The Four Freshmen

The Four Freshmen
Origin	Indianapolis, Indiana
Genres	Jazz, Classic pop, Barbershop
Years active	1948–present
Labels	Capitol, Liberty, Pausa Records, Coronet, Stylist, Creative World, Kahoots, Phonorama, Pickwick, Sunset, Crystal, Four Freshmen Society
Associated acts	Beach Boys, Manhattan Transfer, Take 6, New York Voices
Website	http://www.4freshmen.com/
Members
Brian Eichenberger Curtis Calderon Vince Johnson Bob Ferreira
Past members
Ross Barbour Don Barbour Marvin Pruitt Hal Kratzsch Bob Flanigan Ken Errair Bill Comstock Ken Albers Ray Brown Gary Lee Rosenberg Kevin Stout Greg Stegeman Autie Goodman Alan MacIntosh Newton Graber Dennis Grillo Rod Henley Dave Jennings Mike Beisner Kirk Marcy

The Four Freshmen is a multiple (six) Grammy-nominated American male vocal band quartet that blends open-harmony jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires (Glenn Miller), The Pied Pipers (Tommy Dorsey), and The Mel-Tones (Artie Shaw), founded in the barbershop tradition. The Four Freshmen is considered a vocal band because the singers accompany themselves on guitar, trumpet, bass, and drums, among other instrumental configurations.

The group tours internationally to sold-out audiences and records jazz harmonies since its late '40s founding in the halls of the Jordan School of Music at Butler University (Indianapolis).

History

In early 1948, brothers Ross and Don Barbour, then at Butler University's Arthur Jordan Conservatory in Indianapolis, Indiana, formed a barbershop quartet called Hal's Harmonizers. The Harmonizers also included Marvin Pruitt — soon replaced by Ross and Don's cousin Bob Flanigan — and Hal Kratzsch (1925–70), replaced in 1953 by Ken Errair. The quartet soon adopted a more jazz-oriented repertoire and renamed itself the Toppers. At first, they were influenced by Glenn Miller's The Modernaires and Mel Tormé's Mel-Tones, but soon developed their own style of improvised vocal harmony. In September 1948, the quartet went on the road as The Four Freshmen, and soon drew the admiration of jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Woody Herman.

In 1950, The Four Freshmen got a break when band leader Stan Kenton heard the quartet in Dayton, Ohio, and arranged for an audition with his label, Capitol Records, which signed The Four later that year. In 1952, they released their first hit single "It's a Blue World". Further hits included "Mood Indigo" in 1954, "Day by Day" in 1955, and "Graduation Day" in 1956.

The Four Freshmen won Best Vocal Group of the Year in Down Beat magazine's Readers' Polls in 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 2000, and 2001.^{[citation needed]}

The Four Freshmen were nominated in the Grammy Vocal Group Performance category in 1958 for The Four Freshmen in Person (Capitol), 1961 for Voices in Fun (Capitol), 1962 for The Swingers (Capitol), 1964 for More Four Freshmen and Five Trombones (Capitol), and in 1986 for Fresh! (Pausa).^{[citation needed]}

Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, The Four Freshmen released a number of recordings, made film and television appearances, and performed in concert. The group eventually lost their mainstream following with the advent of the British pop bands of the 1960s. The group did not disband, however, even after the last original member, Bob Flanigan, retired in 1992. After his retirement Flanigan managed the group and owned the rights to The Four Freshmen name. He died on May 15, 2011 at the age of 84 from congestive heart failure. Ross Barbour died on August 20, 2011 from cancer at the age of 82.

The current incarnation of The Four Freshmen features Brian Eichenberger (lead, guitar, keyboards, arranger), Curtis Calderon (second voice, trumpet, flugelhorn), Vince Johnson (third voice, bass, trombone, whistler, scatter, arranger), and Bob Ferreira (fourth voice, drummer, soloist). They perform at upwards of 100 bookings a year.^{[citation needed]} Eichenberger, Calderon, Johnson, and Ferreira have been honored with the following designations: JazzTimes magazine's Readers Poll Best Vocal Group (multiple wins), Down Beat magazine's Readers Poll Best Vocal Group (multiple wins), and Down Beat magazine's Readers Poll Hall of Fame finals (multiple years).

Four Freshmen Society

The 20th International Four Freshmen Society Convention, "Back Home in Indiana", was held in Indianapolis, the home of Butler University, August 21–23, 2008. Six hundred of the approximately 3,000 Society members attended in honor of The Four Freshmen's 60th year of continual performance. Present were original Four Freshmen Ross Barbour and Bob Flanigan (now Butler honorary doctors) and the widow of Don Barbour. Former Four Freshmen Ray Brown (Group 5), Rod Henley (Groups 8 and 11), Kirk Marcy (Group 12), and Greg Stegeman (Groups 14-21) attended and performed along with current Four Freshmen Brian, Curtis, Vince, and Bob (Group 22).

The 21st International Four Freshmen Society Convention was held August 20–22, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. It is known as the "Blue Moon" convention. Former Freshmen Ross Barbour, Bob Flanigan, Rod Henley, Autie Goodman, and Greg Stegeman (by phone) participated along with over 400 fans.

The 22nd International Four Freshmen Society Convention was held in Annapolis, Maryland August 19-21, 2010.

The 23rd International Four Freshmen Society Convention was held at The Park Inn Hotel in Toledo, Ohio September 8-10, 2011.

The 24th International Four Freshmen Society Convention will be held in Reno, Nevada October 4-7, 2012.

Discography

Albums and DVDs

• Voices in Modern (1955)
• 4 Freshmen and 5 Trombones (1955)
• Freshmen Favorites (1956)
• 4 Freshmen and 5 Trumpets (1957)
• 4 Freshmen and 5 Saxes (1957)
• Voices In Latin (1958)
• The Freshman Year (1958)
• Voices In Love (1958)
• In Person (1958)
• 4 Freshmen and 5 Guitars (1959)
• Love Lost (1959)
• Freshmen Favorites Vol.2 (1959)
• Voices And Brass (1960)
• Road Show (1960)
• First Affair (1960)
• Voices in Fun (1961)
• The Freshman Year (1961)

• Best of The Four Freshmen (1961)
• Stars in Our Eyes (1962)
• The Swingers (1962)
• Day By Day (1962)
• Got That Feelin' (1963)
• In Person, Vol. 2 (1963)
• More 4 Freshmen and 5 Trombones (1964)
• Funny How Time Slips Away (1964)
• That's My Desire (1967)
• A Today Kind of Thing (1968)
• Today is Tomorrow (1968)
• Four Freshmen in Tokyo '68 (1969)
• Different Strokes (1969)
• My Special Angel (1970)
• Return to Romance (1971)
• Mount Freshmore (1977)

• Alive & Well in Nashville (1977)
• Live At Butler University With Stan Kenton And His Orchestra (1986)
• Fresh! (1986)
• Freshmas! (1992)
• Angel Eyes (1995)
• Easy Street(1997)
• Golden Anniversary Celebration (1998)
• Still Fresh CD (1999)
• Four Freshmen Live CD (2000)
• First Affair/Voices in Fun Double CD (2002)
• Live in the New Millennium CD (2002)
• Live in Holland CD (2004)
• In Session CD (2005)
• Star-spangled Banner Single CD (2005)
• Live from Las Vegas' Suncoast Hotel DVD (2006)
• Snowfall CD (2007)
• Live from Las Vegas' Suncoast Hotel CD (2009)
• Live from the Atlanta FFS Convention (members only) DVD (2009)
• Four Freshmen and 'Live' Trombones CD (2009)

Singles (A-side / B-side, release date, catalog number)

• Stan Kenton's Orchestra September Song (1951) Capitol 382
• "Mr. B's Blues" / "Then I'll Be Happy" (11/50) Capitol 1293
• "Now You Know" / "Pick Up Your Tears and Go Home" (4/51) Capitol 1377
• "It's A Blue World" / "Tuxedo Junction" (7/52) Capitol 2152
• "The Day Isn't Long Enough" / "Stormy Weather" (11/52) Capitol 2286
• "Poinciana" / Baltimore Oriole" (4/53) Capitol 2398
• "Holiday" / "It Happened Once Before" (8/53) Capitol 2564
• "Seems Like Old Times" / "Crazy Bones" (2/54) Capitol 2745
• "I'll Be Seeing You" / "Please Remember" (6/54) Capitol 2832
• "We'll Be Together Again" / "My Heart Stood Still" (8/54) Capitol 2898
• "Mood Indigo" / "Love Turns Winter to Spring" (10/54) Capitol 2961
• "It Never Occurred to Me" / "Malaya" (3/55) Capitol 3070
• "Day By Day" / "How Can I Tell Her" (6/55) Capitol 3154
• "Charmaine" / "In This Whole Wide World" (11/55) Capitol 3292
• "Angel Eyes" / "Love Is Just Around the Corner" (2/56) Capitol 3359
• "Graduation Day" / "Lonely Night in Paris" (4/56) Capitol 3410
• "He Who Loves and Runs Away" / "You're So Far Above Me" (9/56) Capitol 3532
• "That's the Way I Feel" / "What's it Gonna Be" (2/57) Capitol 3652
• "Julie Is Her Name" / "Sometimes I'm Happy" (8/57) Capitol 3779
• "How Can I Begin To Tell" / "Granada" (11/57) Capitol 3832
• "Whistle Me Some Blues" / "Nights Are Longer" (3/58) Capitol 3930
• "Don't Worry Bout Me" / "I Never Knew" ?? Capitol
• "Candy" / "Route 66" (2/60) Capitol 4341
• "Teach Me Tonight" / "Shangri-La" (6/62) Capitol 4749
• "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" / "Taps Miller" (9/62) Capitol 4824
• "Summertime" / "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" (6/63) Capitol 5007
• "Funny How Time Slips Away" / "Charade" (11/63) Capitol 5083
• "My Baby's Gone" / "Don't Make Me Sorry" (3/64) Capitol 5151
• "When I Stop Lovin' You" / "Nights Are Long" (4/65) Capitol 5401
• "Old Cape Cod" / "Men In Their Flying Machines" (8/65) Capitol 5471
• "Cry" / "Nowhere to Go" (12/66) Decca 32070
• "Cherish" / "Come Fly With Me" (6/68) Liberty 56047
• "Windy" / "Up, Up and Away"
• "Blue World" / "Phoenix" (4/69) Liberty 56099
• "My Special Angel"
• "I Want To Love" / "While I'm Young" Capitol F 3539 (Ken Errair solo
• "Ain't Goin' Nowhere"
• "How About Me" Capitol F 3890 (Ken Errair Quartet)
• "How's About Tomorrow Night"
• "The Creep" / "Tenderly" (2/54 Capitol 2685) (Four Freshmen sing on Tenderly)

Note: The first fifteen singles ("Mr. B" through "Graduation Day") were also released as 78rpm Capitol discs, with the same stock numbers as above.

Promotional singles

• "It's a Blue World" / "Poinciana" Capitol PRO 862
• "You're So Far Above Me" / "Brazil" Capitol PRO 863
• "Every Time We Say Goodbye" / "Circus" Capitol PRO 864
• "Whistle Me Some Blues" / "It Never Occurred To Me" Capitol PRO 865
• "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" / "I May Be Wrong" Capitol PRO 866
• "Baltimore Oriole" / "It Could Happen To You" Capitol Pro 867
• "Accentuate The Positive" / "I Want To Be Happy" Capitol PRO 1822
• "We've Got A World That Swings" / "When My Sugar Walks Down The Street" Capitol PRO 2392 (red vinyl)
• "It Never Occurred To Me" / "Malaya" Capitol PRO 2969
• "How Can I Tell Her" / "Day By Day" Capitol PRO 3070
• "Angel Eyes" / "Love Is Just Around The Corner" Capitol PRO 3154
• "I Want To Love While I'm Still Young" / "Aint'Goin' Nowhere" (Ken Errair Capitol PRO 3359
• "Give Me The Simple Life" (dated 1/12/62)) / "Say it Isn't So" (not a Four Freshman cut) USAF presents Music in the Air
• "Nowhere To Go" / "Cry" Decca 32070

7 inch, 33¹⁄₃ (small hole) promotional singles

• "Here's Hollywood" / "And So It's Over" Capitol PRO 2402
• "Moon River" / "Dynaflow" Capitol PRO 2449
• "Blue World" / "Poinciana" Capitol PRO 2510
• "Li'l Darlin'" / "Lulu's Back In Town" Capitol XE 1753
• "Candy" / "It Could Happen To You" Capitol XE 1640 (set of 3)
• "Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe" / "While You Are Gone"
• "Day By Day" / "Little Girl Blue"
• "Moonlight Rain"
• "I'm Beginning To See The Light" / "It's A Blue World"

External links

• Official homepage
• The Four Freshmen
• The Four Freshman in the Vocal Hall of Fame.
• The Four Freshmen Society