THE FOUR FRESHMAN

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Origin Indianapolis, Indiana
Genre(s) Jazz
Years active 1948–present
Label(s) Capitol
Website http://www.4freshmen.com/

Members
Brian Eichenberger
Curtis Calderon
Vince Johnson
Bob Ferreira

Former members
Ross Barbour
Don Barbour
Marvin Pruitt
Bill Comstock
Bob Flanigan
Ken Errair
Hal Kratzsch
Ken Albers
Ray Brown
Gary Lee Rosenberg
Kevin Stout
Greg Stegeman
Autie Goodman
Alan McIntosh
Newton Graber
Dennis Grillo
Rod Henley
Dave Jennings
Mike Beisner
Kirk Marcy

The Four Freshmen began as a American vocal group popular from the 1950s through the early 1960s. Well-known for their multi-part harmonies, they are notable as early purveyors of vocalese and as the forerunners of vocal-harmony based rock music, particularly that of The Beach Boys. In their current configuration, The Four Freshmen continue to perform.





Career start and commercial success
One of the most influential vocal groups of the 1950s, The Four Freshmen pioneered a revolutionary new style of close-harmony vocals that set the stage for bands like the Beach Boys, Spanky & Our Gang, the Hi-Los, the Manhattan Transfer and countless others. In 1948, brothers Ross and Don Barbour formed a barbershop quartet called Hal's Harmonizers at Butler University's Arthur Jordan Conservatory in Indiana. The band also featured Hal Kratzsch (1925 – 1970) and Marvin Pruitt.

Later that year the group switched to a more jazz-oriented repertoire, and the quartet was renamed the Toppers. Pruitt soon left the group and was replaced with Ross and Don's cousin Bob Flanigan.

Early on the group was influenced by Glenn Miller's Modernaires and Mel Tormé's Mel-Tones, but began to show signs of their own unique style of free improvisational vocal harmony. By September of 1948, the quartet went on the road as the Four Freshmen. The group was highly touted by jazz legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Woody Herman.

In 1950, the Four Freshmen got their big break when bandleader Stan Kenton heard the quartet in Dayton, Ohio. He called his label Capitol Records and arranged an audition. The group was signed later that year. In 1952, the band released their first hit single "It's a Blue World", which brought them instant recognition among mainstream audiences. Kratzsch was replaced by Ken Errair in 1953, but the group never lost its stride. Their subsequent releases of "Mood Indigo" in 1954, "Day by Day" in 1955 and "Graduation Day" in 1956 showed that The Four Freshmen were more than just a one-hit wonder sensation.

The group remained popular throughout the 50s and early 60s, releasing a wide array of successful albums, movie and television appearances and performing countless sold-out concerts. The band eventually lost mainstream attention with the emergence of the British pop bands of the 1960s, even though they managed to stay together even after the retirement of final original member Bob Flanigan in 1992.

New lineups of the Four Freshmen have continued the legendary vocal tradition of the original band, while adding new touches. In 2000 the group won Down Beat magazine's reader's poll award for Vocal Group of the Year, proving the quartet's prominence in the jazz world today

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