In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument

Dapper Dans

The Dapper Dans first started when Disneyland's Tommy Walker contacted Park talent supervisor Chuck Corson and said that Disneyland needed a barbershop quartet. Corson (a former Stage Manager for the Fred Waring Chorale) contacted some of the singers from that group, and they came to Disneyland at his request. They began performing on Main Street, and after several changes the first long-running Dapper Dans quartet was formed. It consisted of John Borneman (tenor), Roger Axworthy (lead), T.J. Marker (bass) and Ted Nichols (baritone). This group worked together for years, and established the Disneyland Dapper Dans tradition. Later members were often recruited from nearby Chapman College, where an active music department groomed students to come to Disneyland as professional musicians.

TThe Dapper Dans actually rival the Golden Horseshoe Revue in their longevity at Disneyland. Other Disneyland musical groups (like the Disneyland Band or the Make Believe Brass) consist of "cast members," but the Dapper Dans have always created their own material, organized themselves and had more autonomy. The quartet has done many outside gigs and has toured Sweden twice, Australia once. They're full-time now, but they've worked part-time, weekends only, and have even been at times on hiatus from the park. One of their strengths has been flexibility. As live entertainment at Disneyland evolved, they have adapted and appeared as Danny and the Dappers (for the 1987/88 Blast to the Past), they've sung sea chanteys as the Jolly Tars, cowboy music as the Cowboy Buckaroos and become the scary Monster Shop Quartet during the Halloween Treat events.

TThe current leader of the Dapper Dans is lead singer Shelby Grimm. He has been with the quartet since 1987, and is now the keeper of the group's music library and other historic material. He told us that their custom Schwinn four-seater was ordered especially for the Dapper Dans by Walt Disney.

Discography

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Dapper Dans : Live!

Review: When the paint was still drying on the faux Victorians of Disneyland's Main Street, USA, it was abundantly clear that four of the people who 'lived' there needed to be a barbershop group, that made-in-America musical invention. The Dapper Dans were invited/created and fell in love with the place; the Main Street audiences loved them right back, and one of the most enduring barbershop groups in entertainment history was born. 'Live!' showcases the Dans in their element, in front of live Disneyland audiences, and it contains 30 of their most popular songs. Heavily featured are the Deagan Organ Chimes (hand-held antique tubular bells played by the quartet). There's a fair amount of schmaltz, bad puns and general silliness of course, but the songs are pure, sweet Americana, with some Disney favorites like 'Disney Medley,' 'Cruella De Vil,' 'Alice in Wonderland/All in the Golden Afternoon Medley,' 'Muppets Theme,' 'I Love to Laugh,' 'You've Got A Friend in Me,' 'Main Street Electrical Parade' and 'Grim, Grinning Ghosts.' Then we have feel-good nostalgic classics like 'They Wrote 'Em in the Good Old Days,' Do You Remember When,' 'You're the Flower of My Heart, Sweet Adeline,' 'Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis,' 'Happy Days Are Here Again,' 'Swinging On a Star,' Yankee Doodle Dandy,' Stephen Foster's 'Oh! Susanna' and many others. All of the yummy harmonizing we love from a bona fide American institution!

Songlist: They Wrote 'Em In The Good Old Days, Muppets Theme, Chimeology, Mr. Sandman, Just In Case You Change Your MindDapper Dans, Do You Remember When?, Can Can, Alice In Wonderland/All In The Golden Afternoon Medley, Chopsticks, Pop Goes The Weasel, Cruella De Vil, I Love To Laugh, You're The Flower Of My Heart, Sweet Adeline, Main Street Electrical Parade, Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis, Standing On The Corner, I'm Sitting On Top Of The World, You've Got A Friend In Me, Disney Medley, Happy Days Are Here Again, Hi! Neighbor, For Me And My Gal, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Grimm, Grinning Ghosts, M-O-T-H-E-R, Swinging On A Star, CD Jingle, Oh! Susanna, Who Will Buy?, So Long

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