The Chordettes articles/mentions

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Golden Barbershop Ballads    
Tom @ 80 ~ the play list  
       
 
       
 
       
The Chordettes - ca 1954    
photographer unknown           

  

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I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen lyrics

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I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen
across the ocean wild and wide
to where your heart has ever been
since first you were my bonny bride
The roses all have left your cheeks
I watched them fade away and die
You voice is sad whene're you speak
and tears bedim your loving eyes
So I will take you back Kathleen
to where your heart will feel no pain
And when the fields are fresh and green
I will take you to your home again

I know you love me Kathleen dear
your heart was ever fond and true
I always feel when you are near
That life holds nothing dear but you
the smiles that once you gave to me
I scarcely ever see them now
the many, many times I see
a darkening shadow on your brow
Oh So I will take you back Kathleen
to where your heart will feel no pain
And when the fields are fresh and green
I will take you to your home again

To that dear home beyond the sea
My Kathleen shall again return
And when thy old friends welcome thee
Thy loving heart will cease to yearn
Where laughs the little silver stream
beside your mother's humble cot
and brightest rays of sunshine gleam
To where your grief will be forgot
So I will take you back Kathleen
to where your heart will feel no pain
And when the fields are fresh and green
I will take you to your home again     
     
Author: Thomas P. Westendorf       
   
   
Viewfinder link:     
     
SPEBSQSA ~ Golden Barbershop Ballads      
      

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Song lyrics
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20,000 vinyl LP 217: SPEBSQSA ~ Golden Barbershop Ballads

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Golden Barbershop Ballads
vinyl LP front cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

On this day, April 11, in 1936, The SPEBSQSA (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America) was founded.            

SPEBSQSA logo

          

The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form.    

Golden Barbershop Ballads
vinyl LP front cover
photo by Styrous®

I have always loved the sound of male voices in harmony and a barber shop quartet represents for me the ultimate in unaccompanied male vocal. The voices can range from a deep resonant bass to the high pitch of the Countertenor.
       
The barber shop quartet genre is dominated by male singers but the The Chordettes (remember Mr. Sandman?) did pretty great renditions of many songs of the genre (links below).           

Golden Barbershop Ballads
vinyl LP back cover
photo by Styrous®

Wikipedia describes the genre as:

"Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1930s–present), is a style of a cappella close harmony, or unaccompanied vocal music, characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture. Each of the four parts has its own role: generally, the lead sings the melody, the tenor harmonizes above the melody, the bass sings the lowest harmonizing notes, and the baritone completes the chord, usually below the lead. The melody is not usually sung by the tenor or baritone, except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward voice leading, in tags or codas, or when some appropriate embellishment can be created. One characteristic feature of barbershop harmony is the use of what is known as "snakes" and "swipes". This is when a chord is altered by a change in one or more non-melodic voices."        

Golden Barbershop Ballads
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Even though barbershop is considered an American invention, the idea had its roots in England. During the 1600s, British barbers kept a cittern (a stringed instrument similar to a lute) handy for their customers to strum while awaiting their shave and haircut. Sometimes customers got inventive and did things like fill candlesticks with coins to add a little percussion to the mix. The resulting cacophony was referred to as “barber’s music.”      

      

In the 1830s, the local barbershop was a common gathering place for men. Sometimes to while away the hours on his feet, the barber would start crooning a tune. Eventually, patrons added their harmonies in a call-and-response type format.            

       

The oversized mustaches, striped jackets and straw hats were added in the hayday of Vaudeville throughout the 1870s and 1880s. The quartets were used in front of the curtain to entertain while other acts were setting up. In order to be seen by those in the “cheap seats” they wore distinctive costumes.         

Golden Barbershop Ballads
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

One of the great quartet songs, I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen, is represented on the album. It is a languid tune, bittersweet and sad about the return of the singer's loved one, now grown old or perhaps dead, to the land from which they came; it is not mentioned but the implication is Ireland (link below). Written by Thomas P. Westendorf in 1875, the music is supposedly based on the andante from the Violin Concerto in E Flat Minor Opus 64, by Felix Mendelssohn; listen for yourself and decide (link below).     

Golden Barbershop Ballads
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Barber shop quartets are still vibrant to this day. The SPEBSQSA holds an annual competition that is attended by many. The winner of the 2017 International Quartet Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, was Main Street who didn't begin singing until 2011. They won with the classic song, Down By the Old Mill Stream (link below).               

Golden Barbershop Ballads
vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous®

Golden Barbershop Ballads
vinyl LP label, side 1
photo by Styrous®

 

Golden Barbershop Ballads
vinyl LP label, side 2
photo by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 – Four Hearsemen - When You're A Long Long Way From Home   
A2 – Rascals* - Little Pal   
A3 – Gala-Lads* - My Ideal   
A4 – Sun Tones* - A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet   
A5 – Easternaires - I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen   
A6 – Play Tonics* - Did Your Mother Come From Ireland   

Side 1:

B1 – Sidewinders (5) - For Me And My Gal   
B2 – Lads Of Enchantment - Love Me And The World Is Mine   
B3 – Play Tonics* - Cabin On The Hilltop   
B4 – Four Pitchikers* - That Old Gang Of Mine   
B5 – Easternaires - Danny Boy   
B6 – Rhythm Counts - Down By The Old Mill Stream       

Various ‎– Golden Barbershop Ballads
Label: MCA Records ‎– MCA 235
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: US
Released:
Genre: Pop
Style: Barbershop


Viewfinder links:       
        
I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen lyrics        
The Chordettes     
       
Net links:       
         
A Cappella Foundation ~ The Origins of Barbershop Harmony    
Classical MPR ~ Barbershop quartets, the harmonies are sweeter than ever 
CNN ~ Barbershop quartets deliver love notes on Valentine's Day    
Mental Floss ~ Why Are They Called "Barbershop Quartets"?       
National Day Calendar ~ National Barbershop Quartet Day – April 1     
Singer.com ~ Female Barbershop Groups             
Singer.com ~ Male Barbershop Groups   
   
YouTube links:       

The Chordettes ~         
        A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet        
        Love Me And The World Is Mine 
        Mr. Sandman       
Easternaires ~ I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen            
Julia Fischer ~ 
     Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Flat Minor Opus 64   

Four Rascals ~ Little Pal    Gala-Lads ~ My Ideal     
Andante          
Main Street ~ Down by the Old Mill Stream         
Suntones ~ Danny Boy           

Sing on, Boys!

         
        

       

Styrous® ~ Saturday, April 11, 2020       
        

     

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