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Ross Edwin Barbour (December 31, 1928 – August 20, 2011) was an American singer with the vocal quartet The Four Freshmen.
The Four Freshmen originated in early 1948 when brothers Ross and Don Barbour, then at Butler University's Arthur Jordan Conservatory in Indianapolis, Indiana, formed a barbershop quartet called Hal's Harmonizers. The Harmonizers also included Marvin Pruitt — soon replaced by Ross and Don's cousin Bob Flanigan — and Hal Kratzsch (1925–70), replaced in 1953 by Ken Errair. The quartet soon adopted a more jazz-oriented repertoire and renamed itself the Toppers. At first, they were influenced by Glenn Miller's The Modernaires and Mel Tormé's Mel-Tones, but soon developed their own style of improvised vocal harmony. In September 1948, the quartet went on the road as The Four Freshmen, and soon drew the admiration of jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Woody Herman.
In 1950, The Four Freshmen got a break when band leader Stan Kenton heard the quartet in Dayton, Ohio, and arranged for an audition with his label, Capitol Records, which signed The Four later that year. In 1952, they released their first hit single "It's a Blue World". Further hits included "Mood Indigo" in 1954, "Day by Day" in 1955, and "Graduation Day" in 1956.
Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, The Four Freshmen released a number of recordings, made film and television appearances, and performed in concert. The group eventually lost their mainstream following with the advent of the British pop bands of the 1960s. After Barbour's retirement in 1977, the Freshmen continued under the management of Flanigan, who kept the rights to The Four Freshmen name. Flanigan died on May 15, 2011, at the age of 84.
Barbour died of cancer on August 20, 2011, aged 82.[1]
ross, barbour, singer, this, article, relies, largely, entirely, single, source, relevant, discussion, found, talk, page, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, citations, additional, sources, find, sources, ross, barbour, singer, news, newspapers,. This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Ross Barbour singer news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2015 Ross Edwin Barbour December 31 1928 August 20 2011 was an American singer with the vocal quartet The Four Freshmen Ross BarbourBirth nameRoss Edwin BarbourBorn 1928 12 31 December 31 1928Columbus IndianaDiedAugust 20 2011 2011 08 20 aged 82 Simi Valley CaliforniaGenresJazz Classic pop BarbershopYears active1948 1977 The Four Freshmen originated in early 1948 when brothers Ross and Don Barbour then at Butler University s Arthur Jordan Conservatory in Indianapolis Indiana formed a barbershop quartet called Hal s Harmonizers The Harmonizers also included Marvin Pruitt soon replaced by Ross and Don s cousin Bob Flanigan and Hal Kratzsch 1925 70 replaced in 1953 by Ken Errair The quartet soon adopted a more jazz oriented repertoire and renamed itself the Toppers At first they were influenced by Glenn Miller s The Modernaires and Mel Torme s Mel Tones but soon developed their own style of improvised vocal harmony In September 1948 the quartet went on the road as The Four Freshmen and soon drew the admiration of jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Woody Herman In 1950 The Four Freshmen got a break when band leader Stan Kenton heard the quartet in Dayton Ohio and arranged for an audition with his label Capitol Records which signed The Four later that year In 1952 they released their first hit single It s a Blue World Further hits included Mood Indigo in 1954 Day by Day in 1955 and Graduation Day in 1956 Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s The Four Freshmen released a number of recordings made film and television appearances and performed in concert The group eventually lost their mainstream following with the advent of the British pop bands of the 1960s After Barbour s retirement in 1977 the Freshmen continued under the management of Flanigan who kept the rights to The Four Freshmen name Flanigan died on May 15 2011 at the age of 84 Barbour died of cancer on August 20 2011 aged 82 1 References edit Obituary in The New York Times August 24 2011 External links editOfficial homepage The Four Freshmen The Four Freshman in the Vocal Hall of Fame The Four Freshmen Society nbsp This article about a jazz singer from the United States is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ross Barbour singer amp oldid 1173512135, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
