User talk:Aggie Carpenter/sandbox/The Society for the Preservation and Propagation of Barbershop Quartet Singing in the United States

It all began with two Tulsa OK businessmen on a business trip to Kansas City meeting at the Muehlebach Hotel in 1938. They shared their love of music, particularly the old-time 4-part sweet harmonies of the Tin Pan Alley era, including the memories and traditions involved in singing them. They resolved that, on their return to Tulsa, they would do something to revive that “old barbershop style."

So, upon their return, O. C. Cash and Rupert Hall, a tax lawyer and an investor, composed a letter inviting 14 friends to join them in an evening of singing, food, and fellowship. Twenty-six men actually showed up for the gathering. The next week there were 70and 150 the following week. News about the new club spread everywhere. Soon barbershop groups were forming in major cities and small towns all over the U. S. and Canada.

Of course, a society formed and grew to over 38,000 members. However, time, cultural changes and events have quieted the fervor that once existed. Men have found many other recreational pursuits and have become more invested in their work and their families. Society membership has declined to half of what it was in the halcyon days of yore.

The spirit of competition has swept over the barbershop landscape. In its path, fellowship and fun have taken back seats. The loss, or perceived loss, of these two vital elements, has caused many men to find other leisure time activities.

Yet, in the hearts of many men, the fire still burns. They long for the fellowship and camaraderie of other men in the songs of bygone days. They have called for someone else, something else to bring back the spirit of those bygone days.

A copy of the original letter by Hall and Cash is reproduced below. In his original draft, they called the nascent organization “The Society for the Preservation and Propagation of BarberShop Quartet Singing in the United States.” “Propagation” was quickly changed to "Encouragement" and “the United States” became "America".

As we begin this monumental endeavor, we wish to both remember and honor “Rupe” and “O. C.”

Therefore, be it known that:

The Society for the Preservation and Propagation of Barbershop Quartet Singing in the United States is established to ensure that the wholly American institution of Male barbershop quartet singing is preserved in the form and manner in which it was birthed --- by utilizing songs typifying those composed during the years between 1890 to 1929. The hallmarks of particularly appropriate stylistic songs were recognized and codified by a meeting of barbershop song arrangers who met in Racine, Wisconsin in 1970. Such songs have easily discernible internal harmonies, which enable the singer to quickly and appropriately harmonize with the melody of the song, as well as 46 other discernible hallmarks. All records of the 1970 meeting have been lost. But the real old barbershopper will assure you that your ear is the best guide.

It is the noble and honorable mission of this organization to preserve and propagate this art form during the lifetime of every member and to pass it on intact, undiluted and unevolved to succeeding generations of male singers. In doing so, one the primary aims of this organization is to have fun --- fun in singing, fun in fellowship and fun in living a good life.

In this regard, therefore, one of the major outreaches of this organization will be to encourage the participation of young adult men that they may learn the art form in their formative years and carry the torch onward to succeeding generations.

Another major outreach will be a requirement that every viable group assists their community with concerts and performances --- free of charge, as much as is possible. Society auditors will not notice free meals and/or refreshments.

Finally, on the subject of outreach, it is the intention of the steering committee to find a charitable project that all individual members and groups will be asked to support. It may well be an organization that uses music to heal.

The organization itself consists of individual members who are encouraged to form quartets and affiliate with other members and quartets for the purpose of robust and boisterous singing, fellowship and fun. Although group (or gang) singing is a natural outgrowth of such affiliations, singing in quartets is the favored activity. Although many folks will need actual printed music to sing their part, ear singing (woodshedding) is a delight and highly-encouraged. Learning tracks is a forbidden term and should never be used in polite company.