| Golden Memories | SWD International Quartet Champions |
| .O. grabbed Allan and by August of 1966 found
Franklin Spears, tenor of the Playboys, ready to sing again.
This combination clicked and three months later, they won the Southwestern District quartet championship in Houston. They then set their sights on International competition. This began a steady rise to the top. In the 1967 International they placed a strong and thrilling third in Los Angeles. C. 0. worked for the State Department teaching English to foreign pilots and was at risk of being sent, on short notice, to the Mid-East. He returned from a 13-week assignment in Jordan just a week prior to the 1968 prelims. Luckily, the Mark W qualified for International and placed second in Cincinnati. A week later, C.O. was told of his new assignment, two years in Morocco. Mo Rector had moved to New Braunfels from Tulsa in December of '66 leaving behind the Gaynotes and 12 years of active quartetting. He had already filled in for C.O. several times. He now replaced him on bass. There was some speculation as to whether or not the quartet could maintain its momentum after placing second in 1968. All four members were active members of the San Antonio Chordsmen chorus. Franklin had joined them in 1957. A dedicated public official, he had served the state of Texas as a State Representative, a Senator and was a well known attorney/district judge. Dale was drafted into the Army while in Oregon, was transferred to Fort Sam Houston and joined the Chordsmen in 1958. After two years stationed at Fort Sam Houston, he retired from the service and began working for a member of the chorus' moving van company. Mo had joined in Okmulgee, OK in 1949 and joined Tulsa in '53. Allan started in Eugene, Oregon in 1958 at the age of 16. He was now the lead of a potential International champion. Mo and the Mark IV qualified for the International and went from rehearsing 3 to 4 times a week to singing every night the month before the contest. They figured there were (including performances) 550 man-hours spent that month preparing for the contest. They were helped by coaches Lynn and Mike McCord, and top arranger Joni Bescos. They took St. Louis by "storm" and impressed the Kid Auditorium crowd by singing I'd Give a Million Tomorrows, and PLano Roll Blues. This gave them a commanding 120 point lead after the first round. In the end, The Mark W won their gold medals by a 163 |
point margin. The Southwestern District contingent
also was thrilled by seeing the Houston Tidelanders come in second in the
chorus contest. It had been eleven years since one of our quartets had
won and the victory was sweet. The quartet, keeping with tradition, sang
all night and then met with Society VIP's for a celebratory breakfast.
They also had to appear on local TV and even sing. They admit the only
one who still looked good was Mo who had forgotten to take off his stage
makeup. It was only fitting. Mo had become the very first society member
to repeat as a gold medalist.
They began their championship year singing all over. They set aside one weekend a month to stay home, but toured the country the other three. Following their win they sang for several Southwestern District chapters (Dallas Town North, Midland, Corpus Christi, Houston, and Baton Rouge and Austin). The Mark IV was dedicated to maintaining standards. They attempted to put as much work into singing in a corner after chorus rehearsal for a few fans as they would for an audience of 5000. Like their predecessors, they preserved their songs by releasing two outstanding quartet recordings. In 1967 they released Swing Low. It
featured many of their show tunes such as the Gaynotes Cabaret, That's
Life, Among My Souvenirs, Sam, the Accordion Man, and perhaps their most
popular I'd Give A Million Tomorrows.
|
Previous Page |
Contents |
Page |
How It All Began Chapters Chapter Histories International Quartet Champions ChorusesAdministration
Contests and Conventions Registered Quartets Publications Recognitions Conclusion