The Four Freshmen- appreciation thread*

I’m a lifelong huge Beach Boys fan and as most fans of Brian know, the FF were his primary vocal influence. So I have finally started to dive into what they were all about, the best source aside from wiki is Ross Barbour’s (original member) book Now You Know which chronicles their story from info written in his journals he kept. A light read but informative.

first take away from the book - they backed themselves instrumentally on live performances in their heyday with simple drum kit made by Ross, upright bass, electric guitar, as well as trombone and other horns.
A great album to listen to is In Person which is a live album from the 1950s. Just the four of them!

 

A big fan!
Thanks to BW and the boys.
The Four Freshman take on 'Funny, How Time Slips Away', gives a good indication to me how
Brian was using their style and approach and down right copying them to do 'Graduation Day', 'Things We Did Last Summer',
'Lavender', 'Their Hearts....'
The proof is in the pudding....
Ironically, also on 'Capitol Records'.

 

If you were to pick some cds to introduce this group, which ones would you recommend?

 

Trombones album and In Person

 

Another unique thing about them was for as successful as they were in the 1950s and 60s, they seem to be their own managers and Got their own bookings and things like that… They really were a self-contained band other than the fact they did not write most of their material

 

I got a download of this, I really wanted to see what they were all about when I wanted to
learn more about the 'Freshmen'.
Being pleasantly surprised, I tried purchasing the set, but it way out of my my price range.
Still is...
The Four Freshmen - The Complete Capitol Four Freshmen Fifties Sessions
'Complete Capitol Four Freshmen Sessions'

 

Nice to meet finally another Freshmen fan here at SHF. For me the best vocal group (even i have a lot with the Hi-Los, Manhattan Transfer and everything from the Singers Unlimited.)
They were discovered and recommended to the CAPITOL label by Stan Kenton. Have seen the group with Ken Albers live here in Germany on Bitburg airbase.
All great instrumentalists and Bob as MC was really someone you will never forget. Recommended also the Live album "At Butler University" and "Fresh".
Here are the first 6 albums (more to follow):

 

Here comes the next batch:

 

As far as regrets go, one of mine is not having been able to have seen the original lineup in person.

 

Keep an eye on second hand markets. I picked this up incredibly cheaply a couple years back.

 

I love them. If you love The Beach Boys and haven't checked out The Four Freshmen, you are really missing out.

 

I have both volumes of the Butler University concert, and these are my favorites, both for Kenton, and the 'Frosh. Outstanding recording, too!

 

Here is another vinyl tableau from my stock (all in chronological order):
The LP "The Freshman Year" has a great a cappella version without instrumental backing.

 

Above I had mailed some cover tableaus of Four Freshmen LPs. But the system did not reproduce them later and all pictures were gone. I discussed this with staff and the moderator replied he could not see any links after investigating the first postings. In the meantime I have cut down the size of these tableaus and post them here again. Hope the system will tolerate this.





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April 7, 2020

 

Some news on the topic
- More info and all about the various groups here----> The Four Freshmen Society - Supporting the Best Vocal Group of all Time!
- about recordings ---> Four Freshmen at Singers.com - Sheet Music, CDs and Songbook Arrangements of Four Freshmen

 

The most beautiful record cover.

 

.... and the music inside of course!

 

I like them, especially with Pete Rugolo, but I prefer the Hi-Los.

 

I love em'. That 50s vocal quartet sound was something else. My favourites:

It Could Happen To You
Girl Talk
Candy
Angel Eyes
It Never Occurred To Me
Route 66
Poinciana
It Happened Once Before

They had a lot of heart. Amazing that they were a self-contained unit while singing those complex parts.

 

I just recently got a very sweet deal on this limited edition 9-CD box set. $20.00 in a used record store! 3 CDs of early singles and 24 previously unreleased tracks, 11 complete albums, and more! Fantastic and groundbreaking harmonies. You can definitely hear the profound influence on the Beach Boys. The 28-page book includes copious notes by one of the founding members, his comments on all of the tracks, and sessionography info. It would have been nice if the book had included replications of the original album covers, but it's really the music that counts.

 

Tableau # 4

 

You cant compare them IMHO. Different style and different harmonic structuree and vocal ranges. The Hi-Lo's style was influenced by Don Shelton as arranger and later also for the Singers Unlimited.

 

I can compare them, in as much as they were jazz-influenced male vocal quartets working around the same time.

Also, Shelton was not an original Hi-Lo. You may be thinking of Gene Puerling. The Singers Unlimited took a radically different harmonic approach from that of the Hi-Los, even though Puerling arranged for both.