“I love to hear those minor chords and
good close harmony.”
— from “The Old Songs” (words
and music by Geoffrey O’Hara, 1921)
Every Tuesday evening, about 40 men meet at
the Hoogland Center for the Arts to carry on a local tradition that
stretches back to the time when Elvis was a rising star and a
Soviet leader threatened to “bury” the United States.
Since 1956, the men of the Land of Lincoln Barbershop Chorus have
preserved a uniquely American form of vocalization called
barbershop, forging enduring bonds through their love for this
music. The weekly rehearsals are led by Mike Drake, a
retired clergyman who travels each week from Lincoln with his
brother, Larry. Mike has been singing barbershop for 11 years;
Larry, who sings tenor in the chorus, joined 10 years ago. The
Drakes are veteran barbershoppers, but they are wet behind the ears
compared with some chorus members. Bob Walbert, a retired
phone-company worker, has been a barbershopper for 45 years; Bob
Brown, the only barber in the chorus, has been a member of the
Barbershop Harmony Society for 45 years as well. The Land of Lincoln Barbershop Chorus got its
start on July 26, 1956, when several men formed the first
Springfield chorus to be officially sanctioned by the Society for
the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in
America. The founders were Al Adkins, Walt Conavay, George
Hartshorn, George “Jack” Harwood, Charles Kirschner,
Lee “Doc” Perkins, and E.D. Olinger. Barbershop singing
had been around in Springfield for many years. In 1943, Frank
Dragoo, Fred Sahlander, John McNeeley, and Tom O’Herron
— known as the Harmony Kings — were crowned the finest
quartet in Illinois, and they set the bar high for quality
barbershopping in Springfield. The Land of Lincoln Chorus of today
strives for that same quality. The Land of Lincoln Chorus performs in many
venues. Church groups regularly invite the men to perform.
Nursing-home residents are entertained by “the old
songs.” The retired sisters at the Dominican Motherhouse are
visited during each Christmas season. The chorus performs every
December at the Vietnam Memorial at Oak Ridge. In July the men sing
at Douglas Park. The chorus has performed at First Night, at the
Festival of Trees, and with the Illinois Symphony. Shoppers are
entertained on the sidewalks of downtown each year during Christmas
walks. The barbershoppers have a long-standing tradition in their
annual fall cabaret, during which they perform and serve as waiters
at a light meal. During the second week in February, quartets from
the chorus deliver singing Valentines around the area.
For a modest fee, you can order a card, a rose, and one or two love
songs, all delivered by a tuxedoed quartet. A recent addition to the
group’s annual schedule is a spring show at the Hoogland. Last
year’s show, in March, was filled with Irish music. This
year’s show, scheduled for April 1, is titled “A Fool for
Love.” Though most members live in Springfield,
surrounding communities are well represented. Not all members can
make rehearsals every week: Sometimes corn or beans must be
harvested. A late business meeting may keep a singer away. Bruce
Strom has found the Tuesday-evening rehearsals pre-empted lately by
his obligations as an alderman on the Springfield City Council. But
these men are, one and all, barbershoppers at heart. Even when they
travel, they seem to be able to sniff out a quartet, a VLQ (a Very
Large Quartet), or a chorus rehearsing somewhere. One member even
found a group of barbershoppers manning a yard sale while he was
visiting family in Amarillo, Texas. Soon they were ringing chords
together. Several of the men hold dual memberships. Don Hadden
sings with the Land of Lincoln Chorus in three seasons and with a
second chorus, in Sarasota, during the winter. Eight of members of
the chorus also sing with the St. Charles, Mo.-based Ambassadors of
Harmony, the 2004 International Barbershop Chorus champions. These
guys proudly wear their gold medals at rehearsals as inspiration to
their local colleagues. Recently the national sponsoring organization
changed its unwieldy and long name to the Barbershop Harmony
Society. But only the name has changed. The goals of fellowship and
harmony through song remain the same. The blending of voices in the
unique chords of barbershop
harmony stands as a symbol of the
universal
harmony that is the hope of every barbershopper. At the end of every rehearsal, chorus members
sing the same song: “Keep the whole world singing . . . watch
good will come a-winging on a song . . . . Keep the melody ringing
in your heart.”
This article appears in Jan 12-18, 2006.
