Bluegrass Student Union is the

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

barbershop quartet A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop style, characterized by four-part harmony without instrumental accompaniment, or a cappella. The four voices are: the lead, the vocal part which typically carries ...

that won the 1978

SPEBSQSA The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop ...

International competition. They distinguished themselves by performing at a high level of proficiency on stage and in the recording studio throughout their 33-year career, and were the second youngest quartet to have won the SPEBSQSA championship, as of that time. The quartet became known for continually improving their art, even after their win. They credited much of their success to their coaches, Mary Jo Hatton Thompson, Don Clause, Ron Riegler, Gene Stickler and Ed Weber, to their chorus Director, Jim Miller, and to their long-time arrangers, Ed Waesche and Walter Latzko. Bluegrass Student Union's members were Allen Hatton (tenor), Ken Hatton (lead), Dan Burgess (baritone), and Rick Staab (bass). Allen Hatton later sang tenor with the original version of the Second Edition quartet to win the Cardinal District Quartet Championship for his second time, in 1986. In 1984, the Bluegrass Student Union gave a performance of "

Java Jive Java Jive is a song written by Ben Oakland and Milton Drake in 1940 and most famously recorded by The Ink Spots. The lyrics speak of the singer's love of coffee. The lyrics also reflect the slang of the day, including a reference to " Mr. Moto", a ...

" for President Ronald Reagan at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

, with Bill Myers filling in for Staab on bass. Reagan described it as "my kind of music." Ken Hatton later sang lead with the 2000 Cardinal District Champion SENSATIONS quartet, which earned semi-finalist status (20th place) in the 2001 International Quartet Competition. Ken also sang lead with The Exchange, semi-finalist (20th place) in the 2003 International Quartet Competition of SPEBSQSA, Inc. Ken's other appearances in the International Quartet Competition include: *2004 – 23rd place – The Exchange (lead) *2011 – 43rd place – The Daddy-Ohs! (baritone) The quartet took a hiatus starting in 1992, then reunited to do occasional shows starting in 1999. They permanently retired in December 2006, although the four friends hold an annual reunion. The quartet was inducted into the Cardinal District Hall of Fame in 2005. The quartet was inducted into the Barbershop Harmony Society Hall of Fame in 2012.

Discography

* ''After Class'' LP/

Cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

no longer available * ''The Older the Better'' LP/

no longer available * ''Music Man'' LP/

no longer available * ''Jukebox Saturday Night'' LP/

CD no longer available * ''Here to Stay'' CD/

no longer available * ''Legacy'' 3-CD Set no longer available * ''Commencement'' DVD-CD Set still available Bluegrass Student Union; Volumes 1 through 6 (digital recordings) are available from iTunes and CDBaby.com

References

External links

*
Discography and biography
fro
Primarily A Cappella

AIC entry
(archived) * Barbershop quartets Musical groups from Louisville, Kentucky Professional a cappella groups 1973 establishments in Kentucky Musical groups established in 1973 2007 disestablishments in Kentucky Musical groups disestablished in 2007 Barbershop Harmony Society {{Louisville-stub

Discography

See also

References

External links