomparable. That, mind you, was right smack in the middle of barbershop's greatest-ever mass popularity. What made this quartet so good?
4- On July 17, 1935, nearly three years prior to the founding of the Society, the New York City Parks Department held its first barbershop quartet contest. Did any contests take place even earlier, in any location from coast to coast?
5- In what year did our international competition have its greatest exposure to barbershoppers and non-barbershoppers alike?
ANSWERS:
1- My Mammy, from the Broadway musical Sinbad .
2- The Peerless Quartet also performed and recorded as the Invincible Four and obviously there was no hint of a self-esteem problem with these guys! On occasion they gave their baritone a breather and sang as a trio.
3- Beauty, of course, is in the ear of the beholder; but the most frequently cited reason for the reputedly phenomenal sound produced by the Peerless Quartet is the fact that all four of its personnel were professional soloists prior to singing in the quartet.
4- The answer almost certainly is yes, but irrefutable confirmation of same, amazingly, is nowhere to be found. So it is stated in the book Four Parts No Waiting, the singularly most exhaustive study of barbershop history of which I am aware.
5- The 1954 International Competition was broadcast on CBS radio and heard by an estimated one million listeners throughout the nation. My source did not indicate if other internationals were also broadcast. If any reader of this quiz knows the answer, please enlighten me.
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