Between the Pitch Perfect movies, The Sing Off, and YouTube, the a cappella bug seems to be everywhere nowadays. And on August 24, 2015, Neil Genzlinger wrote a wonderful article in the New York Times about his exposure to barbershop music. He starts by writing:
The memory is hazy, but I can’t imagine that I went enthusiastically into a concert hall in Portland, Maine, on May 18, 1974. The groups on the bill were not the kind that most 19-year-olds were flocking to see. Yet my mind was blown just as thoroughly as if I’d seen Kiss or Queen. It was blown by a barbershop quartet named the Gentlemen’s Agreement.
And of course, for those of us involved with “the hobby,” we know what Neil’s talking about. Neil specifically hones in on the fantastic performance of Gentlemen’s Agreement, the 1971 BHS international champions. The harmonies, the blend, and the showmanship of Gentelemen’s Agreement are simply stunning, and Neil makes a compelling argument for a new audience to engage barbershop.
If you’ve never heard Gentlemen’s Agreement, prepare yourself:
