Sound Choice Quartet

The Birth of

Barbershop Quartet

As remembered by CJ:

Now, this is a Navy story, sort of, and everyone knows that Navy stories invariably start with the phrase "Once upon a time."

Soooo....Once upon a time, late in 2007, the South Bay Chapter of the BHS held their 60th anniversary party aboard the WWII Liberty Ship SS Lane Victory, docked in the San Pedro harbor.

Many of the members of the Orange Empire Chorus attended. Don (tenor) and I (lead) sat together on the trip down to the event in the chartered bus. We had been singing together casually for a few weeks during breaks in chorus rehearsal and were becoming familiar with each other's voices. Once aboard the ship and securing an ample supply of grog, we started to look for some chorus mates to sing a few songs. We soon ran into Mikey (bass). His name is Mike, but I like to call him Mikey because he reminds me of the kid in the old TV commercial who will eat anything. Don and I and been singing with Mikey casually also. So we now had three, but we still didn't have a bari. Baritones are notoriously hard to find, as they tend to be a bit on the flakey side. I don't remember how we ?settled? on Bob as the bari. I guess the grog was starting to have its desired effect. In any case, we now had the requisite number for a quartet, that would be four, and we retired to the very stern of the ship to get out of everyone's way and because the midsection was way too noisy. [FANTAIL4]

We started singing some songs quietly just to entertain ourselves before the main festivities began. It was soon apparent to me that we were beginning to make some extraordinary noises, and no, I'm not referring to the taco lunch. After about 15 minutes there was a small crowd on the stern with us. It wasn't our singing that attracted them, but on the other hand it didn't drive them away either. That's when the idea of forming a quartet germinated. We had four guys, four boaters, what more do you need? Oh yeah, a name. That's where we came to a screeching halt. Don Derler (the bass of Gaslight Revue) heard us and, being the bit of a wit he is, suggested "Fantail Four". I like it! Everyone else hated it! The nail in the coffin for "Fantail Four" was when it was perverted to "Poop Deck Four" by some wags in the chorus. Bob did some research on quartet names, Sound Choice had been vacated, and cooler heads than mine prevailed. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

As remembered by Bob:

What's this about baritones being flakey? We have to blow the dang pitch pipe and put up with all kinds of abuse while singing the notes nobody else wants! Flakey indeed!

[MAYNARD] Anyway....Mike and I didn't ride the party bus because we would have had to go 15 miles north when the boat was 25 miles west. It just seemed like good navigation to drive ourselves. Besides, we were a little bit wary of the bus driver, Maynard, because he sings with the Spit-Tunes (nobody is sure what part). When we got there, the crowd was immense and getting bigger. We quickly located the food, loaded up our plates and looked around for a place to sit. People were pushing froward toward the stage,so we worked our way aft. The only chairs left were two at the very stern of the boat, next to two large individuals who happened to be wearing the same attire as we were. I recogized them as chorus members, but had no clue what parts they represented. Somebody figured that out (I was too busy wolfing down tacos) and when we had finished, it was suggested that we sing (by Don, I'll be willing to bet, because he does that. All the time. Everywhere we go.)

As to the subject of names, there wasn't much research. I was happy enough with "Fantail Four," though I thought we could do better. We talked about a lot of names, but nothing popped out. There's a really good quartet in the chorus called Preferred Blend. I liked the idea that the name conveyed, but outside of barbershop circles, it might not be so clear. I was thinking about that, when the name "Sound Choice" hit me. I was particularly taken with the double entendre (That's French. Do they sing barbershop in France? Probably not.) I soon discovered that the name had been widely used, but was presently unclaimed. I pounced.

So there you have it. We are officially recognized as Quartet No. 500340 by the organization formerly known as the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. Alas, they have dropped the words "Preservation" and "Encouragement" and most regretably, "Quartet" from their name. But that's a story for another day.