About Barbershop
A cappella harmony began in the 1840s and developed in the early years of the entertainment and recording industry. It sprouted when minstrel shows and the traveling concert were institutions, popularizing the songs that lent themselves to four-part harmony. It reached its peak during the glorious days of vaudeville and burlesque; few vaudeville bills were without a barbershop quartet, as they were known.
In the early part of the 20th century, concern grew among singers that the barbershop quartet type of four-part a cappella harmony would soon become extinct. Contributing to the concern was the popularity of the phonograph that could include orchestral accompaniment, the decline of vaudeville, and the growing popularity of talking movies.
So, on an April afternoon in 1938, O.C. Cash and some of his friends got together in a Tulsa, Oklahoma hotel and founded the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America, now known by its acronym SPEBSQSA. Their intention was to establish an organization to enjoy, preserve, and promote the traditional barbershop quartet style of singing.
The Society has grown to include more than 40,000 members in some 800 chapters in every state and most Canadian provinces, as well as many chapters in far-flung countries such as England, Sweden, Germany, and Australia.
The barbershop sound is unique, and is characterized by the following:
- All voices are men.
- There are four parts: tenor, lead, baritone, and bass. The tenor typically sings above the melody (lead).
- Songs are sung a cappella (without any accompaniment).