The Suntones were a barbershop

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

from

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, USA, and the 1961

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 barbersho ...

international champions. At the time it won gold, the quartet featured Gene Cokeroft as

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

, Bob Franklin as

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

, Harlan Wilson as

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

, and Bill Cain as

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

. The Suntones are notable among the barbershop community because they were one of the first quartets to perform

show tunes A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. Th ...

and make use of hand-held

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic (), or mike, is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publi ...

s.Asuaje, Andrea. "Gene Cokeroft and Barbershop Singing Grew Up Together" ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe countie ...

'' 2009, July 20.

History

After winning the 1961 SPEBSQSA championship, the Suntones became more active touring, performing and recording. In 1966,

Jackie Gleason Herbert John Gleason (born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.; February 26, 1916June 24, 1987), known as Jackie Gleason, was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growin ...

moved his popular TV variety show to Miami and hired the Suntones to sing both as a barbershop quartet and as backing singers. In addition to barbershop standards, the Suntones introduced many contemporary songs into their performances including medleys of songs from Broadway musicals (''West Side Story'', ''Fiddler on the Roof'', ''The Sound of Music'', etc.) arranged by Walter Latzko. In 1979, Bob Franklin left the group, and Drayton Justus became the new lead singer. The group's "final" performance was in early 1985 in Montclair, New Jersey, during a special tribute to arranger Walter Latzko. Bill Cain died in 2004, but Franklin later returned to join Cokeroft, Harlan Wilson, and Todd Wilson (Harlan's son) on bass for limited performances.

Discography

Studio recordings

Originally released on Sunrise Records: *''A Touch of Gold'' (1962) *''Afterglow'' (1966) *''Watch What Happens'' (1967) *''Somewhere'' (1971) *''Keep America Singing'' (1972) *''A Touch of Old'' (1972) *''Fiddler'' (1973) *''As Time Goes By'' (1976) *''Where is Love'' (1978) *''My Fair Lady'' (1982)

Live recordings

*''A Touch of Live'' (2003) – from a 1972 performance

Compilations

*''Suntones'' (1992) AIC Masterworks Series – 1 CD *''The Complete Works'' (1999) AIC – 5-CD boxed set **Volume 1 (1962–66) **Volume 2 (1967–71) **Volume 3 (1972) **Volume 4 (1973–76) **Volume 5 (1978–82)

History

Discography

Studio recordings

Live recordings

Compilations

References

External links