The obituary began "Val J Hicks 1933 ~ 2004. Val J Hicks died from pneumonia June 22, 2004." Dave Gryvnak comments, "Val Hicks was of international caliber. He was also a great arranger and most of the b'shoppers knew of him."
From the obituary we also learn
he was born in Provo, Utah, and had many years of paralysis beginning at age eight. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, three grandchildren, several siblings, nieces and nephews, an aunt age 95, and numerous cousins.
Quoting from the obituary: "Everyone Val met became a friend, and he has thousands of friends throughout the world. He was a good man and
will be missed. Dr. Hicks was an active alum of South High School, graduated
from the University of Utah with a bachelor's degree, then a master's degree
from University of Southern California, and obtained a doctorate in music from
the University of Utah. Val loved music, thanks to his musical mother, Armont
Willardsen at South High School, and SPEBSQSA. Val began a teaching career
in Granite School District where he also served as president of Granite
Education Association. His final years of teaching were at Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California. Val served in many capacities in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At age 18 he became a member of SPEBSQSA (barbershop quartet singing). Val sang, directed choruses, served as an international judge, and coached quartets. He was invited by the Smithsonian Institute to create a special music section on barbershop quartet singing. Val composed many songs and also arranged thousands. (His arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner has been performed at the Super Bowl and elsewhere). Val's latest endeavor was to research, then write a book on the history of quartet singing, especially barbershop quartets. The book was being finalized for publication at the
time of his death."
Val's accomplishments were many. He was a member of the Society for 56 years, starting in 1952. According to the Society website, "Val Hicks began Barbershop singing in 1949, but couldn't afford to pay his dues until 1952 when he was a high school senior." He coached and arranged for the Osmond Brothers, the Clinger Sisters, the Larry Hooper Quartet on the Lawrence Welk Show, and the Dapper Dans of Disneyland. His coaching and arrangements helped the Evans Quartet (1960) and the Gala Lads (1962) win their international championships, and his work had an influence on the careers of the Western Continentals and the Boston Common (1980). He was the editor of "Heritage of Harmony," the 50th anniversary history of the Society; researched the history of male quartets for the Smithsonian Institution; and received a national award from the Music Educators National Conference for his barbershop contributions to music education.
Val's arrangements include his famous "Star Spangled Banner," “Love’s Old Sweet Song,” “This Little Light of Mine,” the verse to “Shine On Me,” "Cecilia," "Hello My Baby," "I Love To Hear That Old Barbershop Style," "Steamin' Down The River," "M'Honey," "Jolly Holiday," "I Love To Laugh," "Ten Feet Off The Ground," "Walkin' My Baby Back Home," and more (nearly 800 songs, according to the Society website). He composed 80 songs with the best, in his opinion, being “That Summer When We Were Young.” (He did put these songs on CD, for historical purposes.)
Acapella News posted on their website at www.acappellanews.com/archive/000449.html
Val said, "Barbershop can be loud, out of tune (with certain voices grating and dominating), with corny lyrics, trite melodies and silly interpretations, or it can be beautifully crafted, wonderfully in tune and performed with exciting vocal artistry worthy of any audience in the world. It's your choice."
There's an interesting story about the meeting of the Dapper Dans and the Osmond Brothers, the involvement of Val Hicks, and his photo taken from A & E on this website: http://www.dapperdans.com/dapperdans/dd_television/a&e/a&e.htm.
In an outpouring of tributes to Val Hicks, people frequently mention his kindness and humility. There are many touching stories on a special page at the Society website, well worth reading:
http://spebsqsafwd.org/html/valhicks.html
Two more stories/tributes by Dean Scoville and Dick Cote can be found in the online "Clippin's" of the Fullerton Chapter:
http://oechorus.org/index.php3?incl=clippins.php3.
(approx. 8 min download on dial-up)
Editorial Comments
by Dorothy Acton
About being "lost" in the PROBE contest:
I'll not cry in my beer--
We'll get 'em next year!
About moving:
The word "Move" has been underestimated.
It should take its place of honor with other four-letter words--like "Golf."
Anyway, I have moved to Placentia. New address is on the roster. New email and phone should be at the end of this bulletin--unless somebody MOVED it!
Idle Thoughts of a Retired Person whose Mind Wanders...
I planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to feed it.
I had amnesia once -- or twice.
I went to San Francisco. I found someone's heart. Now what?
They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to merge his car onto a freeway.
Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone.
One nice thing about egotists: They don't talk about other people.
When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.
A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.
Show me a man with both feet firmly on the ground, and I'll show you a man who can't get his pants off.
Next issue
Target publication date for the next Squeezins' bulletin is Sept. 1, or whenever we get enough articles. Send your articles to Editor at dcacton@earthlink.net.
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