| Golden Memories | SWD International Quartet Champions |
|
1939 National Quartet Champions George McCaslin, Harry Hall, Bob Durand, Herman Kaiser |
| Our very first quartet champions didn't set
out to be world famous, they just loved to sing. As it turned out, they
became our first gold medalists, almost became our second gold medalists
and were the first society quartet to appear in the movies.
It was the goal of the American Legion of Bartlesville, Oklahoma (47 miles north of Tulsa) to put on a minstrel show in 1937 that forced the need of good quartet. New Legionnaire Harry Hall was asked to put the show together since he had experience. All the men in Bartlesville were invited to participate and sing. Legionnaire George McCaslin had experience with quartetting so Hall asked him to form the much needed quartet. Hall volunteered to sing the tenor (claiming to have sung with the best quartet in America" for William Jennings "Billie" Bryan's presidential campaign in 1908). But as chairman of the quartet committee, McCaslin convinced Hall to sing lead and saved the tenor part for himself. Finding the right baritone and bass was beginning to become difficult until McCaslin discovered that one of the minstrel men, Herman Kaiser, was doing a great job of |
putting the bass to the choral songs. He was
asked to sing in the quartet.
News of prospective bari named Bob Durand, a young college grad working at Bartlesville First National Bank, reached the committee. With considerable skepticism, McCaslin dropped in to have a look at him and invited him to a quartet rehearsal. In their first session together Bob's baritone passed the test with flying colors. Two weeks later, after rehearsing without sheet music and arranging by ear, they brought the house down singing When Uncle Joe Plays a Rag on his Old Banjo, Ragtime Cowboy Joe, and Love Me and the World is Mtne. As you might have guessed, the resulting "Bartlesville American Legion Minstrel Quartet" was the hit of the show. WHAT'S IN A NAME? The following year, O.C. Cash was looking for a quartet to sing at a prestigious state teachers' convention in Tulsa and asked McCaslin if his quartet was available. The quartet agreed but |
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Contents |
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How It All Began Chapters Chapter Histories International Quartet Champions ChorusesAdministration
Contests and Conventions Registered Quartets Publications Recognitions In Conclusion