Grandma's Boys

In the summer of 1968 a high school quartet from Quincy, IL rode a Greyhound bus to Cincinnati, checked into the "Y," sat in the back row at the international contest and listened in awe as quartets like the Western Continentals, Mark IV, and Golden Staters won the top medals. They had recently named the quartet, and 11 years later, when three of the original four ran onstage in Minneapolis to claim their own gold medals, it still bore the name Grandma's Boys. Jay Giallombardo (bari), Hank Brandt (lead), John Miller (bass), and Jeff Calhoun (tenor) were singing in three different high school quartets when they first got together in the spring of 1968. Their determination to stick together was rigorously tested over the next few years. John and Jay went off to college (in Peoria and Kansas, respectively); a year later Hank and Jeff enrolled in Dartmouth in New Hampshire, spreading the quartet over 1,500 miles. Somehow they continued to rehearse and give shows (usually at the same time, Hank later admitted). Then Jeff moved to Denver and was replaced by Jim Sikorski, and the quartet jumped from 10th place in international competition in 1974 to 3rd place in '75. But Jim had to drop out, and Mac Huff, then a Society music man, recommended Don Barnick of Cleveland. After only a few weeks of rehearsals with a new tenor, Grandma's Boys placed sixth in the next year's contest. The combination proved the right one, however; in 1978 the quartet won the silver medals, and in '79 they walked offstage with the Landino Trophy.

Discography

When The Toy Soldier Marched On Parade

Grandma's Boy When Lindy Comes Home Moonlight Brings Memories I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles Tonight Shillelagh Stick Before the Parade Passes By A Song for Mary Firefly When I Fall in Love Rosie (You Made Me Love You) When the Toy Soldiers March On Parade When the Maple Leaves Were Falling Facinatin' Rhythm Jazz Baby The Way We Were Jeepers Creepers I Heard You Singing Alabama Jazzbo Band I'm Singing Your Love Songs to Somebody Else I Had A Dream, Dear... You've Gotta Be A Football Hero Collegiate Love Dayton Ohio Freddie Feel-Good (And His Funky LIttle Four-Piece Band) Halls of Ivy William Tell Overture Eve Wasn't Modest 'til She Ate That Apple / There's A Little Bit of Bad in Every Good Girl Girl of My Dreams I'm In Love With the Mother of My Best Girl If They String Me Up, I'll Never Live It Down Dangerous Dan McGrew Jeepers Creepers I'm Going Down to My Home Town in Dixieland A Song for Mary Appearance on Nashua, New Hampshire 25th Anniversary Show

This is two very big slices of classic Barbershop, a 2-CD set of Grandma's Boys from 1968 to 1986, including songs from their 1979 Gold Medal Year as SPEBSQSA International Quartet Champions. There are 23 songs on Disc 1, which are the remastered lps "Tonight" and "I Had A Dream Dear," and 15 on Disc II, which is the remastered lp, "Grandma's Boys III. There's a large liner notes booklet with photos of the group in costume and with their trophies, interviews and a history of the group. Favorites? "Tonight" from West Side Story, "Before The Parade Passes By," "Firefly," "Fascinatin' Rhythm," "Jazz Baby," "The Way We Were," "You've Gotta Be A Football Hero," "William Tell Overture," "If They String Me Up, I'll Never Live It Down," "A Song For Mary" and the title tune, but we could easily pick a dozen others. These young guys sing prize-winning harmonies with joy and spirit, and they went from an unknown group in college to the pinnacle of Barbershop fame. They're obviously having big fun singing to us, and what we especially love about Barbershop is the fact that it's fun music!

Listen to "When the Toy Soldiers March on Parade" in Real Audio.

5372 2-CD SET $29.98

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