Clicked on this faster than any other video I ever have before........ for obvious reasons... LOL. The Boston Common was one of the most iconic champions there ever has been and ever will be. Legends on that stage there..
The sheer joy of singing is evident in their faces and their body posture. An iconic performance by one of the all-time great quartets in the Society. And back in the day when it was nigh-impossible to get a score that started with a '9', I am proud to say my old category, Interpretation, awarded an average of 90 for this song. Interestingly enough, I do believe this performance would garner a mid-90s score in Music today! How I wish the Society would re-digitize this performance, fixing both the video and the sound. It needs to be preserved for every generation of Barbershopper.
I remember being in the audience that night. The crowd went crazy. All week long you could feel their momentum. It was electric. Some say they should’ve won in ‘79....I didn’t agree...however, this was their year hands down. Iconic doesn’t even begin to describe this quartet.
I saw The Common perform this in 1981 while attending my first barbershop show; introducing me to the BHS! I died and went to heaven right then and there!
I have been thrilled by the audio version of this performance for 40 years. What a joy to finally see it on video. Many thanks to BHS LiveWire for sharing it.
I want to see some more stuff from the archive, BHS - I love the Boston Common, but all their contest sets from 1980 have been on UA-cam for years! Give us something more exclusive!
My grandfather Bob Nance with The Vigortones used to sing this with his quartet. He passed in 2017. The joy this video brings me. Thank you for posting this.
I agree on the sublime nature of the tenor and of the warmth of the sound. But as to it being “traditional” I don’t think so. The fullness of the tenor in particular and the rich, smooth complexity of the quartet sound overall was unusual when contrasted with the thinner and choppier sound of traditional barbershop quartets that typically featured a nasal, honking, reedy tenor sound. Also, the presence of a bit of well-placed vibrato was traumatizing for some “traditionalists”, including sound judges. They were actually more revolutionary than traditional in this sense. Absolutely fabulous.
Was he President of the NED Chorus (Racing City) competing in SLC that year. Will never forget our afterglow...BC made the rounds of afterglows and VIP spots and saved us for last. Walked in, took off their coats and Terry announced "We're Home, Honey"! Proceeded to sing every song they knew...and some new ones as well! You haven't lived until you've been sitting 5 feet in front of them when those powerful voices start ringing chords!
Douglas Cullen - Yes, but not a fatal one. From what I’ve heard/read, it just affected his ability to sing and tune. Tommy Spirito (lead of the legendary Four Rascals) filled in for Rich for some years. You can hear his voice on a portion of their masterworks CD.
I hate to bring truth to the internet...goes against the grain, somehow...still; There is only *one* microphone extant, nothing overhead, nothing parabolic pointed at anybody, nothing...more mics than that one, between the Lead and the Bass, the two middle guys, would require balancing, engineering the sound, totally forbidden in SPEBSQSA competition. The quartet members are individually responsible for balancing, or 'blending' *each* chord, *only* by using their own ears, 'valuing' the chord in the order of 1)Root 2)Fifth 3) Third 4) Seventh, (or any other augmentation) supplied, by moderating both volume and microscopic pitch change, or 'tuning' as required If you are listening to a so-called 'stereo' reproduction, it is simply a 'double' of a 'mono' input If you'd care for my bona fides, I was a member of a quartet awarded 'Mike Testers' in 1981, and danged proud of it...still am, as it happens The only way to get 'stereo' is to sit in one of the first ten (or so, depending on venue) rows
That lip lick at 0:56 has got to be the most synchronised choreo move by any quartet.
Frederik De Vos I never noticed that before, now it’s all I see
Clicked on this faster than any other video I ever have before........ for obvious reasons... LOL. The Boston Common was one of the most iconic champions there ever has been and ever will be. Legends on that stage there..
The sheer joy of singing is evident in their faces and their body posture. An iconic performance by one of the all-time great quartets in the Society. And back in the day when it was nigh-impossible to get a score that started with a '9', I am proud to say my old category, Interpretation, awarded an average of 90 for this song. Interestingly enough, I do believe this performance would garner a mid-90s score in Music today!
How I wish the Society would re-digitize this performance, fixing both the video and the sound. It needs to be preserved for every generation of Barbershopper.
my left ear really enjoyed this
my left ear loved this video :)
When you forget to mix out the mono audio ;)
real
One of the most legendary performances in barbershop history! Great to see this released for the public to enjoy!
Was this Utah 1980?
I remember being in the audience that night. The crowd went crazy. All week long you could feel their momentum. It was electric. Some say they should’ve won in ‘79....I didn’t agree...however, this was their year hands down. Iconic doesn’t even begin to describe this quartet.
My Dad (Johnny Wearing) sang this at his living wake and nailed it. 3 weeks later he died.
I met him when living in GR. Great guy.
I saw The Common perform this in 1981 while attending my first barbershop show; introducing me to the BHS! I died and went to heaven right then and there!
I have been thrilled by the audio version of this performance for 40 years. What a joy to finally see it on video. Many thanks to BHS LiveWire for sharing it.
brutal that this is an official upload from a music-centric channel just to have it only play in one of my ears ):
yes!! i have that too!
We used to sing this at every gig
Without the choreographed lip lick, of course
OMG!!! It gave me goose bumps!!
Audio is only on the left side, I'd suggest re-uploading as there's another video of this performance already on youtube with stereo sound.
I want to see some more stuff from the archive, BHS - I love the Boston Common, but all their contest sets from 1980 have been on UA-cam for years! Give us something more exclusive!
My grandfather Bob Nance with The Vigortones used to sing this with his quartet. He passed in 2017. The joy this video brings me. Thank you for posting this.
I swear I was cutting an onion listening to this again...
I miss my old quartet. We sang all over Europe and Eastern US. Time marches on, I suppose.
Met The BC in 1980 at a cookout on the northshore of Boston. Me and about 20 other guys for a private 'concert'. Truly musical magicians!
This is great. So many memories! So precious.
Very traditional and warm. The tenor is sublime.
I agree on the sublime nature of the tenor and of the warmth of the sound. But as to it being “traditional” I don’t think so. The fullness of the tenor in particular and the rich, smooth complexity of the quartet sound overall was unusual when contrasted with the thinner and choppier sound of traditional barbershop quartets that typically featured a nasal, honking, reedy tenor sound. Also, the presence of a bit of well-placed vibrato was traumatizing for some “traditionalists”, including sound judges. They were actually more revolutionary than traditional in this sense. Absolutely fabulous.
My all time favorite tenor performance..... sigh....
What a beautiful tenor tone
The tenor (Kent Martin) is my grandfather and i love watching his music.
Classic. Just classic.
My right ear is jealous of my left getting the vast majority of this.
I guess you could say that it had the Vocal Majority.
🤣🤣
What a wonderful harmony!
gotta love boston common
One of my favorite songs. An amazing performance!
Was he President of the NED Chorus (Racing City) competing in SLC that year. Will never forget our afterglow...BC made the rounds of afterglows and VIP spots and saved us for last. Walked in, took off their coats and Terry announced "We're Home, Honey"! Proceeded to sing every song they knew...and some new ones as well! You haven't lived until you've been sitting 5 feet in front of them when those powerful voices start ringing chords!
So true!
I herd it pretty well in my left ear
Super harmony.
0:20 good lord that undertone!
Legends
There guys were my first intro to Barbershop. They are still remembered fondly. Are they still alive?
Terry Clarke, the bass, passed away in February 2018 at the age of 80. I believe the rest of the quartet still survives.
@@mikebell6254
Thank you!
@@mikebell6254 But didn't the Lead singer get into a car accident?
Douglas Cullen - Yes, but not a fatal one. From what I’ve heard/read, it just affected his ability to sing and tune. Tommy Spirito (lead of the legendary Four Rascals) filled in for Rich for some years. You can hear his voice on a portion of their masterworks CD.
My grandfather, Kent Martin, the tenor for this quartet is still alive and so are Rich and Larry, the lead and baritone.
❤️
FRED was right, how they didn't win early on is a mystery.
Mono in the left side only??? Come on, surely we can do better.
I hate to bring truth to the internet...goes against the grain, somehow...still;
There is only *one* microphone extant, nothing overhead, nothing parabolic pointed at anybody, nothing...more mics than that one, between the Lead and the Bass, the two middle guys, would require balancing, engineering the sound, totally forbidden in SPEBSQSA competition. The quartet members are individually responsible for balancing, or 'blending' *each* chord, *only* by using their own ears, 'valuing' the chord in the order of 1)Root 2)Fifth 3) Third 4) Seventh, (or any other augmentation) supplied, by moderating both volume and microscopic pitch change, or 'tuning' as required
If you are listening to a so-called 'stereo' reproduction, it is simply a 'double' of a 'mono' input
If you'd care for my bona fides, I was a member of a quartet awarded 'Mike Testers' in 1981, and danged proud of it...still am, as it happens
The only way to get 'stereo' is to sit in one of the first ten (or so, depending on venue) rows
the mic they use on stage today captures stereo audio