AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Buffalo Bills

Artist:The Buffalo Bills

Song:Sincere

Album:The Music Man: Original Soundtrack

No, I'm not talking about the Buffalo Bills NFL football team. This is about The Buffalo Bills barbershop quartet. They appeared on 50s TV and are best known for appearing in the 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man and the 1962 film version. Of course the name barbershop music is because even today, the local barber shop is a community hub. It's similar to other types of four part harmony including offshoots like doo wop. The Buffalo Bills were formed in 1947 in Buffalo. Members were tenor Vern Reed, lead Al Shea, baritone Herschel Smith and bass Bill Spangenberg. None were professional musicians. They were introduced as The Buffalo Bills at an appearance and the name stuck. In those days, barbershop quartets competed in competitions. It's similar to what is seen today in college a cappella competitions. Smith left The Buffalo Bills when he got a job in Wisconsin. Dick Grapes replaced him and The Buffalo Bills won the 1950 Barbershop Harmony Society International Quartet Contest. They appeared on radio and TV shows like The Faye Emerson Pepsi-Cola Show on CBS. They toured military bases and even got a record deal with Decca. In the early 50s, The Music Man composer Meredith Willson hosted the radio show Music Today. He heard The Buffalo Bills records and went to Buffalo to meet them. In 1957, The Buffalo Bills competed on the TV show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and appeared on Godfrey's morning show. Willson asked The Buffalo Bills to appear in his Broadway musical The Music Man. They moved to New York. Grapes stayed behind and was replaced by Scotty Ward of the Great Scotts quartet from Steubenville, OH. After The Music Man was a big hit, The Buffalo Bills continued to appear on TV and signed a record deal with Mitch Miller at Columbia Records. They recorded four albums for Columbia and also recorded for Warner Bros. and RCA. And they appeared in the 1962 film of The Music Man. That soundtrack album is available as a budget CD. Spangenberg died in 1963 and was replaced by Jim Jones of The Sta-Laters. The Buffalo Bills continued to tour until they disbanded in 1967. Here's The Buffalo Bills performing Sincere in the 1962 film The Music Man.